IT Executive news

• What happens if your thermostat is hacked? Researchers name the top 7 security threats

  15-02-2017 23:55
  
  What happens if a bad actor turns off your heat in the middle of winter, then demands $1,000 to turn it back on? Or even holds a small city’s power for ransom? Those kinds of attacks were among the top threats that security experts worried about at the RSA security conference this week.
  While consumers don’t necessarily have to be concerned about all seven of the most dangerous types of attacks identified by the SANS Institute, several target consumers directly. The remainder could
  
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• AI faces hype, skepticism at RSA cybersecurity show

  15-02-2017 23:51
  
  Vendors at this week's RSA cybersecurity show in San Francisco are pushing artificial intelligence and machine learning as the new way to detect the latest threats, but RSA CTO Zulfikar Ramzan is giving visitors a reality check.
  "I think it (the technology) moves the needle," he said on Wednesday. "The real open question to me is how much has that needle actually moved in practice?"
  It's not as much as vendors claim, Ramzan warned, but for customers it won't be easy cutting through th
  
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• Bruce Schneier: Public-service technologists are needed to tame the IoT

  15-02-2017 23:37
  
  The internet of things needs to be regulated and soon before it becomes even more of a tool to facilitate cyberattacks, and that means coming up with civic-minded technologists to help formulate government policies, security expert Bruce Schneier told an RSA Conference 2017 audience.
  +More on Network World: RSA: Watch out for a new weapon - your own data | Hot products at RSA 2017 +
  The problem is governments lack the technological expertise to understand the mindset of the makers of IoT device
  
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• 23% off EVGA Supernova G3 750W 220-G3-0750-X1 Fully Modular Power Supply - Deal Alert

  15-02-2017 23:15
  
  Unleash the next generation in power with the EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G3 Power Supply. Based on the award winning G2 series Power Supplies from EVGA, This power supply features 80 PLUS Gold rated efficiency, and clean, continuous power to every component. The ECO Thermal Control Fan System offers fan modes to provide zero fan noise during low load operations. This provides improved efficiency for longer operation, less power consumption, reduced energy costs and minimal heat dissipation.  This p
  
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• Collaboration key to achieving business goals

  15-02-2017 22:25
  
  Collaboration technology — ranging from email, smartphones and videoconferencing to emerging cloud-based collaboration applications — is driving dramatic improvements in organizations' efficiency, productivity and business decisions, according to a new report by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.More than 80 percent of those surveyed said collaboration technology is very or extremely important for meeting their organizations' top business goals, and 90 percent said they expec
  
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• Microsoft quietly prolongs life of original Windows 10

  15-02-2017 21:45
  
  Microsoft earlier this month quietly extended the life of Windows 10's debut edition, the version launched in July 2015.
  Rather than end support for Windows 10 v. 1507 -- Microsoft labels the OS by year and month -- in March, as announced last year, the company will issue the version's final security updates in May, probably May 9, that month's Patch Tuesday.[ Further reading:Support family and friends with Windows 10’s new Quick Assist app ]
  The new date was posted as a revision to a mid
  
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• Heroku: PaaS is the future of development tools

  15-02-2017 21:21
  
  The mantra that all companies need to become software companies is starting to sound familiar. PaaS clouds are the key to making this happen, by providing the means to get customer-facing applications up and running quickly, Heroku CEO Adam Gross argued this week at a developer's conference.
  Gross said that even companies not known for producing software need to be as good at operating customer apps as Amazon, Facebook, or Google. "How are they going to absorb all that complexity and sophistica
  
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• IT leaders say it's hard to keep the cloud safe

  15-02-2017 21:17
  
  IT managers are finding it difficult to keep their applications and data safe in the cloud, and many are slowing cloud adoption because of it.
  That was one of the findings ofan Intel cloud security report that surveyed 2,000 IT professionals in different countries and industries last fall.
  The issue isn't with the cloud itself, since trust outnumbers distrust for public clouds by more than two to one, according to Intel's survey.
  IT professionals told Intel that shadow IT and a shortage of cybe
  
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• Sophos CEO sounds the alarm on enterprise ransomware attacks

  15-02-2017 20:53
  
  Ransomware is increasingly becoming a problem for companies, and the CEO of a leading computer security company says he fears 2017 could see entire companies shut down until they pay up, or risk losing all their data.Ransomware works by infiltrating a computer with malware and then encrypting all the files on the disk. The user is presented with a limited time offer: Lose all your data or send money with the promise your data will be unlocked. The fee typically varies from a few tens of dollars
  
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• Windows Update issues may be at root of February's patch delay

  15-02-2017 20:48
  
  Microsoft was closed-mouthed yesterday about why it postponed the month's security updates, but a patch expert argued that it was probably due to one of more problems with the company's update service infrastructure, not a single flawed fix.
  "Something is broken in the infrastructure, in Windows Update or the [Microsoft Update] Catalog, is my guess," said Chris Goettl, product manager at patch management vendor Ivanti, formerly Shavlik.
  Goettl contended that a back-end snafu was the most likely
  
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• AWS Roundup: IoT buttons hit the enterprise, Directory launch and more

  15-02-2017 20:34
  
  Amazon Web Services got off to a slow start in January, taking its time to sleep off the New Year’s festivities. But the cloud provider got up to speed by the end of the month, launching a handful of new products for its customers to work with.Last year, the cloud provider launched 1,017 new features, according to the fourth-quarter earnings report Amazon released last month. Here’s the breakdown of what you need to know about Amazon’s January news:IoT Buttons dash into the ent
  
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• Maryland lawmaker seeks to unveil H-1B employers

  15-02-2017 20:31
  
  Over the years, state lawmakers and governors have tried to deter the use of foreign workers, mostly with legislation or executive orders prohibiting state work from being completed overseas. But a Maryland lawmaker has what may be a unique approach with a bill now scheduled for a what could be a contentious legislative hearing.
  The legislation, HB 1366, has a simple requirement that's stirring a big pot. If it becomes law, Maryland employers will have to report the number of employees they hav
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What makes Prusa i3 MK2 the best 3D printer?

  15-02-2017 19:53
  
  I have been thinking about buying a 3D printer for a long time. However, I could never justify the $2000+ cost of a good quality printer, especially knowing that there would never be any practical use for it. I have played with 3D printers before at tech shows, but all they did was print the same stock object.Then one of my friends bought a cheap 3D printer from Amazon and invited me over to have a look at it. He had printed cases for his Raspberry Pis, toys for his kids and even some Halloween
  
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• How Google reinvented security and eliminated the need for firewalls

  15-02-2017 19:48
  
  SAN FRANCISCO -- In some ways, Google is like every other large enterprise. It had the typical defensive security posture based on the concept that the enterprise is your castle and security involves building moats and walls to protect the perimeter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Yahoo warns users of account breaches related to recent attacks

  15-02-2017 19:46
  
  Yahoo has begun warning individual users that their accounts with the service may have been compromised in a massive data breach it reported late last year.The warning, in email messages sent from Yahoo CISO Bob Lord, tell users that a forged cookie may have been used to access their accounts in previous years.The warning to Yahoo users come at the same time that news reports suggest that Verizon Communications, in negotiations to buy Yahoo, may be seeking a discount of US$250 million
  
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• Google Cloud leader lays out ambitious plans for the enterprise

  15-02-2017 19:45
  
  The IT world is going through an unprecedented transformation that impacts how enterprises operate and leverage opportunities within mobile, data and the cloud, according to Diane Greene, senior vice president of Google Cloud. Greene has been leading Google’s enterprise business since late 2015, focusing much of her attention on reorganizing Google’s approach to the enterprise market and the big customers it wants to win over.“I’ve never seen the kind of growth that&rsquo
  
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• Facebook throws an open source hackathon

  15-02-2017 19:28
  
  Facebook’s Boston-area outpost is in Cambridge, close to MIT – they’ve just expanded from a smaller site and annexed a whole floor of a well-kept office building near Kendall Square Station. The first thing you see when you get off the elevator is a floor-to-ceiling pattern of blue lines that are meant to spell out the words “Ship Love” (Facebook’s unofficial motto) in binary.
  It’s an airy, open-plan space, like many major tech company offices, with exp
  
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• U.S. solar growth blows away previous records

  15-02-2017 18:54
  
  The U.S. solar market nearly doubled its electricity-generating capacity last year, as 14.6 megawatts (MW) of new photovoltaic panels were installed throughout the country.
  There was a 95% increase in new solar installations over the previous year, when 7.5MW were installed, according to a new report from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). The complete report -- titled "U.S. Solar Market Insight, 2016 Year in Review" -- is due to be released on March 9.  GTM R
  
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• JavaScript-based ASLR bypass attack simplifies browser exploits

  15-02-2017 18:45
  
  Researchers have devised a new attack that can bypass one of the main exploit mitigations in browsers: address space layout randomization (ASLR). The attack takes advantage of how modern processors cache memory and, because it doesn't rely on a software bug, fixing the problem is not easy.Researchers from the Systems and Network Security Group at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUSec) unveiled the attack, dubbed AnC, Wednesday after having coordinated its disclosure with processor, browser an
  
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• Everything we think we know about Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S3

  15-02-2017 18:33
  
  It’s been a long time since there’s been any news about a premium Android tablet. What was once a burgeoning product category has fallen flat as high-end phones become bigger and more powerful, and most new tablets that have been released over the past year are either targeted at budget buyers or children. But with the Galaxy S8 delayed until the spring, Samsung has all but confirmed it will be bringing a new high-end tablet to Mobile World Congress this year.
  And it looks to be a s
  
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• RSA: Elite cryptographers scoff at idea that law enforcement can ‘overcome’ encryption

  15-02-2017 18:08
  
  U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ call for a way to “overcome” cryptography met with scorn from a panel of elite cryptographers speaking at this week’s RSA Conference 2017 in San Francisco.
  “Any one of my students will be capable of writing good crypto code,” says Adi Shamir, the ‘S’ in RSA and a professor at the Weizmann Institute in Israel.
  Sessions’ use of the term “overcome” during his confirmation hearings actually means
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: iOS: The best email apps?

  15-02-2017 17:27
  
  Despite the popularity of text messaging and FaceTime, email is still one of the most important communication functions on iOS devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Apple, of course, offers its own email app but there are lots of others available as well.But which email apps work best for iOS? As with most things it really is a question of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Macworld has a great roundup of the best iOS email apps that summed that point up really well.Michael Simo
  
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• Researchers trick 'CEO' email scammer into giving up identity

  15-02-2017 17:00
  
  Businesses targeted in email scams don’t always have to play the victim. They can actually fight back.
  Researchers at Dell SecureWorks have documented how they identified a suspected email scammer from Nigeria, by essentially playing along with the scheme to fool the attacker into revealing his true whereabouts.
  Anyone can use these tips, said Joe Stewart, director of malware research at SecureWorks. “We’re letting them (the scammers) give us all the information about the
  
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• Browser privacy extension Ghostery is moving to Germany

  15-02-2017 17:00
  
  Cliqz, the German developer of the privacy-focused browser of the same name, has acquired the tracker-blocking browser extension Ghostery and its development team from its creator, Evidon.Partly owned by Mozilla, Cliqz will combine Ghostery's technology with similar functions in its browser, but plans to continue development of the extension for other browsers too, it said Wednesday.The sale will resolve an apparent conflict of interest for Evidon, which on the one hand provided the Ghostery ext
  
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• Sprint’s unlimited data plan is filled with 'gotchas'

  15-02-2017 16:44
  
  Sprint, which is trying hard to catch up with its larger rivals, has an offer for families looking for unlimited data that’s seems too good to be true. And what you know, it is too good to be true.The company’s offer for up to five lines of unlimited voice, texts  and data for $90 (plus the usual taxes and fees) is good for only one year. By “good for one year” I don’t mean that you have a year to sign up. I mean that the big discount Sprint is offering this mo
  
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• Google Assistant can now share personal info in Allo, but only if you let it

  15-02-2017 16:32
  
  One of the coolest features of Allo is the ability to bring Google Assistant into any conversation. Just type @google and you can ask Assistant questions like “What’s my schedule like today” or “Show me the latest Cars 3 trailer,” and it will happily oblige, saving you the trouble of opening Chrome or Calendar and searching yourself.
  Now Google is making it easier to share that personal information with other people. First spotted by Android Police, the new feature
  
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• How open compute cuts server costs in the enterprise

  15-02-2017 15:38
  
  The open compute project (OCP) means you can get the designs that Microsoft, Facebook and (to a lesser extent) Google use for their data centers.  The goal is to get original design manufacturers (ODMs) to build them for you rather than buying standard servers and switches from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• IBM delivers machine learning on the private cloud

  15-02-2017 15:27
  IBM is making machine learning technology available in the place where much of the world's enterprise data resides: the z System mainframe.Today Big Blue announced IBM Machine Learning, a cognitive platform for creating, training and deploying a high volume of analytic models in the private cloud. The platform draws on the core machine learning technology from its Watson Machine Learning service on its Bluemix public cloud offering."Our mission is making data simple and accessible to clients," s
  
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• RSA: Watch out for a new weapon - your own data

  15-02-2017 15:20
  
  As tens of thousands of the world’s top security pros gather at RSA Conference 2017 they are being called upon to watch out for a new threat: their own data.
  By corrupting data that is used for making decisions, attackers can cause all kinds of problems, says Chris Young, general manager of Intel Security. “Now data is manipulated and used against us to affect the decisions we make,” he says.
  He calls this corruption “data landmines,” which when factored into decis
  
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• AARP award program to honor innovation in caregiving

  15-02-2017 15:00
  
  The AARP, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Americans over 50 years of age, has launched its search for nominees for its Innovation Champion Awards to recognize providers of technology-powered products and services that focus on caregivers.
  Submissions will be accepted in six categories: daily essential activities; caregiver quality of life; health and safety awareness; care coordination; social well-being; and transition support. AARP judges will select five finalists in each categor
  
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• 47% off Earth Pak Waterproof Dry Bag Compression Sack And Phone Case - Deal Alert

  15-02-2017 14:44
  
  Whether you are Kayaking, Beaching, Rafting, Boating, Hiking, Camping or Fishing, Earth Pak believes they have created the best dry bag on the market for any adventure. Toss in your gear, roll it down, and don't be afraid to toss this bag around. It's designed to last for years and will keep your phone, gadgets and gear dry and protected. It comes in 10L, 20L and 30L size, and all models feature 24-42 inch adjustable shoulder straps. Included is Earth Pak's IPX8 certified waterproof ph
  
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• Report: some small cities have surprisingly high number of exposed devices

  15-02-2017 14:00
  
  Trend Micro this morning released a report about the exposed cyberassets in the top U.S. cities and most critical industry segments -- and in many cases, it was the smaller municipalities that had the largest number of problems.
  "Larger cities had fewer systems being exposed," said Ed Cabrera, chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro.
  Houston, for example, had 3,900,208 exposed devices, compared with 1,031,325 in New York City, even though New York has nearly four times as many people.
  But ma
  
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• 6 Internet of Things companies to watch

  15-02-2017 13:15
  
  Network World increasingly has been writing about companies transforming their businesses via the Internet of Things rather than just tracking the latest IoT vendor announcements. But after taking a spin through our ongoing and interactive startup funding timeline, we figured it was a good time to round up some of the latest startups to rein in venture capital for their IoT-related businesses. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• 9 simple ways to raise capital for your ecommerce startup

  15-02-2017 13:09
  
  It is easier than ever, or so it seems, to open a new business, especially an ecommerce or tech business. But getting money to fund your startup, especially with so many new businesses competing for the same pool of seed money, can be tough. So which methods, or sources, are the most likely to get or give you the money you need to grow your business? Following are nine of the best, according to entrepreneurs and investors.
  [ Related: 8 keys to ecommerce success ]1. Start saving/Bootstrap.&ldquo
  
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• To pay or not to pay: Too many victims say yes to ransomware

  15-02-2017 12:50
  
  If you are a victim of ransomware, don’t pay!
  That has been the mantra of the FBI for several years now – one that was forcefully echoed by one of the nation’s highest-profile security bloggers – Brian Krebs – in a recent post.
  But based on the statistics, either a lot of people aren’t listening, or it’s a bit more complicated than that. The reality is that the success of ransomware isn’t just increasing. It’s exploding.To read this article
  
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• Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei kiest voor Triple P

  15-02-2017 12:48
  Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei (ZGV) is een overeenkomst aangegaan met Triple P voor het vernieuwen, beheren en onderhouden van zijn communicatie-omgeving. De opdracht, die onder meer het implementeren van een oplossing voor unified communications omvat, bedraagt circa één miljoen euro en heeft een minimale... lees meer
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Your ERP project can be improved by... ’80s movie quotes?

  15-02-2017 12:30
  
  Implementing a new ERP system is a full-contact sport. As the project lead, you need to deal with a new technology, competing priorities for scarce resources, multiple vendors and a very stressful environment. You need to be ready to deal with the unexpected, because you are the captain of a ship heading out into a stormy sea. Here are three great pieces of advice from three famous movie characters.1. Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a whil
  
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• Who are your customers?

  15-02-2017 12:00
  
  It seems like a straightforward question: When you work in IT, who are your customers?
  We use the term all the time. We talk about customer satisfaction, customer relationships, customer service and customer experiences. Our understanding of customer-supplier relationships looms large when we set priorities and decide what to do and how to behave on the job.
  The problem is that we’re never completely clear about who is and isn’t a customer. Whenever I ask a group of technical folks
  
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• Smackdown: Office 365 vs. G Suite productivity

  15-02-2017 12:00
  
  Google has been trying for years to get businesses to abandon Microsoft Office in favor of what it now calls G Suite, the collaboration-oriented trio of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, plus companion apps Gmail and Drive. Microsoft has long been the productivity standard-bearer, with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, supplemented by Outlook and most recently OneDrive.Office 365 vs. G Suite: DocumentsOffice 365 vs. G Suite: SpreadsheetsOffice 365 vs. G Suite: PresentationsTo read this article in ful
  
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• Experts warn businesses not to over-buy on unlimited data plans

  15-02-2017 12:00
  
  Unlimited data plans, like the one announced this week by Verizon, are mostly irrelevant to large businesses that negotiate lower prices with carriers for large pools of data, voice and text for hundreds of workers.
  But smaller businesses -- say, those with fewer than 50 workers -- could benefit from an unlimited plan, especially if they don't have an assigned telecom manager who manages wireless contracts.
  "Smaller organizations that don't have the staff or capacity to manage their mobility bu
  
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• 3 enterprise-strength file sync services to check out

  15-02-2017 12:00
  
  This should be the year your organization looks to dump its consumer file-sharing software. Don't get me wrong -- many of those services are great for individuals, but they're not really suitable for enterprises. There are other products, however, that offer the file sync that Dropbox and Box and others do so well and so seamlessly, while also providing enterprise-level controls around access, encryption, identity, and more.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(I
  
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• Bedrijven hebben onvoldoende controle over ‘agile’

  15-02-2017 11:29
  Bijna drie kwart van de organisaties in Nederland en België hanteert inmiddels agile methodieken voor projecten. Zes op de tien vinden het de beste manier om flexibel te opereren en in te kunnen spelen op verandering. Bedrijven moeten echter veel moeite doen om controle te houden over deze projecten. Daarop duidt... lees meer
  
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• Culture key to attracting and retaining tech talent

  15-02-2017 11:20
  
  For IT leaders, it's a bit of déja vú: for the fifth straight year, the Tech Hiring and Retention Survey from executive search and technology firm Harris Allied shows that management's top concern is finding and hiring elite tech talent.
  That concern edged out other pressing concerns, including "keeping the teams they have in place" and "staying competitive with regard to salary and bonuses," according to the survey, which polled 120 IT executives in November and December of 2016.F
  
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• What we can learn from BCG's move to an ‘IT-as-a-Service’ model

  15-02-2017 11:00
  
  Companies that provide services to their paying customers tend to know a lot about those services, end-to-end across their value chain. They know how much it costs to deliver them, how to price them, the risk and reward of bringing in new services, and the costs of providing customer support.
  Why should IT, which provides a whole array of services to its internal customers and in many instances, also external customers, be any different?
  That’s the approach that Robbert Kuppens, global CI
  
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• Apple smartphones outsold Samsung's in Q4

  15-02-2017 09:36
  
  Apple has overtaken Samsung Electronics in smartphone sales for the first time in two years -- but don't count on it staying ahead for long.Samsung sold 76.8 million smartphones in the fourth quarter, giving it a market share of 17.8 percent, but it was just beaten by Apple, which sold 77 million iPhones for a 17.9 percent share, according to figures from Gartner.The fourth quarter is usually a strong one for Apple, boosted by holiday sales of the new generation of iPhones it releases each Septe
  
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• India launches 88 earth imaging satellites from Planet Labs

  15-02-2017 08:54
  
  India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C37) has launched into space 88 satellites from earth imaging company Planet Labs, giving the startup the ability to "image all of Earth's landmass every day.”Planet Labs earlier this month entered into an agreement to acquire Google’s Terra Bella business, including the SkySat constellation of satellites, and said that Google upon closing, will enter into a multi-year contract to purchase Earth-imaging data from Planet.The startup e
  
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• Doubts abound over US action on cybersecurity

  15-02-2017 05:17
  
  How should the U.S. respond to cyber attacks? That’s been a major question at this year’s RSA security conference, following Russia’s suspected attempt to influence last year’s election.
  Clearly, the government should be doing more on cybersecurity, said U.S. lawmakers and officials at the show, but they admit that politics and policy conflicts have hampered the government's approach. 
  “I wish the federal government could do this, but it’s very hard
  
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• AT&T plans a national IoT network with LTE-M by midyear

  15-02-2017 03:59
  
  AT&T is accelerating its rollout of LTE-M, an IoT network that’s already being used to track shipping containers and pallets, monitor water use and connect fleets to the internet.
  The carrier said Tuesday it will have nationwide LTE-M coverage in the U.S. by the middle of this year, six months ahead of schedule. Previously, AT&T had said LTE-M would cover the U.S. by year’s end.
  That means everywhere in the country that AT&T has an LTE network, it will also offer LTE-M.
  
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• Microsoft's Email Insights finally adds some useful search smarts to Outlook

  15-02-2017 01:49
  
  Email Insights, a new experimental app from the Microsoft Garage, is the answer to a problem Google’s Gmail solved more than a decade ago: how to search Outlook and find exactly what you want.
  Google’s Gmail gained enormous traction in part because it allowed a quick, convenient way to search emails. Today, you can search Outlook, but it arranges the results in order with no real preference given to what might be most relevant. 
  Email Insights works with both your Microsoft Out
  
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• IBM's hub for wearables could have you out of the hospital faster

  15-02-2017 00:58
  
  Researchers at IBM have developed a hub for wearables that can gather information from multiple wearable devices and share it with a doctor, potentially cutting down on the time patients need to spend in a hospital.The gadget, which IBM has dubbed a 'cognitive hypervisor,' funnels data from devices such as smart watches and fitness bands into the IBM Cloud. There, it's analyzed and the results are shared with the user and their doctor.The idea is that patients can be monitored reliably through t
  
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