IT Executive news

• SOS: Astronauts can make a quick getaway via a zip line

  05-04-2017 23:24
  
  As if astronauts didn't have a cool enough job already, they now get to also zoom down a zip line. Engineers at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station recently finished testing an exit system designed to quickly transport astronauts to safety in case of a launch emergency. The zip line is being prepped for crew members of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew capsule, which will be launched toward the International Space Station atop the Atlas V rocket. The zip line begins 172 feet in the air, on
  
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• H-1B employers face stricter rules

  05-04-2017 22:38
  
  The federal government is doing something it has never done before: It's encouraging people to file H-1B abuse complaints.This week the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Labor each posted information about how to file a complaint against suspected H-1B abuse. It's a clear signal that government scrutiny of H-1B use will intensify and that the U.S. may challenge employers.But it creates a dilemma aptly summed up by Norm Matloff, a professor of computer science at the University o
  
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• More high-end GPUs are now compatible with Dell's 8K monitor

  05-04-2017 22:37
  
  Getting 8K displays to work with Windows 10 PCs can be difficult, as Dell is finding out.But playing with 8K on PCs is a discovery process for Dell, which shipped the first-ever 8K display -- the Dell 32 UltraSharp 8K Monitor -- last week. The small initial stock of the US$5,000 display sold out in a few days.The display won't work on all PCs and needs specific hardware and display ports. But Dell is finding out that more hardware than it originally thought can handle 8K graphics,
  
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• Microsoft tries to appease Windows 10 data collection critics

  05-04-2017 22:10
  
  Microsoft today revealed more about what information Windows 10 collects from users, the latest attempt to quell long-simmering resistance to the operating system's data gathering and reporting practices."Our hope is this information will help you be more informed about the data we collect and use, enabling you to make informed choices," said Terry Myerson, Microsoft's top Windows executive, in a post to a company blog Wednesday.In a pair of pieces published to TechNet, Microsoft laid out what W
  
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• Cloud security fears persist, but data migration is a bigger issue

  05-04-2017 21:57
  
  Businesses that consider moving their analytics to the cloud should be more concerned with data migration and network connectivity challenges than worries around security, according to Marc Clark, head of cloud strategy at data warehouse vendor Teradata.Speaking at Teradata Universe in Nice this week, Clark discussed the findings of a customer survey which polled 900 senior business leaders from nine countries. This found that, unsurprisingly, growing amounts of business-critical data will resid
  
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• What it takes to become an application security engineer

  05-04-2017 20:56
  
  Jeff Williams became an application security engineer in the late 1990s, before it was a common job title.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• The HTC Vive is $100 cheaper today

  05-04-2017 20:50
  Today is the one-year anniversary for the HTC Vive virtual reality headset, and right now you can get the basic system kit for $700—or $100 off the usual price of $800. You can find this deal many places online including Amazon, the Microsoft Store, and Newegg.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• Why Facebook is giving Workplace away for free

  05-04-2017 20:46
  
  Facebook is introducing a free version of Workplace, the company’s social network for business, in a bid to appeal to smaller and more cost-sensitive organizations that don’t necessarily need enterprise-class services. Workplace Standard, which will initially be offered as a beta, won’t include administrative controls, some security compliance measures, monitoring tools, single sign-on or integration with third-party services, according to Facebook.[ Related: First CIO on Workp
  
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• 38% off Corsair Gaming SCIMITAR RGB MOBA/MMO Gaming Mouse With Key Slider Mechanical Buttons - Deal Alert

  05-04-2017 20:27
  
  The Scimitar RGB gaming mouse revolutionizes game play with its Key Slider control system, 12 mechanical side buttons, and pro-proven 12,000 DPI optical sensor. It’s purpose built to deliver the ultimate MOBA and MMO gaming experience. Brilliant customizable multicolor backlighting immerses you in the game and provides nearly unlimited lighting adjustability. The gaming mouse averages 4 out of 5 stars from over 380 people on Amazon (read reviews), where its typical list price of $79.9
  
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• Backup software features that IT managers love and hate

  05-04-2017 20:16
  
  With corporate data more important than ever, selecting the best data backup and recovery software for the organization would be a career-enhancing move. According to online reviews by enterprise users in the IT Central Station community, three of the top backup and recovery products on the market are Veeam Backup, HP Enterprise’s Data Protector, and Altaro VM Backup. What do enterprise users really think about these tools? Here, users give a shout-out for some of their favorite features,
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Where did the project go right?

  05-04-2017 20:00
  
  "Have you ever wondered why over half of IT projects fail?" said the voice on the other end of the phone.The cold caller hadn't ingratiated himself by calling me "Dave."I'm David. It's not that I mind "Dave" — it's just not my name. Quite an assumption, too, I mean, I wonder if he'd open a call to someone called Sharon with "Hello, Shaz!"However it was the casual bandying around of that rather negative statistic that really got my goat because in my experience most IT projects deliver thei
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: iMac: Play World of Warcraft at 5K

  05-04-2017 19:28
  
  Much has been said about Apple’s 5K iMac since it was first released. Many people have scoffed at the idea of playing games at 5K on the iMac, given that iMacs come with mobile GPUs instead of more powerful desktop cards.However, it is possible to play World of Warcraft at 5K resolution on the iMac. But playing at 5K comes at the price of having to tone down some of the eye candy available in WOW’s graphics settings.In this post I’ll show you what I think are the graphics setti
  
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• BrandPost: How to Capitalize on Robotics: Savings Drivers with Digital Labor

  05-04-2017 19:03
  
  For many of today’s organizations, moving forward with digital labor is no longer a question of if, but when. Companies know they need to jump on this trend as a differentiator, which encompasses robotic process automation and is the application of software technology to automate business processes ranging from transactional swivel-chair activities to more complex strategic undertakings.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 10 project management fundamentals for M&A success

  05-04-2017 18:50
  
  Last year, some 40,000 companies changed ownership, for a total deal value of some $5 trillion, according to Thomson Reuters. That means people are managing 40,000 massive transformation projects – but how well are they executing them? And have they been planned using the best practices of the professional field known as project management? Do the executive teams understand the importance of their roles as project sponsors?These questions are worth asking; if any business and leadership ac
  
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• Critical Xen hypervisor flaw endangers virtualized environments

  05-04-2017 18:34
  
  A critical vulnerability in the widely used Xen hypervisor allows attackers to break out of a guest operating system running inside a virtual machine and access the host system's entire memory.This is a serious violation of the security barrier enforced by the hypervisor and poses a particular threat to multi-tenant data centers where the customers' virtualized servers share the same underlying hardware.The open-source Xen hypervisor is used by cloud computing providers and virtual private serve
  
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• Google says its AI chips smoke CPUs, GPUs in performance tests

  05-04-2017 18:27
  
  Four years ago, Google was faced with a conundrum: if all its users hit its voice recognition services for three minutes a day, the company would need to double the number of data centers just to handle all of the requests to the machine learning system powering those services.Rather than buy a bunch of new real estate and servers just for that purpose, the company embarked on a journey to create dedicated hardware for running machine- learning applications like voice recognition.The result was
  
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• Cisco/AppDynamics upgrade broadens DevOps role in app management game

  05-04-2017 17:41
  
  Cisco’s AppDynamics this week rolled out a developer toolkit that will let corporate development teams quickly build and measure the business impact of Web and mobile applications.The AppDynamics Developer Toolkit will feature a variety of languages and diagnostic tools that let application teams measure the business impact of new programs.+More on Network World: Cisco closes AppDynamics deal, increases software weight+“We expect that the developers toolkit will help customers take r
  
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• Microsoft finally reveals what data Windows 10 collects from your PC

  05-04-2017 17:20
  
  There are all kinds of new features in the Windows 10 Creators Update rolling out on April 11, but one change really sticks out. Greater transparency about the data that Microsoft collects from your PC.There are new dashboard screens that all Windows 10 users will see the first time they install or upgrade to the Creators Update. Perhaps more interestingly, for the first time Microsoft has detailed information about the user data it collects for diagnostics.To read this article in full or t
  
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• Galaxy S8+ gets high marks in battery test, but that might not tell the whole story

  05-04-2017 16:09
  
  While Samsung has been singing the praises of the Galaxy S8 since its unveiling last week, it’s been pretty tight-lipped about one important thing: battery life. So, we’ve been concerned. But Phone Arena got a chance to test the larger of the two phones, and as it turns out, there’s no reason to worry. Probably.[ Related: Samsung Introduces Galaxy S8 and S8+, featuring Infinity displays ]In its benchmark testing, Phone Arena found the Galaxy S8+ got exactly eight hours of batte
  
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• Hiding in plain sight — 4 places to find cybersecurity talent in your own organization

  05-04-2017 16:01
  
  Simeon Holloway wanted to parlay his 13 years of IT experience into a cybersecurity position. He thought that it would be a relatively easy transition considering the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals and his eagerness to learn.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• 20% off Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Season Pass Edition Pre-order - Deal Alert

  05-04-2017 15:51
  
  Go behind enemy lines with the ultimate modern military shooter. Pre-order this season pass edition and get extra add-ons and a 20% discount for Prime members.
  
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• How to tell stories your customers want to hear

  05-04-2017 15:50
  
  People love a good story. And that applies to brands, too. Companies with great stories, stories that consumers can relate to or that make them feel good about your brand, have a distinct advantage over companies with generic or impersonal messaging.But how do you craft stories – create content – that customers will want to read or hear, content that will make people more likely to want to buy from or work with you? Here are eight suggestions.1. Do your research
  “Before you can
  
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• 4 new gadgets that track heart rate

  05-04-2017 15:27
  
  Two fingers pressed against your neck or wrist. That’s how most of us checked our heart rate in simpler, analog times.Now, you can track your heart rate by wearing a chest strap or wristband—or a headband, earbuds, or smart clothes like shirts, blouses, and bras. Here are four new or recent activity trackers that offer heart rate tracking, with varying degrees of accuracy. Moov HR Sweat
  The $100 headband features a pocket, into which you slip a sensor that reads your heart
  
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• FAQ: What just happened to online privacy?

  05-04-2017 15:19
  
  The internet sure seems mad about something.You’re not kidding.More than usual, that is.You’re right. President Trump just signed a bill into law that rolls back internet privacy protections enacted by the previous administration, and that has made things just a little angry around the ol’ internet.What kind of privacy rules are we talking about here?The previous iteration of the Federal Communications Commission created new rules last October for ISPs which stipulated that tho
  
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• Report: 30% of malware is zero-day, missed by legacy antivirus

  05-04-2017 14:40
  
  At least 30 percent of malware today is new, zero-day malware that is missed by traditional antivirus defenses, according to a new report."We're gathering threat data from hundreds of thousands of customers and network security appliances," said Corey Nachreiner, CTO at WatchGuard Technologies. "We have different types of malware detection services, including a signature and heuristic-based gateway antivirus. What we found was that 30 percent of the malware would have been missed by the signatur
  
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• YouTube launches low-bandwidth version for India

  05-04-2017 13:55
  Google rolled out Wednesday a version of its YouTube video sharing app that is targeted at users who do not have robust internet connections.The beta version of the YouTube Go app is available on the Google Play Store in India. It offers data saving features like the ability to preview videos before the user saves and watches, and a choice of resolutions when saving or streaming videos. YouTube has also tried to emphasize the social aspect of the app by letting users share video with others.The
  
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• 10 tips and tricks to master the Google app for iPhone

  05-04-2017 13:00
  
  Get your Google onImage by Derek WalterGoogle’s iPhone app is way more than a conduit to Google search—it’s the hub for Google’s shadow operating system, which essentially lets you cheat on Apple and live a more Googly smartphone life.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• What home products are most susceptible to cyber burglars?

  05-04-2017 12:42
  
  No matter how intelligent they claim to be, many smart home gadgets are vulnerable to hackers. Nowadays even the lock on your front door is susceptible to a cyberattack. No longer do you only have to worry about someone simply picking the lock, now a burglar could go through cyberspace to unlatch the door.Just like the lock on your front door to keep out burglars, you should protect your high-tech devices from cyber threats. Start by choosing different passwords for your internet router and each
  
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• Ugly Jenkins gets a friendly new UI

  05-04-2017 12:00
  
  Blue Ocean, a reimagined user interface for the Jenkins continuous delivery platform, makes its official debut Wednesday as a free, open source plugin.The interface helps make software development more accessible, said Tyler Croy, director of evangelism at Jenkins solutions provider CloudBees and a board member and contributor on the Jenkins project. With Blue Ocean, any member of a devops team now can use Jenkins without having to be experts in it; the interface is more user-friendly and faster
  
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• Review: Windows 10 Creators Update is here and worth the download (with video)

  05-04-2017 12:00
  
  Windows 10 Creators Update, the first major update to Microsoft's operating system since last summer's Windows 10 Anniversary Update, is finally here.As always, Microsoft will make much of its new version -- to the point that it's announced that impatient users can download the Creators Update today, a week before the official April 11th roll-out date. But is it as big a deal as Microsoft wants you to believe? Or is it much ado about nothing?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, pl
  
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• Review: Amazon QuickSight covers the BI basics

  05-04-2017 12:00
  
  When I reviewed self-service exploratory business intelligence (BI) products in 2015, I covered the strengths and weaknesses of Tableau 9.0, Qlik Sense 2.0, and Microsoft Power BI. As I pointed out at the time, these three products offer a range of data access, discovery, and visualization capabilities at a range of prices, with Tableau the most capable and expensive, Qlik Sense in the middle, and Power BI the least capable but a very good value.To read this article in full or to leave a comment
  
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• 10 things to worry about when your vendor divests

  05-04-2017 11:56
  
  Potentially difficult timesImage by ThinkstockIn tech, divestitures are a fact of life and solutions are bought and sold all the time. But that doesn’t change the fact that when it happens to a solution that your company uses, it can make things difficult for you. Although your vendor’s divestiture is out of your control, you can at least do your due diligence in limiting any negative impact to your company. With that in mind, ZL Technologies lists 10 things you should worry about if
  
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• The path to IT shared services and standardization

  05-04-2017 11:00
  
  Nearly every CIO I have ever met would like to change the IT conversation from one of cost to one of value.  A lot goes into driving this change, but the first step is getting a handle on what the company is actually spending on IT.When John Kehoe became CIO of $2.6 billion industrial manufacturer Valmont Industries in 2014, he found that people talked about IT costs, but they were only telling part of the story. "When I arrived here, our key leaders and IT staff members would quote the cos
  
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• Facebook appeal over New York search warrants fails

  05-04-2017 09:23
  
  Facebook’s appeal against 381 warrants for information from the accounts of its users was rejected by a New York court on the ground that earlier orders refusing to quash the warrants issued in a criminal proceeding could not be appealed.The decision by the New York State Court of Appeals did not address key issues of whether the broad searches were unconstitutional, and whether internet service providers like Facebook have standing to challenge such warrants on behalf of their users, part
  
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• BrandPost: A prescription for organizations taking on digital transformation

  05-04-2017 05:56
  
   A prescription for organizations taking on digital transformationWe are in the midst of the era of digital disruption. If you’ve scanned the covers of any tech business journals published in the last couple of years, you’ve undoubtedly seen “Digital Transformation” become a recurring theme. As expected, this nebulous term has a hundred different meanings from a hundred different sources, but they all converge on the same uncontroversial trends: Societies worldwide a
  
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• Amazon to refund parents over kids' in-app purchases, says FTC

  05-04-2017 02:07
  
  Parents with children that ran up bills, sometimes huge, through in-app purchases stand to get some or all of that money back. Amazon could have to hand out more than $70 million in refunds to affected consumers, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.On Tuesday, both the FTC and Amazon agreed to end their legal battle over whether the U.S. company unlawfully charged its customer for the purchases.A year ago, a court found that Amazon had.The company's app store can be downloaded to Andr
  
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• Cisco says Arista’s redesign moves not good enough

  05-04-2017 00:33
  
  The legal battle between Cisco and Arista is heating up as the two sides square off again in court this week in a hearing about their technology patent infringement and enforcement case.This hearing is the latest round in an ongoing battle that began in 2014. Most recently,   in January the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency revoked its November 2016 finding that Arista’s redesigned products don’t infringe a key Cisco patent -- as a result Cisco called on Arist
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How a wearable with AI could be your social coach

  05-04-2017 00:08
  
  For those of us who have Asperger’s or who are just really bad at reading social cues and emotions, it can be challenging to engage with others and carry on an interesting conversation. And even if you are not, we have all had those moments when you cannot tell if someone is being sincere or not when he tells some outlandish story or statement.To fix this problem, Mashable reported earlier this year that a pair of MIT researchers have developed a wearable “that could someday act as a
  
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