IT Executive news

• IDG Contributor Network: What makes Samsung Galaxy S8 the best phone you can buy

  26-04-2017 23:49
  
  I pre-ordered the Samsung Galaxy S8 as soon as Samsung started taking orders. The phone arrived last week. For purposes of comparison, I have been using it alongside my iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel XL.This review is based on my own experience and how the phone could help me in my personal and professional life.Beauty lies in the...First things first, the hardware. Samsung Galaxy S8 is powered by MSM 8998 Octa Core 2.35Ghz (Quad Core) + 1.9Ghz (Quad) processor and 4GB of RAM. But beyond that, i
  
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• Ransomware attacks are taking a greater toll on victim's wallets

  26-04-2017 22:58
  
  The hackers spreading ransomware are getting greedier. In 2016, the average ransom demand to free computers hit with the infection rose to US$1,077, up from $294 the year before, according to security firm Symantec.“Attackers clearly think that there’s more to be squeezed from victims,” Symantec said in a Wednesday report.In addition, the security firm has been detecting more ransomware infection attempts. In 2016, the figure jumped by 36 percent from the year prior.  
  
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• How to find out your Uber rating

  26-04-2017 22:09
  
  Uber used to make it difficult to find out your passenger rating. To find out if you were a 5-star rider, you had to ask a driver (and they would usually tell you, but that’s kind of an awkward conversation) or toggle through some menu options to submit a request to Uber.As of this week, finding your rating is simple. Super easy. In fact, you can’t miss it. Uber is putting your stars just beneath your name in the top left of the app.Uber says the change is because riders “forge
  
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• 47% off Cable Organizer Electronics Accessories Travel Bag - Deal Alert

  26-04-2017 22:07
  
  This Universal Electronics Accessories Travel Organizer provides a flexible organization solution for your electronics and computer accessories. It helps make you better organized with all the small items and gadgets.  Made of durable and weather-resistant nylon with well padded semi-flexible covers.  It's compact size of  8.8“ x W 6.1"allows it to easily stored in you laptop bag or backpack.  This travel organizers typical list price of $18.99 has been reduced 47%
  
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• How HP reclaimed the title of world's top PC maker from Lenovo

  26-04-2017 21:39
  
  In late 2015, HP was reborn as a PC maker following a split of its parent organization, Hewlett-Packard. At the time, HP was a lost cause, and its double-digit decline in PC shipments was a main reason for the split.The new HP then set out to reclaim its spot as the world's top PC maker from Lenovo, a title it lost in 2013. It reached the goal in the first quarter of 2017, during which its PC shipments grew by 13.1 percent year over year.A series of cool products and decisions to cut off low-mar
  
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• Companion mobile app exposed Hyundai cars to potential hijacking

  26-04-2017 21:09
  
  The mobile application that accompanies many Hyundai cars exposed sensitive information that could have allowed attackers to remotely locate, unlock, and start vehicles.The vulnerability was patched in the latest version of the mobile app released in March but was publicly disclosed on Tuesday. It is the latest in a string of flaws found over the past few years in the "smart" features added by vehicle manufacturers to their cars.The Hyundai issue was discovered by independent researchers William
  
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• California bill would force utilities to give rebates for energy-storage systems

  26-04-2017 21:09
  
  A bill that recently won state Senate committee approval would make California the first state to require utilities to dole out rebates to customers who install energy storage systems.The Energy Storage Initiative (SB700) was approved last week by the state's Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and is awaiting a full senate vote.The bill, authored by State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat, would require the electric utilities to provide rebates to their customers by Dec. 1, 2018 f
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How to prepare for the next major digital touchpoint, conversational commerce

  26-04-2017 20:55
  
  "Digital" began to truly scale with the web, then expanded even further via apps and social.  Is conversational commerce (CC) the next major touchpoint?  Conversational commerce is defined as interacting with your customer in an automated dialog via voice or text. Based on our experience consulting large brands on the implementation of their digital innovations, and given trends on consumer adoption and technology-readiness, it is fair to say that we are at the dawn of t
  
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• FCC chairman plans to 'reverse the mistake' of net neutrality

  26-04-2017 20:36
  
  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will vote on May 18 to kick off a proceeding to "reverse the mistake" of the agency's 2-year-old net neutrality rules, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said.The rulemaking proceeding would be the first step toward repealing the regulations and reversing the agency's 2015 decision to classify broadband as a regulated, telecom-like service.Pai didn't provide a lot of detail about his proposal during a speech Wednesday, but during the rulemaking, the FCC will seek pu
  
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• After early hype, smartwatches slowly emerge with enterprise uses

  26-04-2017 19:51
  
  A market for enterprise-use smartwatches is slowly emerging, being led by the Apple Watch, according to market research firm IDC."Apple Watch in particular, and to some extent other smartwatches, do have relevance in the enterprise, although to date the usage has been quite low as the market is still nascent," IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani said in an email.The first Apple Watch was released with much fanfare just over two years ago this week -- on April 24, 2015.
  [ See Computerworld’s one-year
  
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• 29% off Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan - Deal Alert

  26-04-2017 19:30
  
  The Hyper 212 EVO now features four Cooler Master patented Continuous Direct Contact (CDC) heat pipes that are tightly packed into a flat array on the CPU Cooler base. This acts as a virtual vapor chamber that dissipates a large amount of heat. The aluminum fin structure has been optimized to provide the perfect performance balance between high and low speed fan operations.  The fan averages 4.4 out of 5 stars from over 7,600 people on Amazon (read reviews here), where its typical list
  
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• Microsoft adds another layer to the Windows 10 patching onion

  26-04-2017 19:28
  
  Microsoft yesterday added another update cycle to Windows 10's monthly patching, saying that the new collection of non-security-only fixes would give corporate customers the "increased flexibility" they had demanded.On Monday, Michael Niehaus, director of Windows 10 product marketing, announced the new monthly update, saying that the company would initially issue it only to customers running 1703, the upgrade also known as Creators Update, which launched earlier this month."We will routinely off
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: What IT pros need to know about interfacing with other carbon-based life forms

  26-04-2017 19:21
  
  There’s a whole world of people out there, and techies need to be able to work with them. With all due respect, technical and nontechnical people sometimes seem like different life forms, and neither group seems to understand the other.Technical people have designed the world in which we all live. Information workers are fast becoming the largest workforce segment. Without them, banking, communications, utilities, manufacturing, education, retail and security would all come to a standstill
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: MacBook Pro: Is the Touch Bar a gimmick?

  26-04-2017 18:12
  
  When Apple released its last round of MacBook Pros, the standout feature was the Touch Bar. Apple removed the function keys and replaced them with its own dynamic controls that change based on the software being used.Unfortunately for Apple, not everybody liked this change. The Touch Bar has gotten its share of…er…passionate commentary by MacBook Pro users. A recent thread on the Apple subreddit stands as a good example of the feelings generated by the Touch Bar.Samtheboo started t
  
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• Google becomes first foreign internet company to launch service in Cuba

  26-04-2017 18:07
  
  Google servers inside Cuba are now live on the internet, marking a major milestone in the country's communications evolution and promising faster access to Google's services for Cuban users.The computers are part of Google's global network of caching servers, which store frequently requested content locally so it doesn't have to be accessed over long distances.That speeds up access in any country but is particularly important in a nation like Cuba, which has relatively low connectivity to the re
  
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• Cyber infrastructure: Too big to fail, and failing

  26-04-2017 18:04
  
  Even the good news is bad news.While Joshua Corman didn’t use that exact line in his opening keynote at SOURCE Boston this week, that was a pervasive, and sobering, theme.Corman, a founder of I am The Cavalry and director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative for the Atlantic Council, said he was there to tell some “uncomfortable truths” about the state of cybersecurity – among them that, “the critical infrastructure of our space is too big to fail, and it’s fail
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Why containers should make you stop and think

  26-04-2017 17:56
  
  There’s no doubt about it, containers are hot - and for good reason too.  Their ability to speed development and deployment is making them a popular choice among DevOps teams the world over.  Without wading into the container vs. VM debate (answer: they both have their uses), perhaps the most important thing about containers is that they make architecture “snackable.” Because containers share the operating system kernel in which they run, container-based architectures
  
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• Does the world need a Windows smartwatch?

  26-04-2017 17:42
  
  On Monday, Microsoft announced that a Windows-based smartwatch is on the horizon.My initial reaction was: Seriously?After all, efforts to squeeze Windows into a small device in the past have failed. True, some products, such as Nokia smartphones based on the Windows Mobile OS, have received good reviews. But no one bought them. Windows Phones had a 0.3 percent market share in Q4 2016, according to Gartner.Microsoft even made a smartwatch more than a decade ago. In 2004, MSN Watch, which enabled
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Online courses become effective for building technical skills, earning certifications

  26-04-2017 17:37
  
  For picking up a quick Excel tip or even a primer on programming, a quick YouTube search may provide the self-starter a push in the right direction. Moving up the sophistication ladder, through, a range of on-demand online programs provide a means for IT professionals to gain new skills or certifications. However, they come with a wide mix of tradeoffs.Online providers of technical education courses include Udemy, a marketplace in which virtually anyone can offer instruction, and sites such as&n
  
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• Google cooks up a tasty update to Home with step-by-step recipe instructions

  26-04-2017 17:00
  
  Google Assistant is already a great help in the kitchen when we need to convert something from pints to cups or remember to buy eggs on our next shopping trip. But with a new update to Google Home, it’s graduating to full-on sous chef.In a feature rolling out to users just in time for Mother’s Day, Google Home will now provide step-by-step instructions to more than 5 million recipes from Bon Appétit, the New York Times, Food Network, and more. And you can even listen to music
  
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• German court upholds WhatsApp-Facebook data transfer ban

  26-04-2017 16:37
  
  Facebook must obtain the permission of German users of WhatsApp before processing their personal data, a German court confirmed on Tuesday.Last August, Facebook subsidiary WhatsApp changed its privacy policy to allow the transfer of its users' personal information to Facebook for processing. That angered the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, which in September ordered the companies to stop the transfer until they had obtained users' consent, and to delete any d
  
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• How storytelling ignites IT innovation at Lowe’s

  26-04-2017 16:26
  
  HALF MOON BAY, Calif. -- Technology leaders are building innovation labs, digital accelerators and incubators to inject digital changes across their organizations. Home improvement retailer Lowe's may have stumbled upon innovation gold by implementing an ancient method: storytelling. When Lowe's wants to try new things it pays science fiction writers to craft narratives chronicling the future of home improvement."The only real way that we ingest new information in a meaningful, long-term way and
  
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• Save $51 on Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch Right Now - Deal Alert

  26-04-2017 16:18
  
  Gear S3 frontier in dark gray is a timeless smartwatch, combining style with the latest innovation in digital technology. It features an always-on 1.3” super AMOLED full color display, and a distinctive steel bezel that you rotate to access apps or text, call and other notifications. Make payments via Samsung Pay. Keep track of your activity or share your location with its built-in GPS. And much more. With military-grade performance, the Gear S3 resists water, dust, extreme temperatur
  
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• Security-as-a-service model gains traction

  26-04-2017 16:17
  
  With mid-market companies feeling an increasing need to devote time and resources to network security, the security-as-a-service model is gaining traction, according to new research released yesterday by 451 Research."The security challenge for mid-tier businesses is multi-dimensional," Daniel Cummins, analyst at 451 Research, said in a statement. "For these businesses, everything seems to be increasing — attack frequency, compliance requirements, complexity, costs and the number of securi
  
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• Report: Top 25 IT security products

  26-04-2017 16:15
  
  Nothing beats hearing from your peers about which IT security products have been successful in the enterprise. IT Central Station, which collects reviews from verified enterprise IT product users, has compiled a report that identifies 25 top-rated products in security categories such as cloud security, firewalls, security information and event management (SIEM), application security and internet of things (IoT) security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Inside
  
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• Don't install the Windows 10 Creators Update on your own, Microsoft advises

  26-04-2017 16:03
  
  Microsoft would prefer it if you didn't try to install the Windows 10 Creators Update yourself. Instead, the company is encouraging everyone but advanced users to wait for the Creators Update to become available via Windows Update. That means workarounds for excited users, like the Media Creation Tool or the Windows Update Assistant, are discouraged.The reason for all this hesitation, according to Microsoft, is that the company wants to iron out any issues for specific hardware configurations be
  
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• Just $59 for Roku 4 Streaming Media Player 4K UHD If You Buy Refurbished - Deal Alert

  26-04-2017 16:02
  
  You can pick up the Roku 4 4K UHD player for far below list price, if you're comfortable buying refurbushed. Which you can be -- certified refurbished products are tested and certified to look and work like new, and come with 90-day warranties. Roku provides access to 3,500+ channels on demand, offering 350,000+ movies and TV episodes, and the ability to search across the top streaming channels. Follow movies, TV shows, actors, and directors and get automatic updates when new content is ready to
  
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• How to save your parking spot in Google Maps

  26-04-2017 15:51
  
  Update, 4/26/17: The article has been updated with additional information now that the parking feature is out of beta testing.Google Maps is finally starting to understand the headache that is parking. Earlier this year it added a parking availability feature that let you know how hard it would be to find a spot at your destination, but the latest addition to Maps is one we’ve been waiting years to get.Google has long offered a parking reminder card in Google Now, but it’s always bee
  
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• McAfee: Wave of Shamoon cyberattacks being coordinated by a single group

  26-04-2017 15:19
  
  The waves of cyberattacks that have rocked Saudi Arabia over the past few months are linked to the earlier Shamoon attacks. However, the initial 2012 attack was the work of a single group, whereas the latest attacks have been carried out by different groups of varying skills and expertise, all following instructions provided by one malicious actor, McAfee researchers have found.Researchers at McAfee Strategic Intelligence believe the 2012 Shamoon attacks against Saudi Arabia’s state-r
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: How can machine learning create features in human-understandable ways?

  26-04-2017 15:00
  
  Without loads of data, we have problems that not even the most intelligent machine learning systems can solve. Simple directions become extremely difficult without a destination. Navigating and processing a healthcare claim is impossible without a payer identified. Finding the best vet for a pet is difficult without knowing the species.Machine learning is about intelligence, but that intelligence requires data. Drug design, ad placement and web searches all can dramatically improve with mac
  
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• LinkedIn passes the 500 million registered user mark

  26-04-2017 14:59
  
  Linked hasn’t slowed its momentum under the ownership of Microsoft. The professional social network surpassed 500 million registered users this week, up from 467 million members as of October 2016.The company’s growth rate has remained steady during the past year, including a quiet period after Microsoft announced plans to acquire the business last June. The $26.2 billion deal closed in late December.LinkedIn hit the 500 million mark during a remarkably busy stretch of updates includ
  
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• Universiteit en verzekeraar samen in big data en innovatie

  26-04-2017 14:51
  Verzekeraar VIVAT en de Rotterdam School of Management (RSM, behorend tot de Erasmus Universiteit) hebben een overeenkomst gesloten voor gezamenlijk onderzoek, onderwijs en werving op het gebied van ‘digital business’.Onder de overeenkomst valt creatie van een promotieplaats, terwijl VIVAT getalenteerde... lees meer
  
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• Why CarMax’s “shock the system” digital strategy is working

  26-04-2017 14:00
  
  Shamim Mohammad and I met many years ago, and knowing his ability to innovate, I was very happy to catch up with him well into his tenure at CarMax. In this Q&A, Mohammad offers a view into what digital transformation means for the $15 billion automotive retailer. Martha Heller: What does digital transformation mean at CarMax?Shamim Mohammad: CarMax is the nation’s largest retailer of used cars, and we have always gained market share by providing a great customer experience. We we
  
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• Why you need a systems reliability engineer

  26-04-2017 13:45
  
  How can you ensure that the software and services you build today can deliver what your customers and consumers need in the future? If this is a question you think your organization should be asking, then you might need a systems reliability engineer (SRE). SREs are software engineers who focus on the reliability and uptime of applications and services not just in the short-term, but with a focus on scalability and long-term use.Sometimes referred to as "site reliability engineer," or "services
  
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• How to stop websites from asking for your location in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari

  26-04-2017 13:36
  
  We've already looked at how to turn off location services in the Windows 10 Creators Update. But the operating system isn't the only way your location gets used. Your browser can also serve up your location, though by default most browsers ask your permission before doing so.If you don't wish to get those requests, here's how to turn off location requests in the major browsers on Windows.Microsoft EdgeIan Paul/IDGLet's start with the easy one. Because Edge is built on the Windows Store plat
  
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• Top IT hiring trends for recent grads

  26-04-2017 13:34
  
  TEKsystems, a provider of IT staffing services, released the results of a survey highlighting the best IT jobs and key hiring trends for recent graduates. The survey asked more than 250 IT hiring managers across the U.S. what they're looking for in entry-level IT candidates and what the best opportunities are for graduates."The industry is still a seller's market and provides a target-rich environment for recent graduates entering the landscape. However, new graduates should still expect to be o
  
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• Open source security risks persist in commercial software [Infographic]

  26-04-2017 13:00
  
  Whatever commercial software your company uses, it probably contains open source code. Black Duck Software recently completed its second Open Source Security and Risk Analysis (OSSRA) report based on security audits of anonymized data from more than 1,000 applications in 2016 and found that 96 percent used open source code. The analysis was done by Black Duck’s Center for Open Source Research and Innovation (COSRI).The use of open source occurs in all industries by organizations of all siz
  
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• FCC gives a gift to phone companies, but you’ll foot the bill

  26-04-2017 13:00
  
  Even if you don’t  own a small business or run a giant bank, your wallet -- the real one, not the virtual kind -- will likely take a hit, courtesy of the FCC.Last Thursday, the commission voted to lift the price caps on business data services, or BDS, used by millions of businesses large and small to move data. Buy something at your local hardware store and pay with a credit card, the transaction is likely verified and recorded over a BDS line. The ATM you use connects to your bank&rs
  
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• 9 tips to turn your data center green

  26-04-2017 12:44
  
  Going greenImage by ThinkstockData center providers know all too well that it’s not easy being green. According to a 2016 report by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), data centers are responsible for close to 2 percent of U.S. energy consumption. Ensuring the integrity of these systems is a major challenge for data centers looking to create sustainable operations for their facilities and the companies who rely on them, but some simple ste
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: EdgeX brings open source interoperability to IoT

  26-04-2017 12:30
  
  In a ground-breaking development, the Linus Foundation and 50 other companies announced the launch of an open-source Internet of Things (IoT) interoperability framework to standardise and simplify edge computing through the new open-source consortium EdgeX Foundry. IoT hasn’t enjoyed the predicted positive market growth due to lack of conformity and fragmented edge computing development resulting in non-compatibilities of applications and security reservations. Adapting IoT technology to b
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Cloudera’s IPO is overshadowed by a rival it won’t mention

  26-04-2017 12:30
  
  One of the original poster children of the big data software craze, Cloudera, is due for its long-awaited IPO this week. Sometime Thursday afternoon, its shares will price somewhere between $12 and $14 and will open for trading on the New York Stock Exchange the following morning, raising about $200 million in the process.Make no mistake, this IPO qualifies as what’s known in venture capital circles as a down round. Essentially the new investors are buying shares in a company that is worth
  
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• Five ways the U.S. is educating cybersecurity talent – and what’s still missing

  26-04-2017 12:12
  
  It’s no secret that the world is facing a shortage of cybersecurity talent. The (ISC)² Center for Cyber Safety and Education’s 2017 Global Information Security Workforce study projects a deficit of over 1.8 million qualified cybersecurity professionals between now and 2022.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• Microsoft .Net Core: Finally ready for prime time

  26-04-2017 12:00
  
  It’s risky and often foolish to rush into a new software development framework, programming language, or technology platform too early in its lifecycle. Beyond the usual issues of too much hype and too little stability, new tech tends to lack staying power. You might end up investing precious time and effort into learning the ways of a tool that becomes abandoned or, worse, eliminated. It happens more often than you might think.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please cli
  
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• Linkerd 1.0 helps cloud services communicate

  26-04-2017 12:00
  
  Linkerd, providing an enterprise-level open source service mesh for cloud-native applications, has moved to a 1.0 release.Offered by cloud software provider Buoyant, the mesh adds service discovery, load balancing, failure handling, instrumentation, and routing to all interservice communication.[ InfoWorld's quick guide: Digital Transformation and the Agile Enterprise. | Download InfoWorld’s essential guide to microservices and learn how to create modern web and mobile applications that sc
  
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• How design thinking can transform IT outsourcing

  26-04-2017 12:00
  
  As the drivers for outsourcing IT services have shifted from the simple tactical requirements to do something faster, cheaper or more efficiently to the need to achieve more strategic business outcomes, both outsourcing customers and providers have begun exploring new ways to design and deliver IT services.One method that’s getting increased attention is the design thinking approach. The user-centric tactic for product design, which marries customer input with new technology development, c
  
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• FAQ: The real impact of Trump’s H-1B executive order

  26-04-2017 12:00
  
  President Donald Trump is calling for "a long-overdue reform of H-1B visas." But what changes does he want, and can he get Congress to agree?Here's a look at some some of the key questions around Trump's visa reform effort and his "Hire American, Buy American" executive order.What's the most important thing that Trump wants to accomplish?In issuing his executive order, Trump called the "totally random" H-1B lottery "wrong." He wants the visas distributed to "the most-skilled and highest-paid" ap
  
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• Tencent adding five data centers to target cloud users outside China

  26-04-2017 08:10
  
  Tencent Holdings has opened a data center in Silicon Valley on Tuesday, with four more planned outside China as part of its bid to grow its cloud business outside the country.The proposed data centers in Frankfurt, Mumbai, Seoul and Moscow are targeted at Chinese companies looking to expand overseas and international companies expanding their businesses in China or other parts of the world, the Chinese internet giant said Tuesday. The centers are expected to go into operation this year.Rival Ali
  
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• BrandPost: Distributed analytics meets distributed data

  26-04-2017 05:42
  
  Distributed analytics meets distributed data
  By Patricia Florissi, Ph.D.To illustrate the power of the concept of distributed, yet collaborative, analytics in-place at worldwide scale, it sometimes helps to begin with an example. In this case, I will start with an example from the healthcare industry, and then dive down into discussion of the World Wide Herd (WWH), a global virtual computing cluster.Hospitals around the world are moving to value-based healthcare and achieving dramatic reductions
  
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• Russian hackers use OAuth, fake Google apps to phish users

  26-04-2017 02:54
  
  The Russian hacking group blamed for targeting U.S. and European elections has been breaking into email accounts, not only by tricking victims into giving up passwords, but by stealing access tokens too. It's sneaky hack that's particularly worrisome, because it can circumvent Google's 2-step verification, according to security firm Trend Micro. The group, known as Fancy Bear or Pawn Storm, has been carrying out the attack with its favored tactic of sending out phishing emails, Tr
  
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• Palantir to pay $1.7 million to settle racial hiring bias claim

  26-04-2017 01:30
  
  Data analytics company Palantir will pay US$1.7 million in back pay and stock options to settle charges that it routinely discriminated against Asian job applicants. In addition, it must also hire eight people from among those it allegedly discriminated against.The charges go back to September last year, when the Department of Labor accused Palantir of rejecting Asian software engineers for jobs even though they were as qualified as white applicants. Palantir also maintained a dis
  
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