Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » janvier 19, 2016

BetaNews.Com (15 non lus)

Your appliances and devices can now spend your money, as Amazon expands Dash Replenishment

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 8:52pm CET par Alan Buckingham

The Internet of Things is all around us, and expanding daily. Our devices and appliances are increasingly connected, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Want to turn on the lights before you get home? You can do that. Forget to lock the door when you left? Do it from the store.

That all sounds great, and truthfully it is. However, there are problems, mostly surrounding security concerns that have plagued some products.

Another possible issue could be your device purchasing items for you. Amazon is announcing the expansion of its Dash Replenishment program, adding new products that can be set to renew whenever needed. An example Amazon gives is "a Brother printer that will order toner or ink when it’s needed".

New products added now include the Whirlpool smart dishwasher. It will automatically order replacement soap whenever it's needed.

"With Amazon Dash Replenishment, we want to make customers’ lives even easier so they won’t run out of items like laundry detergent, pet food or printer ink again -- customers simply activate Dash Replenishment when they are setting up their connected device and then rely on Amazon to automatically deliver those everyday essentials", says Daniel Rausch, Director, Amazon Devices. "It's exciting to make Dash Replenishment a reality -- customers can start taking advantage of the service today and we will continue to launch and add new devices to the program this year".

The good news in all of that is it's up to the user to set things up, so this isn't automatic. If you don't mind your devices spending your money for you then it's fine, but as my colleague Wayne Williams pointed out, he can eek out a printer cartridge way past when the printer thinks it needs a new one.

Image Credit: Black Jack / Shutterstock
Qualcomm will manufacture server chips in China

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 8:42pm CET par Alasdair Gilchrist

Qualcomm has entered an agreement with the Chinese province of Guizhou to enter into a joint venture to develop chips for server systems.

This is the latest bold step by Qualcomm, which is keen to expand from relying on manufacturing chips for the smartphone and communications market. Though this could be seen as a risky strategy as Intel dominates the server chip domain with over 90 percent of the market, and with addition worries regarding both the Chinese economy and the global drop in technology demand, Qualcomm is pressing ahead with a $280 million dollar commitment for a 45 percent stake.

For China, the joint venture (55 percent) is in line with recent government policy to try and turn the province of Guizhou (with its 35 million residents) into a technology and cloud hub. The country's policy to strive to become less reliant on US technology, both in server semiconductors and also back-office systems has seen China launch several antitrust investigations against both Qualcomm and Microsoft in recent months.

Qualcomm agreed both during and after the investigation to commit $150 million to Chinese startups and also announced a further collaboration with a Chinese semiconductor company to make Qualcomm semiconductors. However, Qualcomm’s move into the server chip market is risky as it is licensing ARM Holdings technology despite failing to ship a product since first announcing its intention to enter the market in 2014. However, there is little doubt that there is an appetite for more competition in the server chip marketplace.

"Data center customers would prefer more than one participant in the supply chain", said Anand Chandrasekher, a Qualcomm senior vice president, in reference to Intel. "Having multiple players will speed up innovation".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

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Microsoft to recall millions of Surface Pro power cords over potential fire risk

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 7:40pm CET par Wayne Williams

Despite getting off to a very shaky start, Microsoft’s Surface Pro is now a firmly established product that can genuinely replace not only your iPad, but your laptop too. However, there’s potentially bad news for anyone who purchased one of the company’s slates before 15 July 2015.

Microsoft has discovered that in certain situations the Surface Pro’s power cable could overheat, making it a potential fire hazard.

A Microsoft spokesman told us:

As a result of damage caused by AC power cords being wound too tightly, twisted or pinched over an extended period of time, a very small proportion of Surface Pro customers have reported issues with their AC power cord. We will be releasing details of how customers can obtain a free replacement cable shortly.

The problem relates to AC power supplies for the Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3. The Surface Pro 4, which launched last November, is reportedly not affected.

This is a worldwide voluntary recall, and owners will be able to get a free replacement by following the instructions which we will add below once Microsoft makes them public.
Birst expands its networked BI platform

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 6:52pm CET par Ian Barker

Cloud analytics specialist Birst is releasing new capabilities for its Networked BI Platform aimed at empowering end users in the enterprise to work with data effectively.

New features include Birst Mobile for Android, Collaboration, and End-User Data Preparation. The networked BI Platform is aimed at creating a network of interwoven BI instances that share a common analytical fabric, eliminating data silos to ensure collaboration and accelerate the delivery of BI across the enterprise.

End-User Data Preparation gives users the ability to rapidly refine their own data, analyze it by itself, or blend it with data from other people in the BI network. Individuals can glean insights on their own while also staying networked and connected to other users. This eliminates the silos that emerge from analyzing data on a desktop and ensures one seamless connection.

Birst's Collaboration capability enables any user in the network to collaborate through in-context discussion threads that mimic their daily social media interactions. User posts, within Birst, capture the data in context, ensuring that users can see the data as it was when the original posts were created.

Additionally, Birst Mobile for Android enables users anywhere to access the same data whether on a desktop, laptop or mobile. Offline capabilities automatically sync data and content so business users are able to view mobile analytics even when not connected.

"Birst's revolutionary approach to BI allows for agility, so business users can operate in their own personal BI sandbox while staying connected across the entire enterprise," says Brad Peters, Chief Product Officer, Birst. "Unlike traditional approaches, Birst’s Networked BI Platform helps business leaders empower users to work freely with data, while delivering trust, governance and agility at scale".

More information about the latest platform can be found on the Birst website.

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Microsoft announces Minecraft: Education Edition

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 6:50pm CET par Brian Fagioli

Going to school for many students is a total drag. In some schools, technology lags behind the "real world". Heck, I'm not an old guy, yet I had to learn the 100-year old Dewey Decimal System in elementary school -- something totally worthless nowadays. In other words, my interest in learning was negatively impacted by a lack of excitement and a failure to focus on the future. We kids knew the things we were being taught were dated.

Luckily, children have it much better these days. Between iPads, Chromebooks, and smartphones, everything is at their fingertips. Today, however, Microsoft-owned company, Mojang, announces that it is making education much more exciting with Minecraft: Education Edition. Yes, the wildly popular block-based game is being adapted for learning thanks to the purchase of third-party MinecraftEdu.

"News from a slightly different, arguably smarter, place today. Were announcing Minecraft: Education Edition. Of course, every Minecraft player learns essential life-skills like tree-punching and good Creeper-defence but, when used in the right way, Minecraft can help people around the world to learn lots more", says Owen Hill, Director of Creative Communications, Mojang.

Hill further explains, "it's going to be a collaborative thing. Development of Minecraft: Education Edition will be shaped by a community of educators thanks to education.minecraft.net. The site will host lesson plans and give Minecraft: Education Edition users somewhere to discuss ideas and provide feedback. We know teachers can be a rowdy bunch, so we’re looking into the best ways to moderate the forums as I type. Wish us luck".

Sometimes buying a solution is smarter than building one from scratch. By purchasing MinecraftEdu, Microsoft gets a running start on implementing Minecraft in schools. While it remains to be seen if it will be popular with educators and school executives, it will no doubt be extremely popular with students. If this can get young students more interested in education, more power to it, right?

Well, I can see detractors of this solution saying Minecraft: Education Edition is merely a new way to coddle students. In other words, it could be yet another contributor to lower attention spans. There might be some truth to this, as children need to learn that life isn't always fun.

These students could be in for a rude awakening when they get their first jobs and find there is no Minecraft environment for crunching numbers or analyzing data. Seriously kids, sometimes you must stare at boring screens, such as ugly SharePoint sites and gray Excel sheets.

This will not be a free offering to school districts. With that said, Microsoft will release a free-trial later this year, so educators can try before they buy. Schools that embraced MinecraftEdu prior to the Microsoft purchase will get the first year totally free. Believe it or not, there are schools in 40 countries using the solution.

Is Minecraft: Education Edition a smart tool for students, or merely a new way to coddle them? Tell me in the comments.
Internet of Things' rising popularity will increase security risks, business costs

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 4:41pm CET par Sead Fadilpašić

We all know that the Internet of Things is growing, and more and more firms are using the new technology to take their businesses to the next level, but just how big is IoT now, and how much will it grow?

Gartner has given a few interesting predictions, including one which says that more than half of all new business processes and systems will use some form of IoT by 2020.

As the production price of IoT continues to drop, so will its adoption grow.

"Uses of the IoT that were previously impractical will increasingly become practical", said W. Roy Schulte, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "The IoT is relevant in virtually every industry, although not in every application. There will be no purely IoT applications. Rather, there will be many applications that leverage the IoT in some small or large aspect of their work. As a result, business analysts and developers of information-centric processes need to have the expertise and the tools to implement IoT aspects that play a role in their systems".

But it’s not all butterflies and rainbows for businesses implementing IoT -- Gartner predicts 75 percent of all IoT projects will face schedule extensions of up to 100 percent, and firms will have to pay the price.

Hackers will also get in on the action, with a predicted black market for IoT devices selling fake sensors allowing data theft. The black market is expected to be worth $5 billion. Keeping your IoT devices safe means bigger spending for businesses, too. Annual security budgets will have to be increased at least 20 percent because of new IoT elements.

"Major cybersecurity vendors and service providers are already delivering roadmaps and architecture of IoT security, in anticipation of market opportunity", said Earl Perkins, research vice president at Gartner. "Small startups delivering niche IoT security in areas such as network segmentation, device-to-device authentication and simple data encryption are offering first-generation products and services, including cloud-based solutions where applicable. Large security vendors have already begun acquiring some of these IoT startups to support their early roadmaps and fill niches in their portfolios".

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

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Enterprises keen to adopt Windows 10

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 3:17pm CET par Ian Barker

A new survey of IT professionals from large organizations reveals higher than anticipated momentum for the adoption of Windows 10, with 63 percent of respondents expecting to run Windows 10 on a significant number of systems this year. The study from systems management specialist Adaptiva shows that of those IT departments that piloted Windows 10, nearly half (40 percent) have now deployed it on 50 percent or more of their systems, indicating strong confidence levels and unprecedented adoption of the new operating system.

The large scale movement to Windows 10 is fueling high demand for the new version of Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr), software used to distribute and update operating systems and other software. Roughly two-thirds (65 percent) of those moving to the new ConfigMgr released in December cited deployment, updating, and management of Windows 10 as their biggest motivators for upgrading. The announcement earlier this month that Windows 8 will no longer receive security patches is also thought to be accelerating the drive to Windows 10.

"The survey results underscore the surge in Windows 10 interest we are seeing from enterprises as well as the concerns they have about keeping pace with the frequent updates," says Jim Souders, chief operating officer at Adaptiva. "The new Microsoft ConfigMgr and Windows 10 releases are ushering in a need for a more automated, intelligent approach to systems management that reduces the time and complexity necessary to keep software and systems secure and up to date".

Photo credit: XiXinXing / Shutterstock
Samsung: Inserting the S Pen backwards will not break new Galaxy Note 5 units

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 3:09pm CET par Mihaita Bamburic

As you may already know, Galaxy Note 5 has launched with a rather serious flaw: if the S Pen is inserted backwards it will get stuck and break the device's stylus detection mechanism, which, in turn, will render some of its software functionality useless. Samsung has responded quickly, advising users to "follow the instructions". As logical and simple as that may sound, it may be hard for some users to heed the advice, especially if they are, as my colleague Mark Wilson put it, "a little tired, drunk, young, or stupid".

In the meantime, Samsung has developed a new mechanism that will no longer create these kind of issues when users attempt to insert the S Pen the wrong way. And it is included in new Galaxy Note 5 units, according to the company.

"Samsung can confirm that the Note 5 internal S Pen mechanism has been changed to avoid the issue caused by inserting the S Pen incorrectly", says Samsung. "As always, we recommend following proper instructions for storing the S Pen".

For the obvious reasons, Samsung has not said how prospective buyers can tell whether a Galaxy Note 5 unit has the newer mechanism inside, or whether users can send their smartphone in to have the older mechanism replaced. This would lead to users refusing to purchase units which have that flaw, or returning them, which causes financial problems for Samsung and its partners.

I have to commend Samsung for working on a fix, but I cannot help but wonder whether it should also fix broken Galaxy Note 5 units for free. Yes, users should have read the instructions, but, realistically speaking, these kind of consequences are not obvious to everyone. Users expect a company such as Samsung to have properly tested the device before the launch and charging a lot of money for it.
61 percent of new organizations are born in the cloud

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 3:02pm CET par Ian Barker

The cloud is changing the way businesses and IT teams operate and a new survey from industry specialist BetterCloud reveals the extent of the shift.

Based on a survey of 1,500 IT professionals it shows that of organizations started in the last two years 61 percent have begun their operations in the cloud. In addition 59 percent of IT professionals say the cloud has changed the structure and responsibilities of their team in the past year.

Smaller businesses with less than 1,000 employees are heading the dash skywards, with 51 percent reporting that they expect to have all of their systems in the cloud by 2020. This compares to 32 percent of mid-market businesses and only 21 percent of enterprises.

The report also shows up some interesting facts on the path companies have taken to the cloud. Before moving to Google Apps 49 percent of customers came from Exchange, 35 percent had no previous platform, seven percent came from Lotus Notes, five percent from Office 365 and four percent from Novell Groupwise.

Comparing this to Office 365, 70 percent of current customers came from Exchange, 13 percent came from Google Apps, eight percent had no previous platform, six percent came from Lotus Notes and three percent came from Novell Groupwise.

It can take up to a year to choose and move to a cloud system and there are some surprising factors in adoption rates, including the age range of employees. Companies with an average employee population aged between 18 and 20 had on average three cloud apps in 2015 and are expected to have five by 2017. Those with more experienced employees in the 35 -- 44 age range however had six cloud apps in 2015 but are expected to have 15 by 2017.

You can find much more information in the full 2016 State of Cloud IT report on the BetterCloud blog.

Image Credit: ND Johnston/Shutterstock
What you should consider before adopting Facebook at Work

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 2:37pm CET par Marian Bloodworth
The news that Facebook at Work is due to be rolled out in the first part of this year will be welcomed by many businesses, especially those keen to see more effective use of technology in the workplace and to see greater employee engagement through increased levels of connectivity. For employees used to managing their personal lives via social media and technology, the arrival may seem long overdue.

The work place version of Facebook will replicate many of the features of the well-known social version, giving employees and co-workers a range of ways in which to communicate, collaborate and interact. The increasing globalization of business and reliance on remote and flexible ways of working mean that keeping employees meaningfully connected is critical to driving business success. As an added side benefit, the introduction of more effective communication methods often leads to a reduction in the use of internal email systems. This in turn can help businesses manage IT capacity and reduce the need for employees to monitor unnecessary email traffic.

As with any workplace communication system, there are however a number of legal risks which employers implementing the function should take into account. In addition to existing email, phone and instant messaging systems, Facebook at Work will provide employees with another forum to express personal views and discuss potentially sensitive and confidential business issues.

What Are the Main Points to Consider?

Employers will want to ensure that the system is used for business-appropriate purposes only and should bear in mind the importance of the following:
- The need to protect confidential data and information -- Recent high profile hacking incidents involving customer data are a timely reminder that customer and company confidential information needs to be properly safeguarded. In addition, the FCA has recently published a report reminding financial services businesses to do more internally to protect the flow of confidential and inside information. The advice applies equally well to other business sectors.
- Transmitting data safely and securely, particularly where businesses operate globally -- The recent Schrems case on data protection and Safe Harbor principles has highlighted the need to ensure that data is properly protected, particularly when being sent outside the EU.
- Avoiding discrimination and inappropriate or defamatory comments -- A number of tribunal cases have highlighted the risks for employers where employees use social media to make inappropriate comments regarding the workplace. Such comments can pose a real risk for employers’ reputations, not least given the reach and speed of social media. Communications on Facebook at Work could all be disclosable in response to a data subject access request or in any tribunal or court litigation and so should be approached with as much care as any other written communication.
Maximizing the Benefits and Minimizing the Legal Risks

There are therefore a number of steps that employers should take to ensure that the benefits of using such a system are not eclipsed by the potential for legal risk:
- Be clear on the circumstances in which Facebook at Work should be used, and the business benefits of doing so. The message needs to be consistent across the business so that employees are not confused or left in doubt. Provide training on how to use the system effectively.
- Have guidelines on the topics that can be discussed. This may include for example limiting or prohibiting discussion of confidential customer information or company confidential information such as financial results and future projections, trade secrets and strategic plans.
- Consider appropriate safeguards where current business projects are discussed in detail. Project names or code words could be used to avoid referring to individual names or customers.
- Identify appropriate membership of the various groups and chatrooms and ensure that appropriate checks are in place so that only those who need to be involved have permission to join.
- Consider the data protection issues where data is being transmitted on a global basis and how these can be mitigated.
- Remind employees of the need to ensure that posts and conversations are not discriminatory, offensive or defamatory. Employees should also be told not to exclude team members from groups inappropriately since this could amount to workplace bullying.
- Update diversity and disciplinary guidelines and policies accordingly to ensure that employees are aware of the consequences of inappropriate use of the system.
- Ensure that HR, compliance and risk functions, particularly in large organizations are aware of the challenges that the new system could present and that sufficient resources are in place to monitor effective and lawful use of the system.
The inexorable rise of technology at work and the obvious advantages it presents mean that we can expect to see systems such as Facebook at Work becoming an integral part of the workplace toolkit going forward. Those businesses that can harness the benefits of such systems whilst avoiding the potential risks should see their efforts rewarded.

Marian Bloodworth, employment partner at tech law firm, Kemp Little

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
3 Screen Recorder extensions for Chrome

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 2:11pm CET par Mike Williams

From tutorials to troubleshooting, game walkthroughs, presentations or just sharing desktop activity, everyone can use a screen recorder occasionally.

This used to mean tracking down and installing some low-level native application, but there are now some surprisingly capable Chrome extensions which just might do everything you need.

Screencastify is the most popular option around, thanks to a strong feature set with a lot of functionality that you won’t find elsewhere.

It’s able to record your webcam, desktop or specific Chrome tabs, and excellent audio support means you can capture microphone, tab or system audio.

Recordings may be saved locally, to Google Drive, or shared on YouTube.

Configurability is another plus, with customizable keyboard shortcuts to start, stop, pause and resume recording (much better than messing around with the mouse if you’re capturing video).

There are two big catches with the free Lite version -- a chunky watermark and maximum 10 minute recording time -- but upgrading to the 20 Euro commercial product removes those, and adds extras like trimming, cropping and other basic video editing tools.

MediaCore Capture is an entirely free screen recorder with no watermarks, and no irritating "maximum recording time" restrictions.

It can also capture application windows, as well as browser tabs, the desktop or your webcam.

A simple manager displays your recordings, allows rename or delete operations, and downloads files locally on demand.

There’s no editing, no direct upload from the extension (although you can download the file and upload it yourself), and crucially no audio support beyond your microphone.

But if you can live with that, performance was good for us, and it’s all very simple and straightforward to use.

TechSmith’s Snagit has been around on the desktop for years, so it’s no surprise that the Chrome version has some unusual features.

Screenshot support allows capturing of images as well as windows, and you’re able to annotate these with arrows, rectangles, ellipses or text captions.

The finished movie may be shared from Google Drive, uploaded directly to YouTube, or downloaded as an animated GIF (if it’s less than 20 seconds).

Once again audio support is limited to recording your microphone only. But there are no watermarks or limits on the length of the video, Snagit performed well for us -- and the four-star Chrome Store rating suggests it’s working for others, too.
Twitter suffers global outages

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 1:06pm CET par Mark Wilson

For many people around the globe, Twitter was inaccessible today. The site suffered problems that affected its web and mobile faces, and it didn’t take long for the #twitterdown hashtag to start trending.

The problem was confirmed -- somehow -- on Twitter by the Twitter Support account, and the developer API status page showed that there were issues with no fewer than four APIs. On Monday, Twitter suffered a brief outage, but Tuesday's was rather longer.

Monday's issue lasted just ten minutes and was resolved without explanation, but today's problem is rather more long-lived. The infamous fail whale made an appearance as APIs suffered what has been described as "performance issues" leading to "service disruption". Both the Twitter Status page and the Twitter Support account displayed the same message:

Some users are currently experiencing problems accessing Twitter. We are aware of the issue and are working towards a resolution.

— Twitter Support (@Support) January 19, 2016

While Twitter seems to be back to normal for users in some parts of the world, the problems are ongoing in others. The cause of the outage is not yet known.

Photo credit: 360b / Shutterstock
AMD says SYSmark benchmarks are Intel-biased and don't reflect real-world usage

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 11:51am CET par Mark Wilson

Chip maker AMD has complained that the popular benchmarking tool SYSmark is biased toward rival Intel. The company says that the software focuses far too much on CPU activity and that this is not reflective of real-world computer use.

In a stern video, John Hampton and Tony Salinas from AMD compare SYSmark benchmark with results from Futuremark's PCMark 8 as well as scripts devised in-house. Comparing an Intel Core i5 with a 'comparable' AMD FX chip, SYSmark was found to report a much greater performance difference -- in Intel's favor. AMD describes this as "quite astonishing and not realistic".

While SYSmark showed a performance score difference of around 50 percent, when the same chips were compared in PCMark 8 the 'delta' (as AMD describes it) drops to just 7 percent. Similarly, when comparing the performance of AMD and Intel chips using scripts that run Microsoft Office-based tasks, the difference was between 6 and 7 percent.

AMD not only suggests that SYSmark's results are unrealistic, but says tests are geared in favor of Intel chips. The company recommends people read an FTC statement which says SYSmark "may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors".

Check out the video, entitled Truth or Myth?: Is SYSmark a Reliable Benchmark?, to see what you think:
Lost Prediction #4 -- My Steve Jobs movie returns to Netflix

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 11:34am CET par Robert X. Cringely

At least one reader pointed out that I somehow missed 2016 Prediction #4, so let me throw something in right here. Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview will shortly return to Netflix worldwide!

Our movie was on Netflix in the USA and Canada for a couple of years (it’s still streaming on Netflix in the UK) but the North American deal ended sometime in November when rights reverted from Magnolia Pictures back to John Gau Productions. The film had already disappeared from iTunes and Amazon, etc., but we hadn’t noticed because, well, Magnolia didn’t bother to mention it and we’re only pretending to be movie producers.

You don’t work directly with these streaming outfits if your body of work is one movie made from a VHS tape found on a shelf in somebody’s garage. You go through an aggregator. Once we finally realized that our film had lost distribution (the money was so little and the delay in payment was so long that it was hard to even tell) we set about finding a new aggregator, which we finally gained in Los Angeles-based Bitmax. Still it then takes months to get the movie back up and streaming even places it was running just fine last year. So don’t expect to see the film again on Amazon or iTunes, for example, until sometime this spring. And it probably won’t make Netflix again until summer.

Our Bitmax deal doesn’t involve sharing revenue. We learned our lesson and are paying the company a fixed fee with them passing-through all royalties. It will be a year or so before we know whether this was a smart move or not but for now it feels right.

The new Netflix deal isn’t through Bitmax because they didn’t then have their own deal with Netflix (now they do, apparently), so we extended our non-exclusive deal with the UK aggregator, Filmbuff, to cover the entire Netflix world. Little did we know that Netflix would shortly be adding 130+ countries to their list!

So the movie is returning, but slowly, and we expect it to be around for many years to come. Viewers love it of course and we’re proud to have made something so long ago that holds up so well.

But while I have you on the line let’s talk a little about Netflix, itself. I first met Netflix chief content guy Ted Sarandos at a winery in the hills above Silicon Valley in 1998. It was at a corporate event for MaxStor, the hard drive company (remember them?) and I was the dinner speaker. Pay me a lot of money and I’ll speak for your company, too.

Sarandos was attending for Netflix and after dinner and my 50 minutes of this-and-that we sat at the tasting bar and he told me the Netflix strategy, which was to become exactly what they are today. This was 18 years ago, back when Netflix made all its money delivering DVDs through the Post Office, remember, and didn’t stream video at all. Yet even then streaming and producing original shows was the plan. I was impressed.

And I remain impressed. I’m not here to make any 2016 predictions about Netflix, but I wouldn’t bet against them. To maintain a corporate strategy with such success for more than 18 years is a wonder in high tech. It shows vision, discipline, and luck -- the three components any tech company needs to change the world.
Young people find traditional education inadequate

Publié: janvier 19, 2016, 10:25am CET par Sead Fadilpašić

Today’s youth has a positive view about the future and their role in it. However, many young people believe that traditional education doesn’t do enough to prepare them for their professional life.

These are the results of a recent poll commissioned by consulting firm Infosys.

The report, entitled Amplifying Human Potential: Education and Skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, was conducted by independent research agency Future Foundation and has polled 1,000 young people, aged 16 to 25, across Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, South Africa, United Kingdom and United States.

In all of the countries, youngsters acknowledged the importance of technology skills in finding a good career opportunity; in both developing and developed countries, computer sciences subjects were key education tools for them.

However, traditional education does not provide enough, the report suggests, adding that young people had to seek additional knowledge in order to do their jobs.

"In the US, 45 percent of those polled considered their academic education to be very or quite old-fashioned, and that it failed to support career goals, compared to 37 percent in China", the report says.

Seventy-seven percent of polled youngsters in UK and Australia had to learn new skills, and in India that percentage was at 66.

"Young people around the world can see that new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, will enable them to reimagine the possibilities of human creativity, innovation and productivity", said Dr. Vishal Sikka, CEO and managing director, Infosys.

"To empower these young people to thrive in this great digital transformation, our education systems must bring more focus to lifelong learning, experimentation and exploration -- in addition to bringing computer science and technology more fundamentally into the curriculum", added Sikka.

The full report can be found on this link.

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.

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