Today at the Red Hat Summit, Microsoft announced the launch of .NET Core 1.0. Continuing the company's embrace of other platforms, the latest version of the open source .NET runtime platform supports Windows, OS X, iOS, Android and -- of course -- Linux. At the summit, Red Hat said that .NET Core 1.0 will be fully supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux. With Microsoft's partnership with Red Hat late last year, and the company's on-going expansion into the cross-platform cloud, Linux support is not entirely surprising. Also announced today was ASP.NET Core 1.0 and Entity Framework 1.0 for developers to… [Continue Reading]
The owner of a California-based travel agency has received a $10,000 settlement from Microsoft after a forced Windows 10 upgrade rendered her computer unusable. Teri Goldstein found that her work computer downloaded and started to install Windows 10 without her permission, but the installation failed. The installation not only failed, Goldstein says, but also slowed down her computer, leading to days of lost business. After failing to get help from Microsoft's customer support, she took the company to court. Somewhat surprisingly, Goldstein won her case against the software giant. But Microsoft wasn’t ready to just roll over, and opted to… [Continue Reading]
When Google Earth was first released, it was life-changing. While people take it for granted now, seeing aerial views of the entire planet -- including something as mundane as your neighbor's roof -- was something many folks never thought possible. This satellite imagery is now used in other mapping solutions, such as the ubiquitous Google Maps, giving us the ability to see the world from the comfort of our homes. Google's satellite imagery looks great, but as those in the tech world know, there is no such thing as "good enough". Better is always just around the corner, and today, the… [Continue Reading]
There’s a new type of server memory which might speed up backup restore and recovery, as well as help with salvaging any data left unsaved during a power outage. Memory and storage upgrade company Crucial has announced its Nonvolatile DIMM (NVDIMM) server memory. The company says this type of memory is a better choice for servers because it offers better read and write speeds than HDD or SSD disks, allowing for speedy backups and recoveries. "NVDIMM is a persistent memory solution for companies who have valuable data they need to protect in case of a power outage", said Michael Moreland, worldwide product… [Continue Reading]
Google is rumored to be working on a smartphone of its own that would help it "tighten its grip on mobile software and see it compete directly with the iPhone", according to a report from The Telegraph. The information comes from the usual "sources familiar with the discussions", who are all too often making the news because some fellow writers have no filters whatsoever. To folks completely unfamiliar with the mobile space this report would make sense. It has all the right ingredients for that, but fortunately using just a small dose of common sense one can immediately call this… [Continue Reading]
We live in a surveillance state and we all know it. We sort of knew it before the Edward Snowden revelations, but afterwards had a real sense of just how far it went. Apparently it is still, to this day, trying to reach further, and in this case it affects people who simply travel to the nation, even for simple things like vacation or business. If US Customs and Border Control has its way, people will have to hand over their Twitter handle right in the airport. While an argument can be made for such heavy-handed tactics -- looking for Jihadist tweets, etc… [Continue Reading]
Chromebooks are wonderful computers for many reasons. Besides often being affordable, they are based on the Linux kernel, which creates a rock-solid foundation. They feature a largely malware free experience thanks to its focus on the web rather than local storage. With that said, Google's delivery of the Play Store and locally-installed Android apps to the web-based platform is going to change everything -- maybe for the better. From a security perspective, it could be for the worse. Today, HP announces the Chromebook 11 G5. This all-new Chrome OS laptop is extremely affordable, starting at less than $200. The real news,… [Continue Reading]
Hadoop is one of the most popular frameworks for creating distributed processing environments using commodity hardware. This makes it the first choice for many when implementing big data. However, the nature of this type of system means there are inherent performance limitations. Distributed systems performance specialist Pepperdata is launching Hadoop Health Check, a complimentary, expert assessment that evaluates and diagnoses Hadoop clusters of 100 nodes or more, and provides full visibility into current cluster conditions. When a company signs up for the Health Check program, the Pepperdata software is installed on a production cluster for up to 72 hours. Over that… [Continue Reading]
Technology is moving at warp speed, and any business who chooses to side-step the most-current innovations in that field is, quite literally, choosing to be left behind. Thousands of companies have successfully built their own apps through the use of an enterprise mobility platform. Here, we will discuss what features to look for when choosing the best enterprise mobility platform for your business' particular needs. Without an App, Your Company's Success Potential is Thwarted There was a time when any number of people in the business world used to think websites would be no great contributor for a business's overall… [Continue Reading]
The open source software company Red Hat has just announced that it will acquire 3scale for its software which manages application programming interfaces (APIs). The deal is not crucial to Red Hat though it does plan to "open source the code in the Red Hat way", according to a blog post from the vice president and general manager of middleware at the company, Mike Piech. The company also said that its GAAP operating expenses will increase by $7 million during the 2017 fiscal year. Red Hat will continue operating 3scale’s existing cloud service and in addition it will launch an on-premise… [Continue Reading]
Researchers at endpoint protection specialist SentinelOne have uncovered a new variant of the CryptXXX ransomware family which is being spread via spam and possibly other means. The latest version fixes previous flaws in its file encryption methods which prevents use of free decryption tools and makes it impossible to decrypt files without paying the ransom. As with earlier versions of the ransomware this one hides by copying details from a legitimate .dll file -- in this case one related to CyberLink PowerDVD Cinema. Previous versions used details from a Microsoft dll. It's likely that the cybercrime team behind this variant is… [Continue Reading]
A virtualized hybrid cloud infrastructure comes with the assurance of better business outcomes but the rapid transformation that accompanies cloud also leaves the infrastructure vulnerable to cyber attacks. This makes risk management critical for every enterprise. Since no two enterprises work exactly the same way, a standard risk tolerance profile cannot sustain the potential risks posed by technical hurdles. Despite a cloud service provider’s best possible efforts, security issues are inevitable. With hybrid-cloud deployments you will also need to ensure that sensitive business data remains secure between private and public cloud. This is why hybrid cloud environment strategies need to… [Continue Reading]
Companies are keen to gain the edge that big data can offer, but collecting and analysing information and getting it to a point where it's useful takes time and resources. Cloud integration and big data specialist Talend is launching the latest version of its Talend Data Fabric, a platform designed to meet the integration needs of both developers and business users whether their applications are on-premises or in the cloud. "It's well understood that companies must become data-driven in order to compete, yet there are still several major barriers preventing businesses from making data an organization-wide core competency," says Ciaran… [Continue Reading]
Nest is one of the big names in the world of home automation. It brings a lot to your home, linking up with other products in the domicile, but it isn't perfect at first -- it takes a bit of time to learn your habits and what you want. The drawback is, of course, cost. The thermostat is not particularly cheap. But for the folks who have wanted one and not yet pulled the purchase trigger, there's a deal to be had. That is, providing you live in a certain location. Residents of Chicago can currently get a free Nest… [Continue Reading]
Whether you have a story to tell or product to sell, there are multiple benefits to Explainer Videos. Producing short films for online audiences allow you to showcase your wares and expertise, offering an affordable, snappy and entertaining route toward grabbing attention, boosting conversion rates and increasing sales. With recent research predicting that 79 percent of global consumer Internet traffic will be video by 2018, it’s little wonder that marketers the world over are focusing on the medium of moving pictures and investing in explainer videos, confident of the potential for generating healthy returns. Whether you’re a startup or multinational… [Continue Reading]
A new zero-day malware has been discovered in Australia that affects all of Microsoft’s Office 365 products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. The malware was discovered by the cyber security company Check Point and comes in the form of an invoice sent by email. The attack is designed to catch unsuspecting victims according to security analyst Raymond Schippers who said: "The email sent to Office 365 users via Outlook gives the appearance of an invoice in the form of an Office document. When they go to open it, a message will appear telling people the document was created with a… [Continue Reading]
It’s been a few years since we last looked at JPEGSnoop, a low-level tool for investigating images. Is it still useful today? Let’s take a look. The program is as convenient to use as ever. No installation, no adware, just unzip the download and run the single executable. The interface is basic, a tiny toolbar and a few menus, but the first step is simple enough to understand: hit Open and choose an image. Within a few seconds, JPEGSnoop produces a hugely detailed report on your JPEG’s innards. Much of this is so technical -- color transfer functions, DCTs, Huffman… [Continue Reading]
Foxit Software has unveiled Foxit Reader 8.0, the latest version of its PDF viewer and creator for Windows PCs. The reader, renowned for its lightweight and speedy nature, introduces support for Foxit’s new online ConnectedPDF Document Management System. The new release also adds support for Touch Mode on supported models as well as Dropbox integration. Users also gain a handy new auto-save PDF option to protect against crashes or power failures. When users launch Foxit Reader 8.0 for the first time, they’ll be invited to sign up for ConnectedPDF. This is Foxit’s new online Document Management System, and works with… [Continue Reading]
More than half of IT decision makers opt to go for third-party maintenance (TPM) and pre-owned equipment, to cut costs and take advantage of improved support independent maintenance providers offer. It was also said they’ve had a "positive experience" with prior-generation hardware. The news was published by Curvature, an IT infrastructure solutions provider, which polled 500 IT decision makers. Out of the 500 respondents, 60 percent use TPM, and 53 percent decide to purchase pre-owned equipment. "Navigating through today’s complex landscape, IT buying decision makers face growing challenges. They need to take into account capabilities and quality of technology as well… [Continue Reading]
It sounds much like any other mapping app: enter a starting point and destination, see the route and points of interest along the way. Flyover Country won’t give you driving directions, local hotels or someone’s random picture of a lake, though. It’s a geoscience app from the University of Minnesota, and these points of interest are more about geologic maps, data, fossil information, georeferenced Wikipedia articles and more. Setup is easy enough. Tap two or more points on the map to define your route, select "Load Path", and watch as Flyover Country finds data associated with that journey. There’s an… [Continue Reading]