Smartphone Kill Switch Could Become Federal Law

Smartphone Theft Protection Act will require cellphone makers to incorporate the way to disable communications devices remotely to discourage theft. Android Security: 8 Signs Hackers Own Your Smartphone (click image for larger view) A week after California State Senator Mark Leno (D-CA) proposed a bill requiring a kill switch for smartphones sold within the state, federal lawmakers have recommend an identical bill. On Thursday, US Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced national legislation to require how to disable smartphones remotely. The goal is to discourage theft and protect consumers, but this defense against thieves might include greater vulnerability to hackers, in step with a mobile industry trade group. Certainly, cell phone theft is a significant problem. Cellular phone thefts account for 30% to 40% of all robberies in major cities nationwide, in step with the FCC, and that figure is asserted to be as high as 50% in markets like San Francisco. Per Consumer Reports, 1.6... Read More »

Valve Is Now An Official Member Of The Linux Foundation

[ Developer] It’s no secret that Valve sees Linux because the way forward for PC gaming. In fact, the corporate is building SteamOS on top of Linux. Now the sport developer has cemented its commitment to the platform by joining The Linux Foundation. So, what does Valve joining The Linux Foundation mean for both? For Valve, it allows the corporate to have a say behind the construction of Linux. In other words, Valve will now have the ability to influence the direction that Linux heads in, including better support for games. “Joining the Linux Foundation is among the ways Valve is investing within the advancement of Linux gaming,” said Valve’s Mike Sartain. “Through these efforts, we are hoping to contribute tools for developers building new experiences on Linux, compel hardware manufacturers to prioritize support for Linux, and ultimately deliver a chic and open platform for Linux users.” As for Linux, it’ll now gain much more credibility among gamers. Linux hasn’t ever been all that popular... Read More »

Adobe Flash And AIR Updated With New Features

Adobe Flash and AIR are nigh inseparable nowadays. Developers desperate to create good quality Flash games for mobile devices use AIR to milk an analogous technologies, and every update brings several enhancements to the platform. Adobe announced in July that Flash and AIR had both been updated with a variety of new features and improvements that are supposed to help out developers eager to get essentially the mostsome of the most out in their Flash/AIR-developed games. The big addition to Flash and AIR this time around is support for the GameInput API. With this latest addition, Flash and AIR-based desktop apps can now support lots of game controllers. Here’s what Adobe says about it: The GameInput API provides an interface for applications to speak with the input devices attached for your platform. The API design makes it easy to feature support for brand spanking new controller types once you want to accomplish that. The GameInput API includes classes and techniques to interface both on the... Read More »

Big Data Platform Comparisons: 3 Key Points

Are you about to select a large data platform? Keep in mind that SQL isn’t the best use of Hadoop. Our recent 16 Top Big Data Analytics Platforms collection has generated a great deal of interest and lots of comments and questions. To answer the latter, we jumped on the chance to do a Google+ Hangout with the editors of sister UBM website AllAnalytics so shall we go deeper at the topic. The questions through the discussion (see video interview below) covered a number of the most commonly asked questions posted below our slide show — 21 comments and counting at this writing. How do you define big data analytics platforms or “big data” for that matter? What makes these “top” vendors, and are any of those platforms accessible to midmarket companies? [ Watch InformationWeek’s Doug Henschen discuss 16 Top Big Data Analytics Platforms with the editors of AllAnalytics (below). ] I elaborate on these types of topics, but some new questions from AllAnalytics editors... Read More »

GSA CIO Coleman Joins AT&T Government Solutions

Deputy CIO Sonny Hashmi named acting CIO of General Services Administration. Most Wasteful Government IT Projects Of 2013 (click image for larger view and for slideshow) After greater than a decade on the General Services Administration, CIO Casey Coleman is leaving for the non-public sector, joining AT&T Government Solutions as an executive VP for client relations. Sonny Hashmi, GSA’s deputy CIO, will function acting CIO. “Advances in cloud, mobility, big data, and security present federal organizations with a brand new world of opportunities,” Coleman said in an announcement about her decision to go back to the non-public sector. “Casey is celebrated and revered throughout the federal technology sector as a real leader,” said Kay Kapoor, president of AT&T Government Solutions, praising Coleman’s “visionary leadership, technological know-how, and public sector expertise.” During her tenure at GSA, Coleman led the government’s first migration to the cloud, using the Google Apps for presidency platform for email and collaboration. The move saved GSA greater than $15 million over five... Read More »