To Crack The Cloud Lock-In Problem, Think Standards

Emerging specs for hybrid clouds and converged datacenters promise to interrupt vendors’ proprietary hold. The word “standards” evokes images of combative committees taking six months to choose where to carry a gathering after which letting dominant industry players hold down superior technology. Vendors blamed delays with the 802.11n spec for his or her going rogue with proprietary implementations that always didn’t interact; eventually the Wi-Fi Alliance needed to expend money and energy on a certification program. And while the Open Networking Foundation begs to vary, Cisco CEO John Chambers recently asserted that advanced networking “cannot be done in software.” His unstated pitch: “Why anticipate messy SDN standards to gel? Just cut a check for Cisco ONE.” Going with proprietary technology is tempting. But standards remain important, especially within the era of convergence and cloud, with its “just make it work” culture. Particularly, standards are critical for shuttling workloads between on-premises and multitenant systems. A well-considered design that uses stock components, protocols, and interfaces wherever possible... Read More »

PHP Programmers Unite To Make The Orange ElePHPant A Reality

[ Developer] Android has bugdroid. Linux has Tux the penguin. Both had been immortalized in plush toys, action figures or even remote controlled robots. What about PHP’s lovable ElePHPant though? Where’s the affection for him? Well, somebody has already made a blue, pink and red ElePHPant, but one man desires to add yet another color. Eli White, co-owner of php[architect], recently took to Kickstarter to fund the creation of an orange ElePHPant. Why orange? The magazine’s signature color is orange and needs to celebrate its 11 years of publication with an orange colored ElePHPant. If you’re thinking that demand for an orange ElePHPant wouldn’t be that top, you’d be wrong. The Kickstarter campaign only asked for $1,000, but has already received almost $18,000 in pledges because it started on Thursday. Most of these backers – 200 of them – have pledged $20 to receive a single small ElePHPant. Exclusive to Kickstarter, php{architect] can be producing large ElePHPants for $100 each. Almost 40 backers have already... Read More »

Smartphone Kill Switch Could Become Federal Law

Smartphone Theft Protection Act will require cellular telephone makers to incorporate how 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 analogous 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 the way 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 accordance with a mobile industry trade group. Certainly, cellular phone theft is a major problem. Cellphone thefts account for 30% to 40% of all robberies in major cities nationwide, consistent with the FCC, and that figure is claimed to be as high as 50% in markets like San Francisco. In step with Consumer Reports,... Read More »

New App Pays You To observe Your Phone

Your smartphone has become an extension of you. That fact has even brought about the upward thrust of a brand new branch of studies in evolution, one who examines how we use modern technology to conform and extend ourselves and our brains. The assumption is that our smartphones and other such devices are becoming portion of our brains. We not ought to remember phone numbers. We now have then in our phones. Learning is a breeze, so long as you’ve gotten a smartphone and Internet connection. That “extension of ourselves” factor about smartphones has ended in numerous cynical observations about how people can’t appear to study one another, have a tight dinner, interact “normally”, without looking down at their devices frequently. ABC News now reports that one company has found how to use that to their – and doubtless your – advantage. “We glance at our phones, on average, 150 times per day,” said Yunha Kim, co-founder and CEO of Locket. Locket is an Android... Read More »

HealthCare.gov Snafu: Not That tough To Believe

Leveraging cloud-delivered services would have helped inside the overall stability and success of the HealthCare.gov website, and doubtless still can going forward. Glitch (noun) \ˈglich\: an unexpected and frequently minor problem; especially: a minor problem with a machine or device (consisting of a pc) Source: m-w.com It is tough to show at the news lately without some mention of the HealthCare.gov website. There are various of folk talking who do not know lots about complex systems, occasionally punctuated with smart commentary from an industry expert. The various conversation centers on how “unbelievable” it really is that the center-piece of the Affordable Care Act doesn’t work. In reality, it isn’t that arduous to believe. Study after study has shown that almost all of complex IT projects either fail or don’t meet expectations. Some of the explanation why these projects fail are embodied in what we’ve got heard about HealthCare.gov: Late changing requirements Poor design choices Inadequate project risk management Insufficient QA/system testing ... Read More »