IBM bets that its Watson technology will ride the cognitive-computing wave to commercial success — while rivals gear up for the connected-computing era. Two big names in technology held events in Manhattan this week to declare the start of a 3rd big wave in computing, but they were talking about different waves. On Wednesday, Salesforce.com welcomed within the connected computing era, pointing to mobile, social, cloud, and billions of connected sensors and devices as things so they can transform our personal lives, industries, and the ways organizations interact with individuals. Giving its own spin to the net of factors, Salesforce talked up the “Internet of shoppers,” seeing connected aircraft engines, cars, appliances, tablets, phones, wrist watches, and other devices as ultimately connected to somebody’s customer. On Thursday it was IBM’s turn, and it asserted that the arrival third wave often is the cognitive computing era. IBM’s cognitive technology is Watson, which won its fame beating two grand champions at Jeopardy back in 2011. The secret... Read More »

Wattpad uses a mix of 3 monitoring systems to get the insight it must keep its busy, AWS-powered website humming. Wattpad is an internet site that brings together authors and readers. First-time authors, or for that matter, many-time authors, can post their stories to the positioning and gather critical feedback that will assist in the revision process. Readers can follow favorite authors and access greater than 10 million stories at no charge using an online browser or mobile device. Wattpad was endorsed by noted Canadian author Margaret Atwood and grown to ten million visitors a month. Each second it fields 6,000 requests for content or requests to post comments. Meaning there may be few kinks within the way the location operates. Wattpad’s owners want visitors to discover what they’re in search of — many have favorite authors — and get their requested stories to their devices quickly. Wattpad, from its inception, has run on Amazon Web Services infrastructure, but its operators have found it hard... Read More »

Who’s winning over probably the most smartphone users? New research by Mobile Metrix and ComScore shows it is a tough road for smaller apps developers. 13 Favorite iOS, Android Apps (click image for larger view) Google Sites ranked because the top-used service among smartphone users, in keeping with new research by Mobile Metrix and ComScore. Google’s services are utilized by 88% of smartphone owners within the US. Examining the head mobile websites and mobile apps together shows that the web’s largest players also benefit from the greatest penetration on mobile devices. Mobile Metrix and ComScore ranked the pinnacle 15 smartphone properties (mobile web and app use combined) and top 15 individual smartphone applications within the month of October. They studied smartphone users over the age of 18 on both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. The winners shouldn’t surprise anyone, as they’re from today’s biggest social networks, media companies, and repair providers. Google was the end overall web service, but Facebook was a detailed second... Read More »

Traditional security features don’t stand an opportunity in an information-centric world. But inside the crisis lie opportunities for IT security pros. Information security discussions have moved from wiring closets to corporate boardrooms. In early 2012, Bloomberg Government and the Ponemon Institute issued a study that showed 172 US-based organizations — from multinational corporations to the government — spend a combined $5.3 billion on cybersecurity. These institutions estimated they’ll ought to spend $46.6 billion to adequately address today’s attacks — from state-sponsored campaigns to rogue activism that threaten data and the nation’s critical infrastructure. Our systems are becoming so tied to the web, this “grid” could be compromised with a single swipe. The threat is real, relevant, and happening straight away. It appears 2013 might be remembered because the year when the avalanche of knowledge — from social media and enterprise big data — collided head on with our ability to keep the safety and privacy of that data. The info generated by individuals, corporations, and... Read More »

Google+ users can now send you messages without knowing your email address. Here’s learn how to opt out. If you are a Gmail and Google+ user, a brand new change means you’ll be in for a surge of unwanted emails. Google announced that it’ll allow users who’ve Gmail and Google+ accounts to email anyone who also has both accounts, although the user doesn’t know the person’s email address. Google says that this transformation might be useful for those that know one another but haven’t yet exchanged email addresses. “Have you started typing an email to someone only to comprehend halfway during the draft which you haven’t actually exchanged email addresses?” wrote David Nachum, project manager at Google. “As an extension of a few earlier improvements that keep Gmail contacts automatically recent using Google+, Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients if you are composing a brand new email.” According to Google, anyone can send you email so long as the man follows you on... Read More »