Facebook's Internet.org delivers free online access to Colombia
Facebook’s Internet.org app, providing free online access in developing countries, has just launched in Colombia.
The service, which lets users access a number of web-based services such as Wikipedia, health and employment information, and Facebook without paying data-charges, had already launched in three African countries.
IT debt and legacy systems
In 2010, Gartner issued a controversial press release: "Gartner Estimates Global 'IT Debt' to Be $500 Billion This Year, with Potential to Grow to $1 Trillion by 2015". IT debt was defined as "the cost of clearing the backlog of maintenance that would be required to bring the corporate applications portfolio to a fully supported current release state".
In Gartner’s view, most IT departments had been forced to ignore keeping applications properly updated, especially after years of budget cuts. At the same time businesses kept adding new applications, creating an unstable hodgepodge that would need to be addressed at some point in the future. And ignoring it isn’t a good thing. Until it’s addressed, IT debt is a "hidden risk" that threatens the entire business.
Lumoid's wearables service lets you try before you buy
Lumoid wants to make the wearable buying experience a little less painful by launching a 'try-before-you-buy' service, allowing users to test five wearables for a limited time and find out which one suits them the best.
Users will be able to choose up to five wearables for $20 and have seven days to test them out, after which users send back all the wearables and can keep any they want to buy.
Three steps to the perfect smartwatch
Even with all the trillion dollar estimates on what the wearables market will become by the turn of the decade, the outlook at the current juncture is slightly bleak for all but the biggest of manufacturers. Research released by the University of Pennsylvania showed that of 6,223 wearables users it studied, over 50 percent had given up on the devices and two thirds of that number did so in the first six months.
It’s becoming abundantly clear that tech firms need to arrest this decline and, although there is expectation that Apple’s entry into the sector can give everyone a jolt forwards, plenty more can be done.
Here's how to smuggle 94 iPhones into China (not)
A man has been arrested for attempting to smuggle 94 iPhones into China by strapping all of them to his body.
Custom officers at Futian Port on the Chinese border were alerted to some suspicious activity when they noticed that the individual had a "weird walking posture, joint stiffness and muscle tension".
Silk Road Reloaded ditches Tor for I2P
The notorious online black market Silk Road Reloaded has left the Tor web browser to join a more anonymous network known as I2P.
Following the decision, Silk Road Reloaded has also made a number of policy changes, including ending its exclusivity with bitcoin. The site now allows transactions to take place with other cryptocurrencies such as dogecoin and anoncoin.
Enterprise 2.0: why it should never take three weeks to make a change to your web application
"Would you like to slow down the pace of development of your products?"
This was the question Adrian Cockcroft from Battery Ventures asked at the Nginx conference in October. The answer of course is "No". This is 2014, we see companies like Netflix can roll out changes daily and in some cases, hourly. Yet for many enterprises, it can still take weeks to add a new site or even a small new feature for the line of business. Even NASA can fly to the moon and back in less time!
What will happen to legacy applications when we move to the cloud? (hint: it’s not what you think)
Legacy systems and the cloud. The two do sound incongruous. When we think of legacy systems, we often recall those old cartoons where a computer took up the better part of a wall and was attended by harried-looking attendants in white lab coats. Of course, it has been a while since legacy systems have been quite so physically massive. They’re often still massive enough, though, to consume a lot of hardware. Maybe that’s why it’s still hard to imagine legacy systems taking up residence in the cloud, though that’s more and more frequently exactly what they’re doing.
And they’re often doing quite well in their cloud abodes, which sometimes represent a significant savings on their old legacy hardware. In fact, moving these old applications can drastically cut the data center budget.
More elders embrace Facebook, adult usage remains consistent
The latest research indicates that Facebook is maintaining strong membership figures despite the rise of rival social networks such as Twitter and LinkedIn.
A study of 1,597 adult Internet users by the Pew Research Centre found that 71 percent were using Facebook, the same amount as in 2013.
Pre-requisites for a successful enterprise Continuous Delivery implementation
Continuous Delivery as a methodology and tool to meet the ever-increasing demand to deliver better software faster is fast gaining the attention of businesses today. Continuous delivery, with its emphasis on keeping software in a release-ready state at all times, is a natural evolution from continuous integration and agile software development practices. However, the cultural and operational challenges to achieving continuous delivery are much greater. For most organizations, continuous delivery requires adaptation and extension of existing software release processes. The roles, relationships and responsibilities of people across the organization can also be impacted. The tools used to deliver, update and maintain software must support automation and collaboration properly, in order to minimize delays and provide tight feedback cycles across the business.
Organizations looking to transition to Continuous Delivery should consider the following seven prerequisites -- these are practical steps that will allow them to successfully execute the cultural and operational changes within the regulatory and business constraints they face.
Messaging services are killing SMS
50 percent more messages are now sent using WhatsApp when compared to texts, threatening to kill off SMS communications entirely. CEO of the mobile messaging app Jan Koum announced record results last week, demonstrating the platform’s continued growth.
WhatsApp now boasts 700 million monthly active users and processes 30 billion messages a day, or 347,222 every second. Meanwhile, the already sizeable gap in popularity between WhatsApp and texting is set to increase, with the latter experiencing declining usage figures since 2011.
Should we fear the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things, while still largely unknown amongst the general public, is expected to make a big impact in 2015. Research by Gartner indicates that the number of connected devices will reach 4.9 billion this year, but not everyone is getting excited about this developing technology.
Last week in fact, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission Edith Ramirez issued a pretty strong warning regarding IoT devices and the threat that they pose to privacy. Countering those who put forward potential IoT benefits, Ms Ramirez argued that the "deeply personal" information gathered by connected devices has the potential to be seriously invasive. "I question the notion that we must put sensitive consumer data at risk on the off-chance a company might someday discover a valuable use for the information", she said. However, is Ms Ramirez merely scaremongering, or should consumers really be worried about the predicted explosion in IoT products?
Why CES 2015 was the best yet
Technology’s yearly trip to Sin City has been and gone in a heartbeat with gadgets and gizmos packing the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Centre as far as the eye can see. As soon as delegates landed they were inundated with power outlets that reminded everyone, yes, you’re in the center of the technology universe for the next few days and you can bet we won’t let you forget that!
That wasn’t the only thing that made CES 2015 the best one yet, and here are five of the top takeaways:
Young companies 'survive success' in IT with network monitoring
The good news is that your company is growing -- sales are up and you are hiring more employees. However, there are some challenges that go along with that growth. As your company grows, so does the number of employees and customers, which can put more strain on the IT system that supports all those new people. IT systems can get taxed and overloaded. For example, you could have a large increase in visits to your website during a successful product launch, but that could lead to slow performance or even a total outage. Any type of delay or disruption can lead to lost customers, lost revenue and could hurt your company’s overall reputation.
Managing this type of IT strain is especially challenging for small companies and startups that often have only one person working in IT. Some aren’t even that well-staffed, with 27 percent of small businesses having no IT support, according to a 2014 SMB Group study. So, how does a growing startup business survive its success and keep IT systems running properly? To do that, they first need to understand the potential issues that could arise, and then examine what they can do to fix or prevent them.
Audi's in-car tablet is a thing of beauty
Audi has become the first automotive firm to launch its own brand in-car tablet computer, as revealed at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
The German company will offer the device alongside its new Q7 car, in the hope that it will provide a more fulfilling rear seat entertainment service.
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