Microsoft Research is going against everything Internet users have been told and lectured about over the past couple of years by encouraging the use and reuse of simple passwords. “Our findings directly challenge accepted wisdom and conventional advice,” wrote Dinei Florencio and Cormac Herley of Microsoft Research, and Paul C. van Oorschot of Carleton University … continue reading
Chef Software today announced a number of improvements to the configuration management software of the same name. Top on the list of updates is the inclusion of support for Docker. Over the course of the past year, the platform has expanded its capabilities around Linux Containers, and today, Chef now supports the building and deploying … continue reading
Syncfusion, Inc., a developer solutions company, today announced the release of Essential Studio Enterprise Edition 2014, Volume 2, its second major release of the year. The release includes several key updates, including a new set of ASP.NET controls completely driven by HTML 5 and JavaScript, and introduces the company’s suite of universal Windows app controls. … continue reading
ComponentOne a division of GrapeCity, the largest component solution provider in the Microsoft Visual Studio Partner Ecosystem, has released ComponentOne Studio Enterprise 2014 v2. ComponentOne Studio Enterprise is a world-renowned suite of data and UI controls for Microsoft Visual Studio, including Windows Desktop, Windows Store, and HTML5. The highlights of the 2014 v2 release include … continue reading
Perforce Software today announced the addition of a new version management capability that increases productivity across the development pipeline. By boosting the P4 sync function of P4D, Parallel Sync allows users to transfer multiple files simultaneously and significantly reduce overall workspace sync times. P4 sync is the primary command for transferring updated files between a … continue reading
Oracle has announced a new tool called Oracle Big Data SQL, designed to break down data silos of separate platforms by integrating a single SQL query across multiple databases, including Hadoop, NoSQL and the Oracle Database. The tool runs on the Oracle Big Data Appliance platform, which integrates Cloudera’s Hadoop distribution. Big Data SQL leverages … continue reading
Microsoft patent filing reveals plans for fitness-focused smartwatch Microsoft’s rumored smartwatch finally has some specs. A recent patent filing for a “Wearable Personal Information System” details sensors, features and other components of the fitness and health-oriented wearable device. The patent diagrams feature icons for running, heart rate and calories. (Related: Microsoft’s designs on an eyewear … continue reading
It seems clear that we’re living in a golden age of capabilities. Satya Nadella’s “Bold Ambition and Our Core” memo boasts that “the Cortana app on my Windows Phone merges data from highway sensors and my own calendar and simply reminds me to leave work to make it to my daughter’s recital on time.” Siri, … continue reading
It wasn’t long ago that some very smart people on the Internet saw that countries like China, Burma, and eventually even the United Kingdom were trying to control what their citizens did on the Internet. To combat this authoritarianism online, the Tor project was created. Tor is, essentially, a network of proxies around the world … continue reading
Java language architect Brian Goetz today posted a lengthy blog post detailing some of the proposed plans for the future of Java. He wrote that OpenJDK 9 is looking at making generic classes easier to turn into specialized classes. The idea is that these generics that can be extended over primitives, and eventually, over value … continue reading
The 2014 FIFA World Cup comes to a close this weekend with Germany playing against Argentina in the championship game on Sunday. For the past month, millions of viewers have flocked to the Internet and their mobile devices to live stream the event and stay up-to-date on which team was performing the best. But with … continue reading
Kids programming robots to learn new skills With just a smart tablet and Angry Birds, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers are making it possible for kids to program robots. The researchers have paired an Android tablet paired with a small humanoid robot, and kids are teaching it how to play Angry Birds just by dragging … continue reading
