Docker has announced an update with new features, improvements and fixes. Docker 1.13 includes the ability to compose files to deploy swarm mode services; improved CLI backward-compatibility; cleanup commands; CLI restructuring; monitoring improvements; build enhancements; and the public data of Docker for AWS and Azure.

In addition, Docker 1.13 features experimental capabilities in Docker build and Docker service logs.

GitHub makes its data available for analysis on BigQuery
GitHub is making its data available for public analysis on BigQuery, a data warehouse for large-scale data analytics. The GitHub 3TB+ dataset features all the GitHub activity to date, and includes more than 2.8 million open-source projects.

Users can look at the data through two datasets: the GitHub Archive project and the GitHub Public Data Set. Some queries ran so far include code comments, countries with the most open-source developers, emotions expressed in commit messages, and information about bigger pull requests.

Researcher develops new database-analytics platform
A former researcher from the MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has developed a new database-management system designed to run GPUs instead of CPUs. MapD, developed by CEO Todd Mostak, uses GPUs in order to query and map billions of data points in milliseconds. According to him, it is 100x faster than traditional systems.

“In most implementations, the data is initially stored on a CPU, moved to the GPU for a query, and results are moved back to the CPU for storage. Even if you speed up the computation time of a query [by using a GPU], you lose most of the speed by transferring from CPU to GPU and back,” said Mostak. MapD caches data on GPUs so there is no moving back and forth or time wasted, according to him.

More information is available here.

DOT designates automated vehicle proving grounds
The U.S. Department of Transportation wants to foster self-driving vehicle innovation while promoting safety. The DOT announced 10 proving ground pilot sites for testing and sharing information about automated vehicle technology.

According to the department, the proving grounds will help transform personal and commercial mobility, and provide critical insights into automated driving.

“The designated proving grounds will collectively form a Community of Practice around safe testing and deployment,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This group will openly share best practices for the safe conduct of testing and operations as they are developed, enabling the participants and the general public to learn at a faster rate and accelerating the pace of safe deployment.”

The full list is available here.