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Jun 21
Millennials are the most experimental consumers

The older we get, the less likely we are to want to experiment with novel flavors and fragrances, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData (www.globaldata.com).

The research group’s latest report shows that younger consumers are the most experimental demographic, with GlobalData’s survey data showing that nearly four out five millennials globally say they enjoy experimenting with foreign products. This trend declines with age, with just 57% of those in the older “silent generation” (those born between 1925 and 1945) agreeing.

“Millennials are more open to new and innovative concepts, indicative of wider exposure to foreign cultures and products from an early age compared to their senior peers,” says Melanie Felgate, senior consumer analyst for GlobalData.

Curiosity has emerged as the key driver of appetite for new flavors and fragrances,

“Millennials are digital natives with...

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Jun 20
Worldwide 3D printer shipments up again in 2016

The IDC research group (www.idc.com) says 3D printer shipments increased 29% in 2016 while revenue grew by more than 18% year-over-year in 2016.

"The 3D printing market surge continues on a worldwide basis with more technology and materials options, which are driving more investment in 3D printers and greater utilization of the equipment that has been installed" said Tim Greene, research director, Hardcopy Solutions at IDC. "We're seeing exciting growth in some of the key technology segments, with FFF/FDM, SLA, and Powder-bed Fusion all growing at double-digit rates year over year" Greene continued.

The fastest-growing technology segments were FFF/FDM and Stereolithography, which each grew shipments by nearly 30% in 2016 vs. 2015. On the revenue side, powder-bed fusion-based 3D printers grew by nearly 40% from 2015 to 2016.

The strongest growth in 3D printer shipments came from the Asia/Pacific region (...

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Jun 20
Smart toy sales to grow threefold by 2022

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperesearch.com) forecasts that smart toy sales will reach $15.5 billion in hardware and app content revenues by 2022, up from an estimated $4.9 billion in 2017.

This increase will primarily be driven by the growing popularity of smartphone-based connected toys and the enduring appeal of console-connected “toys to life,” action figures that interact with a video game via a reader device, adds the research group. The new research identified the Lego Group as being particularly well positioned in this category, with their successful “toys to life” range, Lego Dimension. Juniper forecasts that 224 million smart toys will be shipped worldwide in 2017.

The study found that many players in the smart toy segment are not only appealing to children, but also to ‘“kidults” and collectors, as demonstrated by Sphero’s BB8 app-enabled droid and Lego Dimension’s A-...

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Jun 19
San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, London are top...

The latest findings from Canalys’ (www.canalys.com) Autonomous Vehicle Analysis service show that four cities lead the way when it comes to being ready for autonomous vehicles. San Francisco is out in front, followed by Shanghai, Singapore and London.

These rise to the top of a group of cities that, due to their size and populations, have some of the most complex transport networks in the world. The top four have a high need for autonomous vehicles to revolutionize their transport systems, combined with the ability to make it happen.

These conclusions come from Canalys’ recently published Autonomous Vehicle Readiness Index (AVRI), which ranks, weights and scores cities based on a set of specific criteria drawn from public sources and Canalys’ own data and estimates.

“Naturally, San Francisco leads the way and is the city best able to implement autonomous vehicles. The Bay Area is renowned as the...

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Jun 19
Study: use of alternative credit scoring can increase...

A new study by ID Analytics (www.idanalytics.com), which specializes in consumer risk management, finds that using alternative credit scores for safe lending can dramatically increase the number of individuals that are considered eligible for credit.

Through the use of alternative scores, lenders are able to see a more complete picture of an applicant’s credit worthiness. This enables more marginal, subprime or unscoreable individuals to take advantage of mainstream financial services.

While a significant number of U.S. consumers rely on credit for financial stability, many have difficulty gaining access to credit due to no or poor traditional credit scores. Millennials, immigrants and individuals with lower incomes are groups that are most likely to be seen by lenders and bureaus as “unscoreable.”

Traditional credit scores take into account data from credit card, mortgage, student and auto...

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Jun 16
ISG Research: automation and AI use to triple by 2019

The application of automation and artificial intelligence to mission-critical business processes will more than triple by 2019, reflecting growing confidence in such technologies, new research from Information Services Group (ISG) (www.isg-one-com), a global technology research and advisory firm, has found.

In an ISG survey of more than 500 business and IT leaders, 16% say they’re currently applying automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to one or more mission-critical business processes. More than three times as many (51%) say they expect to do so by 2019. This rapid increase in adoption, the ISG Automation and AI Survey report notes, suggests IT and business leaders are becoming more confident that current proof-of-concept and pilot projects will move into production in the next 24 months.

Overall investment in automation technologies – including robotic process automation (RPA), autonomics, virtual...

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Jun 15
Enterprise WLAN market grew 4.4% year-over-year in Q1...

The combined consumer and enterprise worldwide wireless local area network (WLAN) market segments decreased 0.8% year over year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), finishing at $2.15 billion, according to IDC.


The enterprise segment grew 4.4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17) to reach $1.24 billion, notes the research group. Enterprise WLAN growth moderated in 1Q17 compared to 1Q16, when year-over-year growth registered a stronger 8.6%. However, demand for network refreshes, digital transformation (DX) initiatives, and the continued maturation of Wave 2 802.11ac are positive indicators for stronger growth going forward in 2017.

The 802.11ac standard now accounts for 70.9% of dependent access point unit shipments and 84.7% of dependent access point revenues. This points to a continued trend of 802.11n obsolescence, which is expected to be nearly complete by the end of 2018, says IDC.

Meanwhile, consumer WLAN market revenue decreased 7.0% on a...

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Jun 15
Many organizations run most computers on outdated...

BitSight (www.bitsighttech.com), which specializes in security ratings, has released a new report titled, "A Growing Risk Ignored: Critical Updates," analyzing more than 35,000 companies from industries across the globe over the last year, to better understand the usage of outdated computer operating systems and Internet browsers, the time to it took to update operating systems once a new release was made available, and how these practices correlate to data breaches.

The data shows that there are large gaps in asset management programs across the globe. Organizations must be more vigilant about limiting their attack surface by more rapidly addressing exploitable vulnerabilities, according to BitSight

The conclusion of this research coincides with "WannaCry," a strain of ransomware that affected over 300,000 computers worldwide across banks, hospitals, telecommunications services, and train...

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Jun 14
Hybrid cloud becomes a strategic imperative

Cloud computing is no longer a decision made solely for tactical reasons like cost savings or ease of implementation, according to InSight (https://www.insight.com/en_US/home.html). Key strategic business demands—the need for greater business agility, data capabilities, and better customer and user experiences—are compelling companies to embrace cloud systems, according to the research group.

Respondents to an InSight survey are nearly split when it comes to hybrid and private cloud adoption, while total public cloud usage captures only a fraction of the market:

° Hybrid approach with systems hosted in both the public and private clouds (42%);

° Host most of their systems in a private cloud (40%);

° Host most in the public cloud (13%).

The types of systems most likely to reside in the cloud, include:

° Email and communication tools (54%);...

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Jun 13
Worldwide server market revenue dips 4.6% in quarter...

According to the IDC research group (www.idc.com), vendor revenue in the worldwide server market declined 4.6% year over year to $11.8 billion in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17).

Overall server market growth continues to slow down with most hyperscale service providers waiting until the second half of the year for deployment of Intel's new Skylake processors. High-end server sales continue to be a drag on overall market performance.

The market has also been negatively affected by DRAM pricing issues. Worldwide server shipments increased 1.4% year over year to 2.21 million units in 1Q17. One customer accounted for more than 10% of the servers shipped in 1Q17.

Volume server revenue declined by 3.4% to $9.5 billion, while midrange server revenue grew 16.5% to $1.3 billion. Demand for high-end systems experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of 29.0% to $1.0 billion. IDC expects continued long-term secular...

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Jun 12
More businesses to manage data on hybrid cloud

The Gartner research group (www.gartner.com) reports that half of all enterprise content will be machine authored, as well as managed on hybrid cloud systems by 2018.

File synchronization and sharing also are expected be a standard embedded Enterprise Content Management (ECM) business function, while over one-fifth of all businesses will be managing content from multiple organizations. These realities emphasize the urgent need for businesses to update and future-proof processes by investing in systems that allow content to be smoothly integrated and easily accessed online, in order to remain competitive, says Gartner.

Across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, legal and retail industries, the demand for ECM and Business Process Management (BPM) systems ) to be personalized and hyper-connected is rapidly increasing - magnified by the continuous rise in e-commerce and an increasingly agile...

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Jun 12
Lifestyle-focused consumers increasingly seek...

Lifestyle-focused consumers are increasingly seeking products personalized to their individual preferences rather than those corresponding to traditional demographic stereotypes, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData (www.globaldata.com).

The company’s latest report states that many consumers, particularly younger ones, are moving away from traditional categorizations and labels, such as age and gender, which have conventionally been used to segment consumers. GlobalData’s 2016 consumer research found that 66% of consumers globally are most likely to purchase products developed for their particular lifestyle, a figure ranking above the percentage of those most swayed by demographic alignment.

“In today’s individualistic society, there is a growing desire for products which can better align with consumers based on their individual preferences and personality in order to effectively...

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Jun 09
Mainframe more secure than other systems

Compuware Corp. (www.compuware.com), a mainframe-dedicated software company, has released a survey of large company CIOs showing that while most (78%) say their mainframe is more secure than other systems, the majority (84 percent) say they are still exposed to a significant risk of insider threats due to blind-spots in internal data access and controls.

The survey was conducted by independent research company Vanson Bourne, and administered in April to 400 CIOs at large companies covering a cross-section of vertical markets in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the U.S. Key findings include:

° Sixty-four percent of organizations use the mainframe as a core repository of their most sensitive data, storing either more or equal amounts of customers’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) there as they do on other systems.

° Seventy-eight percent of organizations said their mainframe is...

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Jun 08
IT security market in Europe to grow 16% in 2018

Businesses large and small are scrambling to assess their General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) readiness, with less than a year to go until its implementation on May 25, 2018, according to Canalys (www.canalys.com).

The new framework demands a reassessment of the everyday operational structure for businesses that handle personal data in the EU. Canalys forecasts that this will spur the IT security market in Western and Central Eastern Europe to grow 16% to $11.5 billion in 2018. However, there are significant differences in preparedness between companies of varied sizes, according to the research group.

“Our research shows that large businesses are well informed on information security regulations, with resources in place to ensure compliance. With ransomware threats such as WannaCry causing havoc, shareholders will be more willing to accept increased data security and compliance budgets to protect...

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Jun 07
Why context-aware social networking is the future

Most of us rely on popular social media platforms for our social connectivity and well-being.

These platforms do a great job in connecting us with our friends, relatives, and acquaintances. In fact, the level of connectivity they provide is so high that many of us unknowingly attain a level of hyper-connectivity that blinds us from interacting with everyone else who's not already in our social network.

People in our immediate surroundings share common experiences with us. Whether its those that are waiting for the same train as you, the thousands of fellow spectators that are watching the same football game at a stadium with you, or everyone staying in the same hotel as you — you have more in common, and thus more reasons to interact, with people in your immediate vicinity than you realize. Unfortunately, most of these people are not already in your social network and therefore, opportunities to interact with them are usually lost.

Social media platforms must...

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Jun 06
Gartner: number of enterprise mobile apps not...

More than a quarter of enterprises globally have not built, customized or virtualized any mobile apps in the last 12 months, according to the latest mobile app survey by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

This number is surprisingly high, the research group’s analysts said, but it is still down from the year before. In the 2016 survey, 39% of respondents said they had not built, customized or virtualized any mobile apps in the previous 12 months.
Adrian Leow, research director at Gartner, said that enterprises are responding slowly to increasing demand for mobile apps.

"Many IT teams will have significant backlogs of application work that need completing, which increases the risk of lines of business going around IT to get what they want sooner," he added. "Development teams need to rethink their priorities and span of control over mobile app development or risk further erosion of IT budgets and the...

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Jun 06
Worldwide shipments of AR/VR headsets gain momentum

Worldwide shipments of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets continued to soar with a total of 2.3 million units shipped in the first quarter of 2017 (1Q17), according to IDC (www.idc.com). With a long list of new products scheduled to ship in the second half of 2017, the research group is forecasting triple-digit growth for the full year.

VR represented the vast majority (more than 98%) of headsets shipped during the first quarter. Within VR, about two-thirds of all headset shipments were screenless viewers, such as Samsung's Gear VR and Google's Daydream View. Meanwhile, tethered VR headsets, such as the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Sony's PSVR, accounted for one third of the market.

"The VR market is still very young and consumers seem to be taking a cautious approach," said Jitesh Ubrani senior research analyst for IDC's Mobile Device Trackers. "With plenty of headset options already in the...

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Jun 05
Intel: autonomous driving will spur new ‘passenger...

Intel (www.intel.com) has revealed the findings from a new study that explores the yet-to-be-realized economic potential when today’s drivers become idle passengers. Coined the “Passenger Economy” by Intel and prepared by analyst firm Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com), the study predicts an explosive economic trajectory growing from US$800 billion in 2035 to US$7 trillion by 2050.

History has proven that technology is the catalyst for massive societal transformation and that businesses need to adapt or risk failure, or worse, extinction. New digital business models ushered in by personal computing, the internet, ubiquitous connectivity and smartphones gave birth to whole new economies. Autonomous driving will do the same.

“Companies should start thinking about their autonomous strategy now,” said Intel CEO Brian...

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Jun 05
Flexible display market worth $15.14 billion by 2022

New data from Markets and Markets (www.marketsandmarkets.com) says the flexible display market will grow from $2.67 billion in 2016 to $15.14 billion by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of 34.42% between 2017 and 2022.

The growth of this market is majorly driven by a technological shift to and development of energy-efficient, attractive, and high-specification products and the rising demand for smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, televisions, PC monitors, and laptops, according to the research group.

The smartphones and tablets segment was the largest market segment in 2016. The use of flexible displays in smartphones and tablets makes these more durable, as they offer stylish designs and better ergonomics to operate the devices, notes Markets and Market.

The OLED technology segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period, adds the...

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Jun 03
The Northern Spy: no Apple news, but ….

By Rick Sutcliffe

In a reprise of previous comments on the subject, the Spy has resolved his issues with his Synology 4-bay 1815+ NAS, that he purchased for home use (yes, yes, overkill, but one cannot have too many backups, especially when one of them fails).

This unit worked worked well for over a year, but became flakey, started to beep, and when the Spy investigated, he found the volume had crashed. Attempting to turn it off and on again yielded a cold dead brick.

Synology issued an RMA an a promise to replace the unit if it couldn’t be repaired, and kept that promise, delivering a brand new unit. The volume could not be recovered from the drives, so had to be deleted and re-created, the users and apps reinstalled, the Time Machine functionality re-initialized. All now works well again. Synology service gets an A+ for standing behind their product, and a C- for speed of reply to the original ticket, and not replying at all when the Spy...

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Jun 02
More than three-fourths of U.S. broadband households...

New research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that three-fourths of U.S. broadband households use Wi-Fi for in-home connectivity. The research group eamined the demand for smart home products and services and the impact across multiple verticals, including home energy and security, connected entertainment, smart home, and other IoT [Internet of Things] solutions.

"Consumers already use lots of data on their mobile, smart home, and entertainment devices, and Wi-Fi is doing most of the work in the home, accounting for more than 70% of data used per month in U.S. broadband households," said Harry Wang, senior director of Research, Parks Associates. "Consumer data needs will continue to increase, both in and outside the home, as between 2015 and 2020, U.S. households will acquire more than 2.3 billion connected devices. Providers and manufacturers must ensure their offerings can...

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Jun 01
Study: cybercrime to cost global business over $8...

A new report by Juniper Research (www.juniperresearh.com) has found that criminal data breaches will cost businesses a total of $8 trillion over the next five years, due to higher levels of Internet connectivity and inadequate enterprise wide security.

The research group forecasts that the number of personal data records stolen by cybercriminals will reach 2.8 billion in 2017, almost doubling to five billion in 2020, despite new and innovative cybersecurity solutions emerging. Juniper found that SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are particularly at risk from cyberattacks, spending less than $4,000 on cybersecurity measures this year. Only marginal increases in security spend are expected over the next five years. These firms also tend to run older software, which WannaCry and other recent cyberattacks have exploited.

Juniper’s research highlights a need for companies to put more money into...

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May 31
IoT device management revenue to increase 107% in 2017

MachNation (www.machnation.com), an insight services firm, has released an in-depth evaluation and rating of 18 Internet of Things device management vendors.

According to survey data collected from participating vendors in the scorecard, Internet of Things (IoT) device management revenue will grow 107% in 2017 with only 33% of the revenue coming from North America. MachNation forecasts that 2017 worldwide IoT platform revenue will reach $2 billion as enterprise buyers invest in the underlying technology to power their IoT solutions. The firm’s survey data show that sectors including energy/utilities, transportation, industrial, manufacturing and smart cities generate the most revenue for device management vendors.

"MachNation, the industry's most knowledgeable researchers for IoT middleware and platforms, has coordinated the publication of our scorecard with the product launch of our new IoT Device...

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May 30
More than 442 million connected consumer devices to be...

According to new data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) more than 442 million connected consumer devices will be sold in the U.S. in 2020. These sales totals include connected entertainment, mobile, health, and smart home devices.

Personal assistant devices, which include speakers with voice control such as the Amazon Alexa and Google Home, are the fastest growing category with a compound annual growth rate of 78.3% in 2015-2020.

"Voice control is the top trend for 2017 in the IoT and smart home," said Elizabeth Parks, senior vice president, Parks Associates. "Parks Associates research shows U.S. consumers will buy more than 2.3 billion connected devices between 2015 and 2020, and they are showing strong preferences for voice as the interface for their devices. Companies in the smart home, entertainment, and connected car ecosystems are pursuing partnerships that can add voice...

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May 26
Digital commerce uptake to exceed 40% of the global...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that users of digital commerce services will reach three billion by 2021, or 40% of the global population, up from just 32% this year.

The new research found that two core sectors will dominate the global digital commerce industry, in terms of transaction values: Remote payments for digital & physical goods, and digital banking via bill payment services.

These segments together will account for over half of global transaction values by 2021, according to Juniper. Significant opportunity for businesses exists, with remote payments for digital and physical goods forecast to account for over 10% of the $20 trillion global retail market in 2017, notes the research group.

Juniper’s study found that businesses will gain advantage through use of automated customer experiences. With product search and discovery a key...

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May 25
Mobile experts releases network, handset cost...

Mobile Experts (www.mobile-experts.com), a domain marketplace, has released market research describing a cross-section of 5G cost. While the wide telecom industry is hyping up 5G, Mobile Experts has been making some hard-nosed financial calculations to determine the applications and scenarios where 5G can be successful. 

According to their research, pure speed and low latency are not the primary objectives of 5G. Rather, Mobile Experts has discerned that 5G should be able to achieve a 10x reduction in cost per bit compared with LTE-- directed mostly toward video services of various kinds.

"Personally, I don't believe that new 5G applications will drive a lot of revenue. Virtual reality? No, that's short-range wireless, not mobile. Massive IoT? No, we have cheaper solutions for that.  Critical IoT? Maybe, but that revenue will grow very slowly," commented Principal Analyst Joe Madden.

...

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May 24
The U.S. stays on top for VR

The US VR market formed 40% of the global market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, keeping its place as the largest market for VR in terms of volumes shipped worldwide, according to the Canalys research group (www.canalys.com).

Sony PlayStation VR dominated the US market with just over 60% share. It capitalized on its installed base of gaming devices, as well as its lower-cost headsets. Demand in the Japanese VR market meant that a total of 81,000 VR headsets were shipped in Japan. This was largely contributed by Sony, which conquered its home market with 90% market share.

As a result, China dropped to third place in terms of volumes of VR units shipped in the first quarter of 2017.  HTC continues to lead in China, with 15,000 Vive headsets shipped in Q1 2017, taking up a quarter of the market. Sony experienced strong demand for its PlayStation VR in Japan, with the company still trying to fill demand...

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May 24
AI in healthcare market to see CARG of 62.2%

The artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare market will witness a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 62.2% from now through 2022, according to new data from Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

AI is being adopted in healthcare using algorithm and software for the analysis of medical data with a view to predict diseases and provide proper medication. It will lead to personalization and optimization resulting in improved outcomes for both patients and healthcare systems, according to Research and Markets.

The need for pre-operative planning, high costs associated with healthcare, and rising chronic diseases amongst masses are driving the integration of AI in healthcare solutions, adds the research group. A basic AI computer used today in clinical practices can be used for alerts and reminders, diagnostic, therapy planning, information retrieval, and image...

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May 23
Software creates $1.4 trillion in domestic economic...

Software—particularly cloud-based technology—is now creating roughly $1.4 trillion in economic value in the U.S. and is poised to grow even more, particularly as non-tech companies transform themselves into software businesses, according to a new report released y by global investment firm Battery Ventures (www.battery.com). The figure represents nearly 8% of U.S. GDP (gross domestic product).

The report was delivered by Battery General Partner Neeraj Agrawal at the inaugural CloudNY conference in New York. Based on earlier research by the BSA | The Software Alliance, as well as new research by Battery, the report traces the history of today’s software renaissance from the mainframe era in the 1970s through the client-server era, then into desktop “software-as-a-service” (SaaS) applications and, finally, to today’s cloud-first offerings delivered over the web.

“People don’t realize how big this industry...

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May 22
Quark releases ‘Content Automation Trends Report 2017’

Quark Software (www.quark.com) has released the “Content Automation Trends Report 2017.” The research, conducted in conjunction with market research firm InfoTrends, confirms that while digital transformation is driving content initiatives for most organizations, content teams continue to struggle to meet the need for engaging, device-specific content.

In fact, less than 20% of study respondents are confident their content is consistent across channels. This, along with other research findings, indicates a need for large organizations to move beyond basic file sharing and even traditional enterprise content management (ECM) in order to remain competitive.

Quark and InfoTrends surveyed 252 businesses worldwide with respondents spanning a range of industry sectors, departments, and job roles. The research objectives were to gain insight on current practices for managing content throughout its life cycle, uncover...

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May 19
AI will soon be the future of interior design, says...

Interior design app Planner 5D (www.planner5D.com) will be incorporating AI into its apps in order to help users create their dream home design with a click of a button.
 
According to a new report from Tractica, AI software application will grow from $1.4 billion in 2016 to $60 billion by 2025. AI is currently taking over various professions, often proving that artificial mind can be more powerful, precise and creative than human. While AI has dominated chess for a long time, it has recently triumphed over humans in poker. Expanding the realm of traditional AI challenges, AI has just introduced an entirely new way of creating products by producing the famous Elbo chair, which combined aerospace engineering software with artisanal craftsmanship tool.
  
Planner 5D is currently creating machine learning algorithms that will train on over 40 million real user projects. All these projects offer an...

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May 19
2V capabilities to be in over 50% of cars sold by 2022

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has revealed that, by 2022, 50% of new vehicles will be shipped with V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) hardware, a technology that enables real-time short-range communication between vehicles.

The new research found that the total number of V2V-enabled consumer vehicles on the road will reach 35 million by 2022, up from less than 150,000 vehicles in 2017. This strong growth rate (376% CAGR) reflects the early stages of roll-out for V2V, but will still only represent 2.7% off all vehicles.

The technology, launched by Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac, will play an important role in the advance of autonomous vehicles, as the annual production of self-driving cars approaches 15 million by 2025. Juniper Research found that, alongside GPS, LiDAR (Light-Detection and Ranging) and road mapping, V2V will be amongst the critical technologies in delivering...

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May 18
Worldwide semiconductor revenue grew 2.6% in 2016

Worldwide semiconductor revenue totaled $343.5 billion in 2016, a 2.6% increase from 2015 revenue of $334.9 billion, according to final results by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 10.5 percent, a significantly better performance than the overall industry's growth. However, most of this growth resulted from merger and acquisition (M&A) activity.

"The semiconductor industry rebounded in 2016, with a weak start to the year, characterized by inventory correction, giving way to strengthening demand and an improving pricing environment in the second half," said James Hines research director at Gartner. "Worldwide semiconductor revenue growth was supported by increasing production in many electronic equipment segments, improving NAND flash memory pricing and relatively benign currency movements.”

Intel retained its number one position as the...

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May 18
Cloud service providers’ battle drives the worldwide...

The worldwide cloud infrastructure services market continued growing in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, up 42% year on year to reach $11.4 billion, according to Canalys’ latest estimates.

Amazon’s AWS maintained its dominance, holding a stable global market share of 31%. It was followed by its strongest hyper-scale rivals — Microsoft, Google and IBM. Microsoft grew 93% and Google was up 74% compared to the same quarter a year ago. These growth rates were faster than those of AWS and IBM, which grew 43% and 38% respectively, according to the research group.

“Competition for enterprise customers is intensifying among leading cloud service providers, which are investing heavily to secure key national and global accounts,” said Canalys (www.canalys.com) Research Analyst Daniel Liu.  “Timing is crucial, as many large accounts are assessing, formulating and executing strategies to move existing workloads and...

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May 17
Contactless retail payments to exceed $1 trillion in...

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that the global value of contactless transactions made via payment cards, mobile and wearables, will reach $1.3 trillion by 2019, more than doubling from an estimated $590 billion in 2017.

According to the research group, contactless card levels will continue to dominate transaction values, accounting for 80% of total contactless transactions in 2019. The research forecasts that contactless transactions via debit/credit cards will exceed $2 trillion globally by 2021.

Juniper’s research found that many markets with a relatively well established contactless infrastructure have been seeded by the card providers, albeit with varying degrees of success. The research group found that in 2016, while cards accounted for well over 90% of transactions by value in many European markets (for example, rising to 99% in Spain), in the U.S....

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May 17
Largest global ransomware attack could have been...

Last Friday morning, a ransomware attack started spreading across the globe, infecting tens of thousands of computers. Those affected included over 40 health service trusts and FedEx’s offices in the United Kingdom, a telecom in Spain, and the Russian Interior Ministry.
 
The malicious software, transferred over email and stolen from the National Security Agency (NSA), exposed vulnerabilities in computer systems in almost 100 countries in total, constituting one of the largest ransomware attacks on record.
 
The attack was in fact largely preventable, if only more Windows users had installed the critical security patch that Microsoft released for it two months ago and followed a few other security rules.
 
“Criminals took advantage of the fact that most people still don’t do enough to protect their computers,” said Marty P. Kamden, CMO of NordVPN (Virtual Private Network). “We at NordVPN strive to raise public awareness about what each person...

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May 16
Majority of U.S. adults own a streaming enabled TV

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has released “The Changing TV Experience: 2017,” a study revealing that most U.S. adults (56%) own a streaming enabled TV, a 56% rise from just two years ago, a fundamental shift in the way that Americans watch television.

Almost all Americans (92%) own a TV. However, today the majority of time spent (54%) watching TV is dedicated to something other than traditional linear programming (46%). The largest share of that non-linear time is spent streaming digital video (20%), which can include network TV shows, subscription service original shows, or original digital video content. The remaining viewing time is devoted to: watching programming via DVR recording (15%), Video on Demand (6%), and downloaded video (5%), in addition to another 8%t that is uncategorized.

Among the 56% of U.S. Adults who own streaming enabled TVs, watching digital video on them became an entrenched habit in 2017, with nearly half (46%) saying they do so...

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May 15
3D bioprinting – from science fiction to reality?

By Dr Nadia Tsao, Technology Analyst, IDTechEx

After over 15 years of research and development in academia and industry, several main applications of 3D bioprinting technology are ready to be realized. In IDTechEx’s (www.IDTechEx.com) new report titled "3D Bioprinting 2017 – 2027: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts," the global 3D bioprinting market is predicted to experience a period of high growth to reach a size of $1.8 billion by the year 2027.
 
3D bioprinting, defined as the layer-by-layer deposition of cells to create a final 3D construct, provides users with the unique ability to create artificial tissue that closely resembles native tissue in form and function from basic biological building blocks. This biological mimicry not only enables a more efficient use of research resources by yielding physiologically relevant results, but also has applications in regenerative medicine...

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May 12
Study: organizations falling behind in cybersecurity...

DFLabs (www.dflabs.com), which specializes in security automation and orchestration technology, has announced new research from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), commissioned by DFLabs and other technology vendors, which shows that when it comes to the evolution of Cybersecurity Analytics and Operations, 71% of respondent organizations find it more difficult today than it was two years ago due to the changing threat landscape, followed by volume of alerts and increased regulatory changes.

“Despite businesses making it a priority, there is great confusion on how to make sense of and integrate security analytics and Operations. Most organizations are dealing with 10 to 25 technologies ranging from SIEMs, vulnerability assessment, endpoint detection, threat intelligence and user behavior to incident response. They are challenged with the total cost of operations and spending too much time on emergency issues,” said Jon...

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May 12
Gartner: AI could turn some skilled practices into...

CIOs have a major role to play in preparing businesses for the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on business strategy and human employment, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). The research group predicts that by 2022, smart machines and robots may replace highly trained professionals in tasks within medicine, law and IT.

"The economics of AI and machine learning will lead to many tasks performed by professionals today becoming low-cost utilities," said Stephen Prentice, vice president and Gartner Fellow. "AI's effects on different industries will force the enterprise to adjust its business strategy. Many competitive, high-margin industries will become more like utilities as AI turns complex work into a metered service that the enterprise pays for, like electricity.”

The effects that AI will have on the enterprise will depend on its industry, business, organization and customers. Mr...

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May 11
Rules to stay safe on public Wi-Fi

The travel season is almost here. Free Wi-Fi at cafes, airports, restaurants and city streets is used by almost everyone who’s traveling – but how many people take an extra step to make sure their browsing is not only convenient, but also safe?
 
Last year, NordVPN (Virtual Private Network) released safety tips for public Wi-Fi, but the number of public Wi-Fi scams only seems to be increasing, showing that people still don’t treat their online security seriously. According to privatewifi.com study, 79% of respondents still don’t use a VPN when they go on public Wi-Fi. According to NordVPN’s recent survey (reikia linko be login credentials, geriausiai i webpage, o ne Exceli) almost half of respondents (reiktu procento) didn’t know that, for example, it was dangerous to shop online on a public network.
 
Here are some of the most common ways that a hacker can take advantage of someone’s device connected to a public Wi-Fi hotspot:
 
1. Fake Wi-Fi...

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May 10
Chatbots is a game changer for banking and healthcare

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that chatbots will redefine the customer service industry, with healthcare and banking sectors set to benefit the most. The new research forecasts that chatbots will be responsible for cost savings of over $8 billion per annum by 2022, up from $20 million this year.

Juniper expects dramatic cost savings to be made in the healthcare and banking sectors, as enquiry resolution times are reduced and cost savings boosted. Research author Lauren Foye explains: “We believe that healthcare and banking providers using bots can expect average time savings of just over four minutes per enquiry, equating to average cost savings in the range of $0.50-$0.70 per interaction. As Artificial Intelligence advances, reducing reliance on human representatives undoubtedly spells job losses.”

Juniper found that many bots are suited to enquiries...

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May 09
IoT operating systems’ market to be worth $1.7 million...

According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets (www.marketsandmarkets.com), the market size for the Internet of Things (IoT) operating system market will grow from $289.2 million in 2017 to $1,721.3 Million by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.9%.

The major forces driving the operating system market include the increasing traction for emergence of technologies, such as cloud computing and mobility, adds the research group. What’s more, adoption by the small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is populating the growth of the IoT operating systems. The reason being, SMEs always look for operating systems to focus on developing a systematic approach for organizations and becoming more proactive toward their business operations.

The client side architecture of IoT operating systems is designed to provide a consolidated view of the processed and analyzed data...

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May 09
How Quantum computing with DNA storage will affect...

By Taran Volckhausen, Contributing Editor at Vector

Moore's Law, which states that processing speeds will double every two years as we cram more and more silicon transistors onto chips, has been faltering since the early 2000s when the law started to run up against fundamental limitations presented by the laws of thermodynamics.

While the chip industry, with Intel leading the charge, has found ways to sidestep the limitations up until now, many are now saying that despite the industry’s best efforts, the stunning gains in processor speeds will not be seen again by the simple application of Moore’s Law.

In fact, there is evidence to show that we are reaching the plateau for the number of transistors that will fit on a single chip. Intel has even suggested silicon transistors can only keep getting smaller during the next five years.

As a result, Intel has resorted to other practices to improve processing speeds, such as adding multiple...

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May 08
Study: traditional approaches to customer experience...

Organizations need to rethink traditional approaches to customer experience management according to a new study sponsored by Axway (www.axway.com), “a catalyst for transformation,” in partnership with IDC, a provider of global IT research and advice.

The study found that despite customer experience being the top digital initiative for organizations, 69% have yet to implement a single view of the customer.
The study surveyed more than 600 senior executives in IT, digital and customer experience roles at the largest global enterprises across the U.S., Europe and Asia.

It revealed that customer experience is now the most critical digital initiative for more than 70% of enterprises. The study also indicated that customer experience is now replacing product and price as a means to create brand value, distinctiveness and strategic differentiation.

Despite organizations investing in omni-channel...

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May 05
The Northern Spy: technology drivers

By Rick Sutcliffe

The Spy has become one (a technology driver that is) for as reported in his March column, he and wife Joyce recently purchased their first new car in over two decades--a Subaru Forester--and it is technology rich.

Typical of mind-range SUV crossovers, it has a rear camera with dash display for same, multiple information screens, steerable fog lights, smart air bags, blind spot detectors in the mirrors, keyless entry with secure fob, always on all wheel drive, adaptive cruise control, latched gas access lid, rear side obstacle detectors, lane departure detection and correction, heated front seats, a media centre with more options than they will ever use (or even want). OTOH, plenty of safety and anti-theft features, but of course OTOH, lots of potential for technology to go south.

Odd omissions include no tire pressure monitoring--required in the US of A, but left out here in the frozen north. Subtract a couple of marks. Also...

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May 04
Internet users can still access websites by using VPNs

The head of FCC (U.S. Federal Communications Commission), Ajit Pai, has announced that he will start the process of repealing FCC’s net neutrality rules that were approved by President Obama in 2015. The announcement starts a new battle over the future of the Internet, censorship and role of ISPs (Internet Service Providers) in what people can read or watch online.
 
Current net neutrality rules prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to a "fast lane" of Internet to certain Internet services over others. A neutral network gives equal transmission priority over all content moving across it, and no content is subjected to slow downs or blocking. The loss of net neutrality could mean that priority is given to the content of big providers.
 
Many websites worry that when the rules are repealed, they will lose access to clients and page views. Even larger websites – such as streaming service providers like Netflix or Hulu – can experience...

| Read more »
May 04
 P2P money transfers to drive digital payment growth

A new study by Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com)has found the value of digital payments will approach $3.9 trillion this year, representing an increase of more than 14% on last year’s total. While the bulk of transaction value (55%) will be accounted for by online retail purchases for physical goods, P2P (Person to Person) money transfers will see the largest year-on-year net increase in value ($200 million).

The new research shows that the U.S. will see particularly strong growth, with the bank-backed Zelle Network expected to build on its successful debut in 2016 as additional banks come on board. Juniper emphasizes that the demonetization policies employed by India’s government had encouraged a surge in mobile wallet adoption and, with it, sharp increases in both P2P and mobile retail transactions.

Meanwhile, the research group says the U.S. will see further strong growth in...

| Read more »
May 03
In 2016, smartphone shipments grew by 7%

Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of the "Smartphone, Tablet & Modem Market 2017" report to their offering.

This report provides a detailed market analysis of all significant smartphones, wireless-connected tablets (cellular & Wi-Fi) and modems. Five-year forecasts are provided in considerable detail for each. In addition, smartphone and non-smart cellphones are forecast for all global regions.

The report also provides 2016 quarterly unit shipments and YOY market shares in revenue for the top smartphone, tablet and modem suppliers and discusses the 2017 market positioning of the primary vendors. Both revenue and unit shipments for 2016 are provided for major vendors of each category and five-year forecasts for all covered devices are included.

The 2016 smartphone shipments grew by 7% overall from 1.3 billion to 1.4 billion units...

| Read more »
May 03
Government CIOs spend 21% of their IT budget on...

Top-performing organizations in the private and public sectors, on average, spend a greater proportion of their IT budgets on digital initiatives (33%) than government organizations (21%), according to a global survey of CIOs by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). Looking forward to 2018, top-performing organizations anticipate spending 43% of their IT budgets on digitalization, compared with 28% for government CIOs, says the research group.

Gartner's 2017 CIO Agenda survey includes the views of 2,598 CIOs from 93 countries, representing US$9.4 trillion in revenue or public sector budgets and $292 billion in IT spending, including 377 government CIOs in 38 countries. Government respondents are segmented into national or federal, state or province (regional) and local jurisdictions, to identify trends specific to each tier. For the purposes of the survey, respondents were also categorized as top, typical and trailing...

| Read more »
 

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Dropbox is a file hosting service that provides cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. It is a modern workspace that allows you to get to all of your files, manage... Read more
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Zenless Zone Zero opens entries for its...
miHoYo, aka HoYoverse, has become such a big name in mobile gaming that it's hard to believe that arguably their flagship title, Genshin Impact, is only three and a half years old. Now, they continue the road to the next title in their world, with... | Read more »
Live, Playdate, Live! – The TouchArcade...
In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off by talking about all the games I splurged on during the recent Playdate Catalog one-year anniversary sale, including the new Lucas Pope jam Mars After Midnight. We haven’t played any... | Read more »
TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Vroomies’
So here’s a thing: Vroomies from developer Alex Taber aka Unordered Games is the Game of the Week! Except… Vroomies came out an entire month ago. It wasn’t on my radar until this week, which is why I included it in our weekly new games round-up, but... | Read more »
SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘MLB The Show 24’...
Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for March 15th, 2024. We’re closing out the week with a bunch of new games, with Sony’s baseball franchise MLB The Show up to bat yet again. There are several other interesting games to... | Read more »
Steam Deck Weekly: WWE 2K24 and Summerho...
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. The busy season has begun with games we’ve been looking forward to playing including Dragon’s Dogma 2, Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition, and also console exclusives like Rise of the... | Read more »
Steam Spring Sale 2024 – The 10 Best Ste...
The Steam Spring Sale 2024 began last night, and while it isn’t as big of a deal as say the Steam Winter Sale, you may as well take advantage of it to save money on some games you were planning to buy. I obviously recommend checking out your own... | Read more »
New ‘SaGa Emerald Beyond’ Gameplay Showc...
Last month, Square Enix posted a Let’s Play video featuring SaGa Localization Director Neil Broadley who showcased the worlds, companions, and more from the upcoming and highly-anticipated RPG SaGa Emerald Beyond. | Read more »
Choose Your Side in the Latest ‘Marvel S...
Last month, Marvel Snap (Free) held its very first “imbalance" event in honor of Valentine’s Day. For a limited time, certain well-known couples were given special boosts when conditions were right. It must have gone over well, because we’ve got a... | Read more »
Warframe welcomes the arrival of a new s...
As a Warframe player one of the best things about it launching on iOS, despite it being arguably the best way to play the game if you have a controller, is that I can now be paid to talk about it. To whit, we are gearing up to receive the first... | Read more »
Apple Arcade Weekly Round-Up: Updates an...
Following the new releases earlier in the month and April 2024’s games being revealed by Apple, this week has seen some notable game updates and events go live for Apple Arcade. What The Golf? has an April Fool’s Day celebration event going live “... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Apple Education is offering $100 discounts on...
If you’re a student, teacher, or staff member at any educational institution, you can use your .edu email address when ordering at Apple Education to take $100 off the price of a new M3 MacBook Air.... Read more
Apple Watch Ultra 2 with Blood Oxygen feature...
Best Buy is offering Apple Watch Ultra 2 models for $50 off MSRP on their online store this week. Sale prices available for online orders only, in-store prices may vary. Order online, and choose... Read more
New promo at Sams Club: Apple HomePods for $2...
Sams Club has Apple HomePods on sale for $259 through March 31, 2024. Their price is $40 off Apple’s MSRP, and both Space Gray and White colors are available. Sale price is for online orders only, in... Read more
Get Apple’s 2nd generation Apple Pencil for $...
Apple’s Pencil (2nd generation) works with the 12″ iPad Pro (3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th generation), 11″ iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation), iPad Air (4th and 5th generation), and iPad mini (... Read more
10th generation Apple iPads on sale for $100...
Best Buy has Apple’s 10th-generation WiFi iPads back on sale for $100 off MSRP on their online store, starting at only $349. With the discount, Best Buy’s prices are the lowest currently available... Read more
iPad Airs on sale again starting at $449 on B...
Best Buy has 10.9″ M1 WiFi iPad Airs on record-low sale prices again for $150 off Apple’s MSRP, starting at $449. Sale prices for online orders only, in-store price may vary. Order online, and choose... Read more
Best Buy is blowing out clearance 13-inch M1...
Best Buy is blowing out clearance Apple 13″ M1 MacBook Airs this weekend for only $649.99, or $350 off Apple’s original MSRP. Sale prices for online orders only, in-store prices may vary. Order... Read more
Low price alert! You can now get a 13-inch M1...
Walmart has, for the first time, begun offering new Apple MacBooks for sale on their online store, albeit clearance previous-generation models. They now have the 13″ M1 MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 256GB... Read more
Best Apple MacBook deal this weekend: Get the...
Apple has 13″ M2 MacBook Airs available for only $849 today in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty is included,... Read more
New 15-inch M3 MacBook Air (Midnight) on sale...
Amazon has the new 15″ M3 MacBook Air (8GB RAM/256GB SSD/Midnight) in stock and on sale today for $1249.99 including free shipping. Their price is $50 off MSRP, and it’s the lowest price currently... Read more

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