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It's common for Linux users to hop between distributions and survey the field, and I recently reached a point where I had to seriously rethink the one I was using most of the time. Between hardware compatibility issues with my old standby and some discouraging missteps with other go-to choices, I felt the time had come to reassess my pool of preferred distributions and repopulate it from scratch. As my journey progressed, I realized that as often as I've discussed the field of Linux-based systems, I had not addressed how to pick one out. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2zkVeEO

For all of the dazzle of its rapidly evolving software portfolio, which includes a self-monitoring and self-patching database that also configures itself, as well as numerous cloud applications, Oracle has begun showing its credibility as a hardware vendor. Hardware has commoditized and will not return to the prominence it had in the early days of the tech era. However, commoditization brings new opportunities simply because price-performance numbers work better. Under Oracle's tutelage, hardware has found a disciplined and important niche. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2RoqwCg

SpaceChain has entered a partnership with the Arch Mission Foundation to use open source technology to launch an ambitious project involving the storage of large data sets in spacecraft and on other planets. Arch Mission will load large quantities of data onto SpaceChain's satellite vehicles with the eventual aim of storing data on other planets. "The goal of archiving and preserving knowledge of future generations will advance archiving science and human knowledge by itself," SpaceChain cofounder Zheng Zuo said. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2zdQTUa

Open source led to a new software development and distribution model that offered an alternative to proprietary software. No single event takes the prize for starting the technology revolution. However, Feb. 3, 1998, is one of the more significant dates. On that day, Christine Peterson, a futurist and lecturer in the field of nanotechnology, coined the "open source" term at a strategy session in Palo Alto, California, shortly after the release of the Netscape browser source code. Numerous other events contributed to driving the movement. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2CNGnGp

"Too many digital leaders have lost their minds," Kara Swisher recently wrote, citing some frightening examples of poor leadership. Swisher pointed to the solution adopted by Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, who hired a chief ethical officer -- but I think that would just repeat the mistake we made with chief risk officers around a decade ago. What happened was that the risk managers had responsibility but no real authority, so while they were viewed as some kind of shield, they were in effect more like sacrificial goats. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2qg1LwH

Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions, is one of the most influential experts on cybersecurity and IT strategy in the United States. She is an authority on Internet security, data breaches and fraud mitigation. She served as the first female chief information officer at the White House, overseeing IT operations for President George W. Bush and his staff. With the U.S. midterm elections fast approaching, both Payton's observations about the current cybersecurity threat level and her advice about shoring up the nation's defenses carry special weight. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Jk5v91

Fear mongering about killer robots and the recent deaths connected with Uber and Tesla autonomous vehicles have rekindled concerns about AI. We are well beyond answering Alan Turing's question, "can machines think?" There is now good reason to ask how we should think of AI, and what we should expect from it. There have been phenomenal advances in just the past few years. They are due in part to advances in processor technology. We now can train artificial neural networks in the time it would take to make a cup of coffee. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2SjcWRR

Linux apps now can run in a Chromebook's Chrome OS environment. However, the process can be tricky, and it depends on your hardware's design and Google's whims. It is somewhat similar to running Android apps on your Chromebook, but the Linux connection is far less forgiving. If it works in your Chromebook's flavor, though, the computer becomes much more useful with more flexible options. Still, running Linux apps on a Chromebook will not replace the Chrome OS. The apps run in an isolated virtual machine without a Linux desktop. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2PomsVf

Just when the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, was about to go into effect, the United States Congress created the CLOUD Act. Without any public hearings, review or public comment, Congress passed the legislation as part of the $1.3 trillion government spending bill. The CLOUD Act changed the privacy provisions that were in effect under the 1986 Stored Communications Act. Needless to say, Internet privacy issues create headlines around the world every day. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Sg0C4T

When we write the history of the IT era, the big factor that has played an important but not well recognized role will be hardware -- specifically, the Oracle Exadata appliance that puts databases into memory for fast access and updates. All of the cloud software starting with the autonomous database on view this week at OpenWorld would be vastly different if the database was still running primarily on disk drives. In fact, the database would be running so slowly -- relatively -- that some of these solutions would remain theoretical. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2z6QQcP

Things have been changing at an almost unprecedented rate with regard to power structures. The last time I saw this happen was in the 1970s, when the EEOC took off. Suddenly a lot of the off-color, sexist and racist jokes that many executives regularly told could get them fired. A surprisingly large number of people got reassigned, fired, demoted, or otherwise punished for the same behavior that previously had made them "one of the guys." With the current #MeToo movement, any hint of wrongdoing can have dire consequences. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2PNWQ18

The Linux Foundation's 2018 Open Source Technology Jobs Report shows rapid growth in the demand for open source technical talent, with Linux skills a must-have requirement for entry-level positions. Linux coding is the most sought-after open source skill. Linux-based container technology is a close second. The report provides an overview of open source career trends, factors motivating professionals in the industry, and ways employers attract and retain qualified talent. This year's report features data from more than 750 hiring managers. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2NT7fa9

Think about planning for a natural disaster emergency that might affect your home. You'd likely store some water, flashlights, food, blankets and other essentials. The key element of your planning would be proactivity. You'd do all of the work before an emergency occurred, not during the actual crisis. If your supplies were used up after the emergency passed, then you would restock before the next disaster might strike. Protecting data requires a similar approach: putting in place as many safeguards as you can before anything bad happens. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Euyp7z

The MakuluLinux Flash distro is splashy and fast with a spiffy new look and new features. MakuluLinux developer Jacque Montague Raymer just announced the second of this year's three major Series 15 releases. The Flash edition follows last month's LinDoz edition release. The much-awaited innovative Core edition will debut between the end of November and mid-December. MakuluLinux is a relatively new Linux OS. Its positive reputation has been developing since 2015. The three-year growth spurt involved a variety of desktop environments. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2QY6leg

Facebook has been in seriously hot water for its data monetization model almost from the firm's beginning. The Cambridge Analytica, election meddling and fake news scandals have turned up the heat. Facebook's problems aren't limited to the public and government backlash that spans several countries; the firm faces potentially devastating legal threats too. On the surface, it appears to be a clear-cut issue: Social media and other tech companies must be reined in. Certainly, the EU thinks so, as is evidenced by its new GDPR. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2CPLqam

In spite of all the high-profile breaches that seem to sweep the headlines with greater frequency, companies slowly but surely have been getting a handle on internal security practices. At this point, it's hard to imagine any employee, in or out of the tech sector, who hasn't been run through antiphishing training. However, security is only as strong as its weakest link, noted David Bryan, a penetration tester and senior managing consultant at IBM X-Force Red. The link that still needs reinforcing is also the most fundamental: developers. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2P2ueE6

For much of this year, technology companies have been showcased in a very poor light. Several firms have been moving aggressively to buck this trend, however. HP's latest effort, in conjunction with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, is a case in point: an impressive initiative to supply and fund schools in places like war-torn Syria. HP also has provided substantial support to the Girl Rising movement. One of its focuses is to share stories about people who use technology to make the world a better place for girls and women. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2pTeW6v

User engagement with podcasts has been steadily increasing, and many listeners actually prefer longer-format content, based on results of Apple's Podcast Analytics. The service, which Apple launched late last year, gives podcasters a way to track performance metrics including number of listeners, total time listened and time per device. The audience for podcasts has increased as content has become more specialized in nature, the analytics show. Listeners engage with podcasts for much longer periods than with other types of online content. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2QQsCe5

The call came in less than an hour before the 8 a.m. shift was scheduled to start: A family emergency meant the regular caregiver for an elderly client couldn't make her shift that day, so a replacement caregiver was needed ASAP. Homewatch CareGivers of San Juan Capistrano had to quickly send a substitute from its pool of licensed, trained and security-bonded caregivers. Once confirmed to cover the shift, the substitute caregiver tapped into the Homewatch CareGivers "Care+" mobile system to access the client's medical information. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2OgkA1g

Manjaro Linux offers the best of two worlds. It puts a user-friendly face on an Arch-based distro, and it gives you a choice of sensible and productive desktop interfaces. The Manjaro Linux team released its latest updates running the KDE, Xfce and GNOME desktops, Manjaro Linux 18.0 Beta 7, late last month. All three are solid performers and seem to be ready for final release. A key benefit of Manjaro Linux is the rolling release method to push new versions to users without the full reinstallation required with most other Linux distributions. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2Ee5Ye2

There are times when looking at something narrowly can be more effective than taking a wider and more comprehensive view. Consider the experience of looking at organisms in a microscope or watching a bird through binoculars. Distractions are minimized, allowing optimal evaluation and analysis. In security, the normative way that we understand and examine the security of our organizations has a focus similar to the examples above: We examine the effectiveness of the security countermeasures put in place to achieve security objectives. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2OPPsEY

There were two interesting product launches last week. HP delivered what is pretty much a clean slate rethinking of the 2-in-1 PC with the HP Folio, and Microsoft unveiled a refresh of its Surface Line. Both firms made a big deal of the fact that their products were much better than their Apple counterparts -- but Apple has been treating PCs like a drunk uncle for some time now. Basically, I think the folks at Apple are embarrassed they still make PCs, which is both sad and ironic, since Apple basically launched the PC revolution. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2OaUjRY

The expanding world of Internet commerce likely will generate a corresponding expansion of data breaches, with the result that e-commerce businesses increasingly will become the targets of consumer class action lawsuits. Breach litigation has become more prevalent as a result of a perceptible legal trend favoring consumers. Various federal appeals courts have allowed consumers to launch class action suits even though the alleged injury from a breach was small, or even nonexistent, in terms of a current and tangible financial loss. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2E0idKX

We've all been there: scrolling through a seemingly never-ending carousel of shows and movies available on Netflix, trying to find the one thing we might want to sit down and enjoy. Except we often end up spending more time looking for something to kick back and view than actually watching the thing itself. But fear not! You too can optimize your Netflix viewing experience, both in terms of finding something you want to watch, and amplifying how you watch it. Here's how. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2IyFLVY

Antergos 8.9 is one of the better Arch Linux options. It is a powerful and modern computing platform, elegantly designed. It gives power users almost all they could desire. Arch distros are not for Linux newcomers -- but for seasoned Linux users who are new to Arch, Antergos has much to offer. One of the biggest challenges in getting started with any Arch distro is surviving the installation. A secondary challenge with Arch is its software management processes. Arch users who overcome those challenges gain a solid performing Linux desktop. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2PffyOE

Independent software vendors, along with Internet of Things and cloud vendors, are involved in a market transformation that is making them look more alike. The similarities are evident in the way they approach software security initiatives, according to a report from Synopsys. Synopsys has released its ninth annual Building Security in Maturity Model, or BSIMM9. The BSIMM project provides a de facto standard for assessing and then improving software security initiatives, the company said. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2DVzRzD

MakuluLinux developer Jacque Montague Raymer on Thursday announced the first major release of this year. It is a whole lot more than a mere upgrade of distro packages. MakuluLinux Series 15 offers much more than new artwork and freshly repainted themes and desktop styles. If you crave a Linux OS that is fresh and independent, MakuluLinux is a must-try Linux solution. When it arrived on the Linux scene in 2015, its different approach to implementing Linux OS features disrupted the status quo. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2xVxyr1

When it comes to business, you're only as good as your reputation. Indeed, your reputation is your brand. It is the substance your logo represents; it is the glue in customer brand loyalty. In a word, reputation is everything. Yet it's not entirely under your control. That doesn't mean you are helpless as a victim of false accusations, ratings, or wrongful attacks on your company's character, however. Following are some things you can do to manage your company's reputation when things go awry despite your best efforts. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2P5RrlN

I watched last week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, and I was struck by the fact that they seemed to be more about the Democrats fighting with Republicans to see which party could corrupt the Supreme Court more effectively than they were about senators doing their jobs. What bothers me most about that is, regardless of the goal, if you corrupt the highest court in the land you effectively destroy the Constitution -- and by doing so, the country. What artificial intelligence could bring to the table is a focus on fixing problems. from TechNewsWorld https://ift.tt/2OnRe09