Battle of the fives: Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. Apple iPhone 5S vs. Google Nexus 5

Samsung releases latest Android-based Galaxy S model in Barcelona

Samsung made the Galaxy S5 official on Monday at a Mobile World Congress presentation in Barcelona, touting a slimmed-down approach to the latest flagship's feature set and simplified design.

GS5
It’s a small but notable departure for the South Korean company, whose devices all too frequently combine undeniable engineering brilliance with a glut of marginally useful features. Co-CEO J.K. Shin and other Samsung executives who presented at the event were eager to talk up the way in which the company had listened to input from their customers.

The Galaxy S5, therefore, has a far more streamlined feature set than its predecessor, focusing more heavily on core functionality and pushing technically impressive but only situationally useful features to the background. So how does it fare in a comparison with two of its major competitors, the Google Nexus 5 and the iPhone 5S?

SCREEN
The current standard for major new Android devices is a roughly five-inch, 1080p screen, and that’s exactly what the Galaxy S5 delivers. Part of the reason that’s a standard in the first place, however, is the Nexus 5’s nearly identical display, though the Google device (it’s actually manufactured by Samsung rival LG) has a slightly smaller viewable area. The iPhone, by contrast, has a much smaller 640x1136 screen, but then, it’s a much smaller phone in general.

There’s little to separate the two Android devices, but both pack more impressive displays than the Apple entry – if you’re OK with a bigger phone, that is.

UNDER THE HOOD
Once again, it’s essentially a tie between the two Android devices in terms of which packs more core processing horsepower. The Galaxy S5, however, does have a slightly more recent model of Snapdragon SoC than the Nexus 5 (Snapdragon 805, rather than Snapdragon 800) which could give it a moderate performance edge – a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU instead of the Nexus 5’s 2.3GHz, and a more cutting-edge Adreno 420 GPU instead of the Adreno 330 in the older model.

Again, the iPhone 5S lags behind, featuring 1GB of RAM to the 2GB present in both Android devices, and a slower 1.3GHz CPU. However, the Apple device does feature a muscular PowerVR G6430 GPU, which blew many benchmark scores out of the water at release – though handicapped a bit by its CPU, the iPhone 5S is no slouch in the graphics department.

STORAGE
There’s little to choose between on all three entries here – the majority of customers, we suspect, will want either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, and those options are available on the Galaxy S5, Nexus 5, and iPhone 5S. The latter device also has a 64GB option available, while the Galaxy has an SD card slot for expandable memory.

CAMERA
In purely megapixel terms – which is far from the last word in camera quality – the Galaxy S5 is the clear winner, boasting a 16MP main shooter that can also capture 2160p video at 30 frames per second. Both the Nexus 5 and the iPhone 5S feature 8MP cameras on their backs, with minor feature differences, like optical image stabilization for the Nexus and some advanced flash technology for the iPhone.

Samsung’s device has a similar slight advantage in terms of its front-facing unit, featuring a 2MP camera that can record at 1080p, compared to 1.3MP (about 720p) on the iPhone and Nexus.

SENSORS/OTHER FEATURES
The Nexus 5 falls behind here – which may not be a bad thing, depending on your opinions about the need for things like heartbeat sensors – but the Galaxy and the iPhone boast an impressive array of additional capabilities, including fingerprint sensors and the aforementioned heartbeat tracker. (Samsung’s version of the latter system, which is integrated into a suite of fitness-focused apps, is probably more impressive, while Apple’s fingerprint scanner doesn’t require a swiping action.)

Possibly the coolest feature, however, is the Galaxy S5’s water and dust resistance – it’s the kind of feature that makes you wonder, “why doesn’t everybody do this?” OK, the Galaxy won’t exactly be indestructible or waterproof – I personally am interested to see some independent testing of Samsung’s durability claims – but it’s still a big deal, particularly to the clumsy among us.

BATTERY
The Galaxy S5, again, is the winner on paper, featuring a 2,800mAh battery, compared to 2,300mAh for the Nexus 5 and 1,560mAh for the iPhone 5S. (In the latter case, it’s important to bear in mind that less power is needed to run the smaller screen.) That said, effective battery life is more a matter of management than raw milli-amps, though they don’t hurt either, so it’ll be interesting to see independent verification of Samsung’s assertions about energy efficiency.

CONCLUSION
At a glance, the Galaxy S5 looks to be a step up on the Nexus 5. While it doesn’t blow the older device away in any one area, it boasts a number of small advantages that eventually add up. Given that, however, it’s worth keeping in mind that the Nexus 5 starts at $350 direct from Google, no contract required – a price point that Samsung will likely be unable to match. (Obviously, those who don’t mind signing a new contact will be less affected by that, though.)

Similarly, the Galaxy S5 is a more impressive device than the iPhone 5S in purely numerical terms – it’s bigger, newer and more powerful. But Apple’s impressive attention to fit and finish should still sway many buyers, and the major difference in form factor makes an apples-to-oranges comparison somewhat unfair. As ever, the decision will likely be based on what an individual consumer wants from their next smartphone.

---

 

Best comptia A+ Training, Comptia A+ Certification at Certkingdom.com

Demand for Linux skills rises

A shift to cloud computing may be helping with Linux demand

Demand for people with Linux skills is increasing, a trend that appears to follow a shift in server sales.

Cloud infrastructure, including Amazon Web Service, is largely Linux based, and cloud services' overall growth is increasing Linux server deployments. As many as 30% of all servers shipped this year will be cloud services providers, according to research firm IDC.

This shift may be contributing to Linux hiring trends reported by the Linux Foundation and IT careers website Dice, in a report released Wednesday. The report states that 77% of hiring managers have put hiring Linux talent on their list of priorities, up from 70% a year ago.

The foundation study doesn't explicitly connect the shift in server usage to hiring, but Shravan Goli, the president of Dice, attributed increasing demand for Linux skills to cloud deployments as well as the rise of mobile applications. "A lot of the (mobile) services are built on open source systems," he said.

In the third quarter of last year, Linux servers accounted for 28% of all server revenue, according to the latest IDC market estimate. In the third quarter of 2012, Linux servers represented 21.5% of server revenue.

Dice has about 11,000 Linux job posting on its site, Goli said. "The utilization of the Linux operating system is moving more and more up the stack," he said.

According to the IDC data, losing ground in the server hardware market is Windows, which had 50.3% of all the server hardware factory revenue in the third quarter. The figure was 51.1% in the comparable year ago quarter. Unix systems experienced a revenue decline of more 31% year over year. This was a particularly weak market, however, with the server market declining 3.7% year to year.

Linux is "far and away" the platform of choice for cloud computing deployments, said Charles King, an analyst at Pund-IT. King said the gains in Linux server revenue "would serve as some kind of supporting data for the uptick" in Linux hiring.

In the Unix area, King points to IBM's increasing promotion of Linux on Power. Last fall, IBM announced a plan to invest $1 billion to promote Linux development for its Power system.

"IBM has seen the writing on the wall," King said, adding that IBM's investment is an effort to capture the same kind of momentum with Linux on its Power platform that it has had with its mainframe Linux.

More than 1,100 hiring managers globally were surveyed in the Dice and Linux Foundation study, as were more than 4,000 Linux professionals.

The survey cites a number of data points to support what it terms "explosive" demand for Linux professionals. Among its findings, included 35% citing an increase use of Linux throughout the enterprise. The number of managers who say Linux is "becoming more core to their business" increased by 10 percentage points from last year. (Dice Linux report PDF).

In total, 93% of the managers said they plan to hire Linux professionals in the next six months. Not surprisingly, 86% of the Linux professionals responding said that knowing Linux has given them more career opportunities.

A North American breakout of the survey data shows similar trends, but some differences in demand for Linux expertise. Globally, the highest demand is for developers, at 68%. But in the North America, the positions most sought are system administrators at 66%, followed by developers at 58%.

---

Best PMP Certification Training and PMP Project Management Professional Exams Training
and more PMI exams log in to Certkingdom.com

11 sure signs you've been hacked

In today's threatscape, antivirus software provides little piece of mind. In fact, antimalware scanners on the whole are horrifically inaccurate, especially with exploits less than 24 hours old. After all, malicious hackers and malware can change their tactics at will. Swap a few bytes around, and a previously recognized malware program becomes unrecognizable.

To combat this, many antimalware programs monitor program behaviors, often called heuristics, to catch previously unrecognized malware. Other programs use virtualized environments, system monitoring, network traffic detection, and all of the above at once in order to be more accurate. And still they fail us on a regular basis.

Here are 11 sure signs you've been hacked and what to do in the event of compromise. Note that in all cases, the No. 1 recommendation is to completely restore your system to a known good state before proceeding. In the early days, this meant formatting the computer and restoring all programs and data. Today, depending on your operating system, it might simply mean clicking on a Restore button. Either way, a compromised computer can never be fully trusted again. The recovery steps listed in each category below are the recommendations to follow if you don't want to do a full restore -- but again, a full restore is always a better option, risk-wise.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 1: Fake antivirus messages
In slight decline these days, fake antivirus warning messages are among the surest signs that your system has been compromised. What most people don't realize is that by the time they see the fake antivirus warning, the damage has been done. Clicking No or Cancel to stop the fake virus scan is too little, too late. The malicious software has already made use of unpatched software, often the Java Runtime Environment or an Adobe product, to completely exploit your system.

Why does the malicious program bother with the "antivirus warning"? This is because the fake scan, which always finds tons of "viruses," is a lure to buy their product. Clicking on the provided link sends you to a professional-looking website, complete with glowing letters of recommendation. There, they ask you for your credit card number and billing information. You'd be surprised how many people get tricked into providing personal financial information. The bad guys gain complete control of your system and get your credit card or banking information. For bad guys, it's the Holy Grail of hacking.

What to do: As soon as you notice the fake antivirus warning message, power down your computer. (Note: This requires knowing what your legitimate antivirus program's warning looks like.) If you need to save anything and can do it, do so. But the sooner you power off your computer, the better. Boot up the computer system in Safe Mode, No Networking, and try to uninstall the newly installed software (oftentimes it can be uninstalled like a regular program). Either way, follow up by trying to restore your system to a state previous to the exploitation. If successful, test the computer in regular mode and make sure that the fake antivirus warnings are gone. Then follow up with a complete antivirus scan. Oftentimes, the scanner will find other sneak remnants left behind.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 2: Unwanted browser toolbars
This is probably the second most common sign of exploitation: Your browser has multiple new toolbars with names that seem to indicate the toolbar is supposed to help you. Unless you recognize the toolbar as coming from a very well-known vendor, it's time to dump the bogus toolbar.

What to do: Most browsers allow you to review installed and active toolbars. Remove any you didn't absolutely want to install. When in doubt, remove it. If the bogus toolbar isn't listed there or you can't easily remove it, see if your browser has an option to reset the browser back to its default settings. If this doesn't work, follow the instructions listed above for fake antivirus messages. You can usually avoid malicious toolbars by making sure that all your software is fully patched and by being on the lookout for free software that installs these tool bars. Hint: Read the licensing agreement. Toolbar installs are often pointed out in the licensing agreements that most people don't read.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 3: Redirected Internet searches
Many hackers make their living by redirecting your browser somewhere other than you want to go. The hacker gets paid by getting your clicks to appear on someone else's website, often those who don't know that the clicks to their site are from malicious redirection.

You can often spot this type of malware by typing a few related, very common words (for example, "puppy" or "goldfish") into Internet search engines and checking to see whether the same websites appear in the results -- almost always with no actual relevance to your terms. Unfortunately, many of today's redirected Internet searches are well hidden from the user through use of additional proxies, so the bogus results are never returned to alert the user. In general, if you have bogus toolbar programs, you're also being redirected. Technical users who really want to confirm can sniff their own browser or network traffic. The traffic sent and returned will always be distinctly different on a compromised computer vs. an uncompromised computer.

What to do: Follow the same instructions as above. Usually removing the bogus toolbars and programs is enough to get rid of malicious redirection.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 4: Frequent random popups
This popular sign that you've been hacked is also one of the more annoying ones. When you're getting random browser pop-ups from websites that don't normally generate them, your system has been compromised. I'm constantly amazed about which websites, legitimate and otherwise, can bypass your browser's anti-pop-up mechanisms. It's like battling email spam, but worse.

What to do: Not to sound like a broken record, but typically random pop-ups are generated by one of the three previous malicious mechanisms noted above. You'll need to get rid of bogus toolbars and other programs if you even hope to get rid of the pop-ups.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 5: Your friends receive fake emails from your email account
This is the one scenario where you might be OK. It's fairly common for our email friends to receive malicious emails from us. A decade ago, when email attachment viruses were all the rage, it was very common for malware programs to survey your email address book and send malicious emails to everyone in it.

These days it's more common for malicious emails to be sent to some of your friends, but not everyone in your email address book. If it's just a few friends and not everyone in your email list, then more than likely your computer hasn't been compromised (at least with an email address-hunting malware program). These days malware programs and hackers often pull email addresses and contact lists from social media sites, but doing so means obtaining a very incomplete list of your contacts' email addresses. Although not always the case, the bogus emails they send to your friends often don't have your email address as the sender. It may have your name, but not your correct email address. If this is the case, then usually your computer is safe.

What to do: If one or more friends reports receiving bogus emails claiming to be from you, do your due diligence and run a complete antivirus scan on your computer, followed by looking for unwanted installed programs and toolbars. Often it's nothing to worry about, but it can't hurt to do a little health check when this happens.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 6: Your online passwords suddenly change
If one or more of your online passwords suddenly change, you've more than likely been hacked -- or at least that online service has been hacked. In this particular scenario, usually what has happened is that the victim responded to an authentic-looking phish email that purportedly claimed to be from the service that ends up with the changed password. The bad guy collects the logon information, logs on, changes the password (and other information to complicate recovery), and uses the service to steal money from the victim or the victim's acquaintances (while pretending to be the victim).

What to do: If the scam is widespread and many acquaintances you know are being reached out to, immediately notify all your contacts about your compromised account. Do this to minimize the damage being done to others by your mistake. Second, contact the online service to report the compromised account. Most online services are used to this sort of maliciousness and can quickly get the account back under your control with a new password in a few minutes. Some services even have the whole process automated. A few services even have a "My friend's been hacked!" button that lets your friends start the process. This is helpful, because your friends often know your account has been compromised before you do.

If the compromised logon information is used on other websites, immediately change those passwords. And be more careful next time. Websites rarely send emails asking you to provide your logon information. When in doubt, go to the website directly (don't use the links sent to you in email) and see if the same information is being requested when you log on using the legitimate method. You can also call the service via their phone line or email them to report the received phish email or to confirm its validity. Lastly, consider using online services that provide two-factor authentication. It makes your account much harder to steal.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 7: Unexpected software installs
Unwanted and unexpected software installs are a big sign that your computer system has likely been hacked.

In the early days of malware, most programs were computer viruses, which work by modifying other legitimate programs. They did this to better hide themselves. For whatever reason, most malware programs these days are Trojans and worms, and they typically install themselves like legitimate programs. This may be because their creators are trying to walk a very thin line when the courts catch up to them. They can attempt to say something like, "But we are a legitimate software company." Oftentimes the unwanted software is legally installed by other programs, so read your license agreements. Frequently, I'll read license agreements that plainly state that they will be installing one or more other programs. Sometimes you can opt out of these other installed programs; other times you can't.

What to do: There are many free programs that show you all your installed programs and let you selectively disable them. My favorite for Windows is Autoruns. It doesn't show you every program installed but will tell you the ones that automatically start themselves when your PC is restarted. Most malware programs can be found here. The hard part is determining what is and what isn't legitimate. When in doubt, disable the unrecognized program, reboot the PC, and reenable the program only if some needed functionality is no longer working.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 8: Your mouse moves between programs and makes correct selections
If your mouse pointer moves itself while making selections that work, you've definitely been hacked. Mouse pointers often move randomly, usually due to hardware problems. But if the movements involve making the correct choices to run particular programs, malicious humans are somewhere involved.

Not as common as some of the other attacks, many hackers will break into a computer, wait for it to be idle for a long time (like after midnight), then try to steal your money. Hackers will break into bank accounts and transfer money, trade your stocks, and do all sorts of rogue actions, all designed to lighten your cash load.

What to do: If your computer "comes alive" one night, take a minute before turning it off to determine what the intruders are interested in. Don't let them rob you, but it will be useful to see what things they are looking at and trying to compromise. If you have a cellphone handy, take a few pictures to document their tasks. When it makes sense, power off the computer. Unhook it from the network (or disable the wireless router) and call in the professionals. This is the one time that you're going to need expert help.

Using another known good computer, immediately change all your other logon names and passwords. Check your bank account transaction histories, stock accounts, and so on. Consider paying for a credit-monitoring service. If you've been a victim of this attack, you have to take it seriously. Complete restore of the computer is the only option you should choose for recovery. But if you've lost any money, make sure to let the forensics team make a copy first. If you've suffered a loss, call law enforcement and file a case. You'll need this information to best recover your real money losses, if any.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 9: Your antimalware software, Task Manager, or Registry Editor is disabled and can't be restarted
This is a huge sign of malicious compromise. If you notice that your antimalware software is disabled and you didn't do it, you're probably exploited -- especially if you try to start Task Manager or Registry Editor and they won't start, start and disappear, or start in a reduced state. This is very common for malware to do.

What to do: You should really perform a complete restore because there is no telling what has happened. But if you want to try something less drastic first, research the many methods on how to restore the lost functionality (any Internet search engine will return lots of results), then restart your computer in Safe Mode and start the hard work. I say "hard work" because usually it isn't easy or quick. Often, I have to try a handful of different methods to find one that works. Precede restoring your software by getting rid of the malware program, using the methods listed above.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 10: Your bank account is missing money
I mean lots of money. Online bad guys don't usually steal a little money. They like to transfer everything or nearly everything, often to a foreign exchange or bank. Usually it begins by your computer being compromised or from you responding to a fake phish from your bank. In any case, the bad guys log on to your bank, change your contact information, and transfer large sums of money to themselves.

What to do: In most cases you are in luck because most financial institutions will replace the stolen funds (especially if they can stop the transaction before the damage is truly done). However, there have been many cases where the courts have ruled it was the customer's responsibility to not be hacked, and it's up to the financial institution to decide whether they will make restitution to you.

If you're trying to prevent this from happening in the first place, turn on transaction alerts that send text alerts to you when something unusual is happening. Many financial institutions allow you to set thresholds on transaction amounts, and if the threshold is exceeded or it goes to a foreign country, you'll be warned. Unfortunately, many times the bad guys reset the alerts or your contact information before they steal your money. So make sure your financial institution sends you alerts anytime your contact information or alerting choices are changed.

Sure sign of system compromise No. 11: You get calls from stores about nonpayment of shipped goods
In this case, hackers have compromised one of your accounts, made a purchase, and had it shipped to someplace other than your house. Oftentimes, the bad guys will order tons of merchandise at the same time, making each business entity think you have enough funds at the beginning, but as each transaction finally pushes through you end up with insufficient funds.

What to do: This is a bad one. First try to think of how your account was compromised. If it was one of the methods above, follow those recommendations. Either way, change all your logon names and passwords (not just the one related to the single compromised account), call law enforcement, get a case going, and start monitoring your credit. You'll probably spend months trying to clear up all the bogus transactions committed in your name, but you should be able to undo most, if not all, of the damage.

Years ago you could be left with a negative credit history that would impact your life for a decade. These days, companies and the credit reporting agencies are more used to cyber crime, and they deal with it better. Still, be aggressive and make sure you follow every bit of advice given to you by law enforcement, the creditors, and the credit-rating agencies (there are three major ones).

Malware vector trifecta to avoid
The hope of an antimalware program that can perfectly detect malware and malicious hacking is pure folly. Keep an eye out for the common signs and symptoms of your computer being hacked as outlined above. And if you are risk-adverse, as I am, always perform a complete computer restore with the event of a breach. Because once your computer has been compromised, the bad guys can do anything and hide anywhere. It's best to just start from scratch.

Most malicious hacking originates from one of three vectors: unpatched software, running Trojan horse programs, and responding to fake phishing emails. Do better at preventing these three things, and you'll be less likely to have to rely on your antimalware software's accuracy -- and luck.

---

Best comptia A+ Training, Comptia A+ Certification at Certkingdom.com

7 Reasons Not to Use Open Source Software

Talk to an open source evangelist and chances are he or she will tell you that software developed using the open source model is the only way to go.

The benefits of open source software are many, varied and, by now, well-known. It's free to use. You can customize it as much as you want. Having many sets of eyes on the source code means security problems can be spotted quickly. Anyone can fix bugs; you're not reliant on a vendor. You're not locked in to proprietary standards. Finally, you're not left with an orphaned product if the vendor goes out of business or simply decides that the product is no longer profitable.

However, the open-source evangelist probably won't tell you that, despite all these very real benefits, there are times when using closed-sourced, proprietary software actually makes far more business sense.

Here are some of the circumstances when old-fashioned proprietary products are a better business choice than open source software.

1. When It's Easier for Unskilled Users
Linux has made a huge impact on the server market, but the same can't be said for the desktop market - and for good reason. Despite making strides in the last several years, it's still tricky for the uninitiated to use, and the user interfaces of the various distributions remain far inferior to those of Windows or Mac OS X.

While Linux very well may be technically superior to these proprietary operating systems, its weaknesses mean that most users will find it more difficult and less appealing to work with. That means lower productivity, which will likely cost far more than purchasing a proprietary operating system with which your staff is familiar.

2. When It's the De Facto Standard
Most knowledge workers are familiar with, and use, Microsoft Word and Excel. Even though there are some excellent open source alternatives to Office, such as LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice, they aren't identical in terms of functionality or user interface, performance, plugins and APIs for integration with third-party products. They are probably close enough as much as 90 percent of the time, but on rare occasions there's a risk that these differences will cause problems - especially when exchanging documents with suppliers or customers.

It also makes sense to use proprietary software in specialist fields where vendors are likely to have gone into universities and trained students on their software. "The software may not necessarily be better, but it may be selected by a university before an open source solution gets a big enough community around it," says Chris Mattman, an Apache Software Foundation member and a senior computer scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"When that happens, the students will then know the software better and be more productive with it," Mattman says. When the students then move into a business environment, it makes sense for them to continue with the software they are used to.

3. When Proprietary Software Offers Better Support
Business-class support is sometimes available for open source software, either from the company leading the project or a separate third-party. This isn't the case often, though - and that can be a problem, according to Tony Wasserman, professor of software management practice at Carnegie Mellon University.

"Some customers prefer to have someone outside the company to call for product support on a 24/7 basis and are willing to pay for a service level agreement that will provide a timely response," he says. "People often respond very quickly to queries posted on the forum pages of widely-used open source projects, but that's not the same thing as a guaranteed vendor response in response to a toll-free telephone call."

4. When You Want Software as a Service
Cloud software is slightly different than conventional software. As a general rule, you don't get access to the source code, even if the hosted software is built entirely on open source software. That may not make the software proprietary, strictly speaking, but it doesn't give you all the benefits of open source. In that sense, the benefits of using the "pay for what you use" software as a service model may outweigh the disadvantage of not having access to the source code.

5. When Proprietary Software Works Better With Your Hardware
Many types of proprietary hardware require specialized drivers; these are often closed source and available only from the equipment manufacturer. Even when an open source driver exists, it may not be the best choice. "Open source developers may not be able to 'see' the hardware, so the proprietary driver may well work better," Mattman says.

6. When Warranties and Liability Indemnity Matter
Some open source software companies, such as Red Hat, are structured to look like proprietary software vendors. They accordingly offer warranties and liability indemnity for their products, just like proprietary vendors do. "These companies are exactly the same as proprietary software companies, except that they won't take you out to play golf," Wasserman says.

For every Red Hat, though, there are many open source projects that aren't backed by a commercial organization. While you may get warranties and liability from a third-party, in many cases you won't. If that doesn't suit you or your company's software procurement policies, then you're advised to find a proprietary vendor.

7. When You Need a Vendor That Will Stick Around
Yes, there's no guarantee that a commercial software vendor will stick with a product if demand drops to such an extent that it's no longer profitable to develop it. The company itself may even go out of business. But if an open source project is small, there's also a danger that the person behind it may lose interest. If that happens, it may not be easy to find another open source developer to step in.

(This may be more of an argument against small open source projects than an argument for proprietary software - but at least you can look into the books of large software companies and make an informed decision as to whether they're likely to be around in a few years to honor any commitments they give you.)

Don't Be Too Dogmatic About Open Source Software

The lesson here: While open source software may often - and even usually - be a better choice than functionally similar proprietary offerings, it doesn't make sense to be too dogmatic about it.

"As a practical matter, I think that many people would prefer to have everything open, especially in light of the recent revelation about the NSA spying on machines through USB chips," Wasserman says. At the same time, though, many of those who prefer open source will make exceptions when there are no practical alternatives - not to mention their use of Mac and iOS devices ... "

---

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft MCITP Training at certkingdom.com

Big Data skills pay top dollar

Mastering Big Data languages, databases and skills could be the ticket to a bigger paycheck

Tech salaries saw a nearly 3% bump last year, and IT pros with expertise in big data-related languages, databases and skills enjoyed some of the largest paychecks.

Average U.S. tech salaries climbed to $87,811 in 2013, up from $85,619 the previous year, according to Dice’s newly released 2013-2014 Salary Survey. Significantly, nine of the top 10 highest paying IT salaries are for skills related to big data, says the tech career site.

+ALSO ON NETWORKWORLD: 12 jobs getting the biggest raises in 2014 | Inside CIO paychecks | Big data's biggest challenges+

At the top of the list is R, a software environment for statistical computing and graphics. Here’s the full list of the top 10 highest paying IT salaries:

1. R: $115,531
2. NoSQL: $114,796
3. MapReduce: $114,396
4. PMBok: $112,382
5. Cassandra: $112,382
6. Omnigraffle: $111,039
7. Pig: $109,561
8. Service Oriented Architecture: $108,997
9. Hadoop: $108,669
10. Mongo DB: $107,825

“Companies are betting big that harnessing data can play a major role in their competitive plans, and that is leading to high pay for critical skills,” said Shravan Goli, president of Dice, in a statement. “Technology professionals should be volunteering for big data projects, which makes them more valuable to their current employer and more marketable to other employers.”
salary

Among all respondents, 34% of tech pros received a bonus as part of their 2013 compensation, and average bonuses totaled $9,323.

Silicon Valley tops the list of highest paid metropolitan areas when it comes to tech talent, with an average annual salary of $108,603 and an average annual bonus of $12,458.

When asked if they are satisfied with their salaries, respondents were divided. Nearly half were either very satisfied (17%) or somewhat satisfied (37%). Some were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (16%). At the other extreme, respondents were somewhat dissatisfied (20%) and very dissatisfied (10%).

A majority of IT pros (65%) told Dice they’re confident they could find a new, better position.

---

Best CCNA Training and CCNA Certification and more Cisco exams log in to Certkingdom.com

Apple has 200 people working on iWatch, report claims

Earlier today, MobiHealthNews published a treasure trove of information about Apple's iWatch project, some of it new and some of it corroborating what we've already heard

We've seen flurry of iWatch related rumors spring up in the past few weeks, with 9to5Mac doing a great job of keeping us up to date with all of Apple's interesting hires. Earlier today, MobiHealthNews published a treasure trove of information about Apple's iWatch project, some of it new and some of it corroborating what we've already heard. While you may not have heard of MobiHealthNews, the website has long been a great resource for up-to-date news and rumors in the mobile health space. That said, it's still worth taking these nuggets with a grain of salt.

Writing for MobiHealthNews, Brian Dolan relays that there are now more than 200 people working on the rumored iWatch initiative. You might recall that an initial Bloomberg report from February of 2013 relayed that there were 100 people on the project. That the project has grown since then makes a whole lot of sense, given some of the top-tier medical and engineering talent Apple has brought on in recent months, such as Todd Whitehurst, who is currently a director of Hardware Development at Apple.

Another notable hire was Ueyn Block, who came to Apple from C8 MediSensors this past March. And while we typically only hear of the big-name hires at Apple, the company has reportedly snatched up quite a few engineers in hiring bursts that don't often make headlines.

For example, Gigaom reported the following this past July.
During a phone call, the former [C8 MediSensors] CTO told us that the company broke down because the glucose-level-analysis technology was facing issues surrounding the consistency of data readings. When the company dissolved, Apple moved aggressively to hire several C8 MediSensors directors and engineers, including designers and scientists that specialize in machine learning (a form of artificial intelligence that focuses on interpreting forms of data)...

Adding some more detail to the iWatch rumor mill, Dolan, citing MobiHealthNews' own sources, writes that the iWatch is being positoned as a peripheral device that will require connectivity with an iPhone. If true, this would make sense given Apple's propensity to push software as a means to increase hardware sales. Similarly, by not releasing the iWatch as a standalone device, it can not only enhance the device's functionality, but also attract more folks into the iOS ecosystem and drive demand for newer iPhone models.

So what about the iWatch's capabilities?
Dolan writes that while Apple has hired folks with impressive biomedical and health sensor experience, the iWatch's ability as an all-knowing health sensor device may be a tad overblown.

Since reports have emerged that Apple has hired engineers and sensors who have previously worked at passive glucose sensor companies and ingestible sensor companies, it’s no surprise that some are expecting advanced sensors in the iWatch. A source tells us that the team Apple has assembled is intended to ensure that the health sensing capabilities of the device are efficacious. Some fitness tracking devices available today primarily give users feedback in the form of an arbitrary points system — like Nike Fuel. Apple will likely not do this, but instead focus on real metrics like calories. Having a team with such advanced pedigrees will help ensure Apple’s device is accurate. Don’t expect glucose sensing though.

Will it be FDA regulated?
A few days ago, 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman alerted us to the fact that some senior Apple executives, including Jeff Williams and Bud Tribble, met with FDA officials back in December of 2013. While this suggested to many that the iWatch will, in fact, be an all-powerful health sensor device, Dolan's sources indicate that the meeting was merely to keep the iWatch an unregulated device.

Apple is likely not planning to have the iWatch or the rumored Healthbook app to be cleared by the FDA. The meeting with the agency was likely to review the FDA’s recently published final guidance document on mobile medical apps. Keeping the Healthbook app on the right side of FDA regulation means the app won’t be able to offer too much in the way of analysis for medical data.

Since it will likely include some chronic condition management features thanks to integration with data from some third party FDA-cleared medical devices, it would likely display that kind of data too. While it is a little more complicated than this, one way to think about it: As long as Apple doesn’t analyze the data from a regulated medical device, it can still display it in its app without having to get Healthbook cleared as a Class II medical device.

Now, as for the Healthbook app first brought to light by Gurman, Dolan's own sources corroborate this, though they weren't familiar with the Healthbook moniker specifically. Functionality-wise, we can expect the Healthbook app to focus on metrics such as "exercise, diet, sleep, stress" and medication adherence. Indeed, word spread last week that Apple had recently hired a sleep expert from Philips. Dolan further writes that the app may include a feature for women to keep tabs on their "health and pregnancy."

There's no question that wearable technology seems to be an area exploding in popularity in recent years, with mounting evidence suggesting that it's only a matter of time before Apple itself enters the space. That said, all of the speculation that the iWatch, at least in its first iteration, will be the be-all-end-all for wearable health monitoring is perhaps misplaced. Apple's products improve slowly but surely over time. Indeed, it's a rather slow burn. Just look at the first iPhone, for example -- it lacked basic functions such as GPS and cut-and-paste. So while the iWatch may do amazing things in the future, the first iteration, according to these unverified sources, will try and simply do a few things extraordinarily well -- a credo Tim Cook has echoed time and time again.

As to some other notable names Apple has brought in-house in recent months, there's Michael O'Reilly, M.D., who formerly served as the Chief Medical officer at Masimo; Jay Blahnik, who helped consult Nike on the Nike FuelBand and the launch of Nike+Running; Nancy Dougherty, who previously served as a Hardware Lead at Sano Intelligence and helped design a "wearable sensor system"; and Ravi Narasimhan, who previously served as a VP of R&D at Vital Connect, where he was responsible for "biosensor technology and algorithms for remote physiological monitoring with wearable medical devices."

And just when might we expect to see an iWatch type product hit store shelves? Well, that's anybody's guess considering how Apple never announces or even confirms the existence of a product until it's ready to go. That notwithstanding, Tim Cook recently told the Wall Street Journal that the company is planning to enter new product categories in 2014.

We don’t believe we can do things at the level of quality and link things as we want to between hardware, software and services so seamlessly if we do a lot of stuff. So we’re going to stick with our knitting with only doing a few things and doing them great. There will be new categories and we’re working on some great stuff. We’re not ready to talk about it. We’re really working on some really great stuff. I think no one reasonable would say they’re not a new category.

---

Best comptia A+ Training, Comptia A+ Certification at Certkingdom.com

OpenDaylight's delayed SDN now available

Different versions can be downloaded for enterprises, service providers, academia

OpenDaylight, the vendor-heavy consortium developing an open source SDN framework, has announced that its first software release is available for download.

OpenDaylight’s “Hydrogen” release was initially scheduled to come out in December, but the amount of contributions and number of contributors necessitated more time.

“OpenDaylight started with just a handful of developers in April 2013 and since then, 154 have contributed to the codebase,” says Neela Jacques, OpenDaylight executive director. “In open source, software release timing is fluid and there were a lot of moving parts in this first release that the community wanted to make sure worked cohesively to ensure a solid foundation for continued work and refinement.”

+MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: Network heavy hitters to pool SDN efforts in OpenDaylight project +

With the release of Hydrogen, enterprises, service providers, equipment vendors and researchers can download it for evaluation, commercialization, and deployment as the basis for software-defined networking and network functions virtualization (NFV). Hydrogen contains over a million lines of code, and is available in three versions, depending on requirements: Base Edition, Virtualization Edition and Service Provider Edition.

Hydrogen Base Edition is for those who are exploring SDN and OpenFlow for proof-of-concepts or academic initiatives in physical or virtual environments. Base includes a multiprotocol SDN controller; an OpenFlow 1.3 protocol library and plugin; support for the Open vSwitch Database configuration and management protocol; and Java-based NETCONF and YANG tools.

Hydrogen Virtualization Edition for data centers includes all the components of Base plus functionality for creating and managing Virtual Tenant Networks and virtual overlays, and includes applications for security and network management. On top of Base it includes Affinity Metadata Service APIs to express workload relationships and service levels; Defense4All DDoS detection and mitigation; OpenDOVE multitenant network virtualization overlay; and multitenant network virtualization using OpenFlow.

Service Provider Edition is for providers and carriers who manage existing networks and want to plot a path to SDN and NFV. It includes Base plus support of protocols commonly found in service provider networks, as well as security and network management applications.

Components of Service Provider Edition include Affinity Metadata Service APIs and Defense4All, plus BGP-LS traffic engineering and Path Computational Element protocol; Locator/identifier Separation Protocol (LISP) plugin and LISP mapping service for creating virtual networks; and SNMP protocol support and APIs to manage commodity Ethernet switches.

Concurrent with the Hydrogen release, IBM announced an SDN controller based on it. The IBM Software Defined Network for Virtual Environments supports OpenFlow, and VMware and KVM hypervisors.

In addition to a controller, SDN VE includes virtual switches for creating overlays, gateways to non-SDN environments and interfaces for application integration. SDN VE is designed to speed network provisioning for enterprise network administrators.

IBM SDN VE availability is planned for this quarter.

---

Best comptia A+ Training, Comptia A+ Certification at Certkingdom.com

8 ways physical security has evolved

Physical security has come a long way since the advent of the lock and key. But for all of its changes, the greatest aspect of the evolution of physical security is how it has begun to mesh with our digital world. Here are eight of the most significant developments that have occurred over time in the field of physical security.

"What we're seeing is the merging of electronic and physical spaces," says Chris Nickerson, founder and chief consultant at Lares Consulting. "We've gone away from straight physical security to working with the social and electronic sides to make sure that a person is who they say they are."

Read on for the improvements we've seen in physical security in recent years.

RFID Badges
Most buildings these days incorporate RFID badges in some capacity. The badges, which contain two crucial pieces of information – the site code and the individual badge ID -- allow employees to swipe their card in close proximity to a scanner in order to gain access to certain areas. "They're good for logging who's going in and what time," says Nickerson. "RFID has its vulnerabilities, but it's still better than actual keys, where you can get a hold of a master key."

Indeed, RFID badges are rife with security flaws. They are easily cloned, for example, and brute force attacks can be used to take advantage of the fact that badge ID numbers are typically incremental.

Facial recognition
Part of the advancements that have been made in video surveillance is facial recognition coding. Facial recognition has become so advanced that it can not only be used to verify that somebody is who they say they are, it can also be used to pick a person out of the crowd and even determine if they're up to no good.

"You can use facial action coding, heart rate, and eye and retinal changes of any size to determine deception," says Nickerson, who used the example of facial recognition coding systems being used in casinos in Las Vegas to sniff out cheaters at the tables or to keep them out of the building entirely.

Video surveillance
Video surveillance has been around for quite some time now, but it has improved drastically since its inception. Video surveillance is now sophisticated enough to incorporate facial recognition, and higher quality cameras are creating footage that is sharper than ever.

"HD is now standard, and getting above HD is now becoming mainstream," says Jay Hauhn, CTO and vice president of industry relations for Tyco Integrated Security. "Megapixel cameras on the video security side give you great picture."

Iris recognition
Striking a balance between being both accurate and non-invasive, iris recognition now allows security teams to identify people based solely on the pattern of their eye. "I'm a huge fan of iris recognition, since the patterns are more unique than DNA," says Hauhn. "Irises are really good for being captured by a high resolution camera at a distance."

Like facial recognition it's possible to bypass iris recognition technology with a still photo of someone else's eye, but Hauhn maintains that it's not as easily fooled. After all, as Hauhn points out, "Try to get a good picture of an eye and do that."

Security guards and photo ID badges
There's something to be said for a good, old-fashioned pair of eyes. With the use of RFID cards and outsourced access systems, the human element of security is being lost. Knowing who has been coming into the building for years -- or perhaps noticing that a person is using someone else's photo ID badge simply because their face isn't the one on the card -- are things a machine can't do, but a human can.

"Let's say I've been working at the front desk for 10 years," says Nickerson. "I know your face. I may even be able to tell that you're not supposed to be there even based on a feeling. A lot of that is being lost."

Fingerprint scanning
Fingerprint scanning not only ups the level of security at an access point by requiring identification that is unique to each person, it also allows security systems to keep track of who is entering the facility. "It's just being able to say that [this person] went through this door at this time…there's a huge difference between that and, 'It's a key. I really have no idea who the owner was,'" says Nickerson. "It's the biggest advancement we have."

Perimeter security systems
No longer do we need to rely solely on walls or fences for guarding a facility's perimeter, thanks to the advances in perimeter monitoring systems. Some systems now use microwaves or radio waves to establish a perimeter and can alert security teams when the protected area is being encroached upon. "So you can see who's outside the area and be alerted beforehand," says Nickerson. "It's a huge advancement for the early warning side of things."

Security linked to mobile devices
It's not uncommon these days to have security systems – especially home security systems – linked to a mobile device. Smart sensors, wireless deadbolts, and remote control security/utility systems can all be controlled be a user's mobile device. But some say with such convenience comes compromised security.

Though attackers can physically get their hands on your phone to get the keys to the castle – "People can't seem to help thsemselves but lose their phones or have them stolen," says Ryan Jones, managing consultant at Lares Consulting. "I see there being a problem in the future with spooking someone's phone and unlocking their house and shutting off their alarm," he adds.

---

Best comptia A+ Training, Comptia A+ Certification at Certkingdom.com