Here is my collection of trends and predictions for year 2014:
It seems that PC market is not recovering in 2014. IDC is forecasting that the technology channel will buy in around 34 million fewer PCs this year than last. It seem that things aren’t going to improve any time soon (down, down, down until 2017?). There will be no let-up on any front, with desktops and portables predicted to decline in both the mature and emerging markets. Perhaps the chief concern for future PC demand is a lack of reasons to replace an older system: PC usage has not moved significantly beyond consumption and productivity tasks to differentiate PCs from other devices. As a result, PC lifespan continue to increase. Death of the Desktop article says that sadly for the traditional desktop, this is only a matter of time before its purpose expires and that it would be inevitable it will happen within this decade. (I expect that it will not completely disappear).
When the PC business is slowly decreasing, smartphone and table business will increase quickly. Some time in the next six months, the number of smartphones on earth will pass the number of PCs. This shouldn’t really surprise anyone: the mobile business is much bigger than the computer industry. There are now perhaps 3.5-4 billion mobile phones, replaced every two years, versus 1.7-1.8 billion PCs replaced every 5 years. Smartphones broke down that wall between those industries few years ago – suddenly tech companies could sell to an industry with $1.2 trillion annual revenue. Now you can sell more phones in a quarter than the PC industry sells in a year.
After some years we will end up with somewhere over 3bn smartphones in use on earth, almost double the number of PCs. There are perhaps 900m consumer PCs on earth, and maybe 800m corporate PCs. The consumer PCs are mostly shared and the corporate PCs locked down, and neither are really mobile. Those 3 billion smartphones will all be personal, and all mobile. Mobile browsing is set to overtake traditional desktop browsing in 2015. The smartphone revolution is changing how consumers use the Internet. This will influence web design.
The only PC sector that seems to have some growth is server side. Microservers & Cloud Computing to Drive Server Growth article says that increased demand for cloud computing and high-density microserver systems has brought the server market back from a state of decline. We’re seeing fairly significant change in the server market. According to the 2014 IC Market Drivers report, server unit shipment growth will increase in the next several years, thanks to purchases of new, cheaper microservers. The total server IC market is projected to rise by 3% in 2014 to $14.4 billion: multicore MPU segment for microservers and NAND flash memories for solid state drives are expected to see better numbers.
Spinning rust and tape are DEAD. The future’s flash, cache and cloud article tells that the flash is the tier for primary data; the stuff christened tier 0. Data that needs to be written out to a slower response store goes across a local network link to a cloud storage gateway and that holds the tier 1 nearline data in its cache. Never mind software-defined HYPE, 2014 will be the year of storage FRANKENPLIANCES article tells that more hype around Software-Defined-Everything will keep the marketeers and the marchitecture specialists well employed for the next twelve months but don’t expect anything radical. The only innovation is going to be around pricing and consumption models as vendors try to maintain margins. FCoE will continue to be a side-show and FC, like tape, will soldier on happily. NAS will continue to eat away at the block storage market and perhaps 2014 will be the year that object storage finally takes off.
IT managers are increasingly replacing servers with SaaS article says that cloud providers take on a bigger share of the servers as overall market starts declining. An in-house system is no longer the default for many companies. IT managers want to cut the number of servers they manage, or at least slow the growth, and they may be succeeding. IDC expects that anywhere from 25% to 30% of all the servers shipped next year will be delivered to cloud services providers. In three years, 2017, nearly 45% of all the servers leaving manufacturers will be bought by cloud providers. The shift will slow the purchase of server sales to enterprise IT. Big cloud providers are more and more using their own designs instead of servers from big manufacturers. Data center consolidations are eliminating servers as well. For sure, IT managers are going to be managing physical servers for years to come. But, the number will be declining.
I hope that the IT business will start to grow this year as predicted. Information technology spends to increase next financial year according to N Chandrasekaran, chief executive and managing director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology (IT) services company. IDC predicts that IT consumption will increase next year to 5 per cent worldwide to $ 2.14 trillion. It is expected that the biggest opportunity will lie in the digital space: social, mobility, cloud and analytics. The gradual recovery of the economy in Europe will restore faith in business. Companies are re-imaging their business, keeping in mind changing digital trends.
The death of Windows XP will be on the new many times on the spring. There will be companies try to cash in with death of Windows XP: Microsoft’s plan for Windows XP support to end next spring, has received IT services providers as well as competitors to invest in their own services marketing. HP is peddling their customers Connected Backup 8.8 service to prevent data loss during migration. VMware is selling cloud desktop service. Google is wooing users to switch to ChromeOS system by making Chrome’s user interface familiar to wider audiences. The most effective way XP exploiting is the European defense giant EADS subsidiary of Arkoon, which promises support for XP users who do not want to or can not upgrade their systems.
There will be talk on what will be coming from Microsoft next year. Microsoft is reportedly planning to launch a series of updates in 2015 that could see major revisions for the Windows, Xbox, and Windows RT platforms. Microsoft’s wave of spring 2015 updates to its various Windows-based platforms has a codename: Threshold. If all goes according to early plans, Threshold will include updates to all three OS platforms (Xbox One, Windows and Windows Phone).
Amateur programmers are becoming increasingly more prevalent in the IT landscape. A new IDC study has found that of the 18.5 million software developers in the world, about 7.5 million (roughly 40 percent) are “hobbyist developers,” which is what IDC calls people who write code even though it is not their primary occupation. The boom in hobbyist programmers should cheer computer literacy advocates.IDC estimates there are almost 29 million ICT-skilled workers in the world as we enter 2014, including 11 million professional developers.
The Challenge of Cross-language Interoperability will be more and more talked. Interfacing between languages will be increasingly important. You can no longer expect a nontrivial application to be written in a single language. With software becoming ever more complex and hardware less homogeneous, the likelihood of a single language being the correct tool for an entire program is lower than ever. The trend toward increased complexity in software shows no sign of abating, and modern hardware creates new challenges. Now, mobile phones are starting to appear with eight cores with the same ISA (instruction set architecture) but different speeds, some other streaming processors optimized for different workloads (DSPs, GPUs), and other specialized cores.
Just another new USB connector type will be pushed to market. Lightning strikes USB bosses: Next-gen ‘type C’ jacks will be reversible article tells that USB is to get a new, smaller connector that, like Apple’s proprietary Lightning jack, will be reversible. Designed to support both USB 3.1 and USB 2.0, the new connector, dubbed “Type C”, will be the same size as an existing micro USB 2.0 plug.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
DARPA seeks the Holy Grail of search engines
DARPA’s Memex program focuses on domain-specific indexing of public web content
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/darpa-seeks-holy-grail-search-engines
The scientists at DARPA say the current methods of searching the Internet for all manner of information just won’t cut it in the future.
Specifically, the goal of DARPA’s Memex program is to develop software that will enable domain-specific indexing of public web content and domain-specific search capabilities.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Red Hat hires CentOS developers
http://sdt.bz/content/article.aspx?ArticleID=68721&page=1
On Jan. 7, Karanbir Singh, project lead on CentOS, announced to his community that he and a handful of other core CentOS developers would now be employed full-time by Red Hat. As a result, the CentOS project would become another distribution and community cared for by Red Hat, like Fedora.
At the top of that list was that the CentOS distribution itself would not be changing.
CentOS is, essentially, the free version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mozilla to run ads inside Firefox
‘Directory Tiles’ will send n00bs to sponsored ‘content we think users will enjoy’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/12/mozilla_to_run_ads_inside_firefox/
The Mozilla Foundation has announced that it will soon offer the chance to run advertising in its browser.
Just when the “sponsored tiles” will appear is not certain
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home lab operators: Ditch your servers … now!
Brit vTardis creator hails the combination of Core i7 laptop and Windows 8′s virty power
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/12/home_lab_operators_ditch_your_servers_now/
At last year’s Melbourne VMware user group (VMUG) conference, VMware’s Mike Laverick opined that IT pros need a home lab these days, because bosses have stopped shelling out for training.
Plenty of you agreed with that proposition. Some even showed us their very own home labs.
Gallagher describes vTardis as follows:
“A small, low cost physical infrastructure (or single server) which is capable of supporting several multi-node ESX clusters. It provides an infrastructure representative of enterprise-grade vSphere/vCD deployment through heavy over-subscription of physical hardware as well as providing ‘production’ home services like media streaming, data storage, DNS, DHCP etc.”
The Core i7 resides within a Lenovo W530, a laptop Gallagher says is up to the job of running a home lab because it can handle 32GB of RAM.
If you do own such a machine, Gallagher said all the hassle of server-powered power bills can go away forever, as can the need for a man-cave like his own Geek Cabin in which to house the lab.
Tomi Engdahl says:
vTARDIS
http://vinf.net/vtardis/
A small, low cost physical infrastructure (or single server) which is capable of supporting several multi-node ESX clusters. It provides an infrastructure representative of enterprise-grade vSphere/vCD deployment through heavy over-subscription of physical hardware as well as providing “production” home services like media streaming, data storage, DNS, DHCP etc.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Former Node leader takes big money, launches Node startup
http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/11/former-node-leader-takes-big-money-launches-node-startup/
Investors are churning around developer tools these days as software makers gain more and more control and mindshare in an increasingly crowded universe of data and devices. Node is one of the most popular programming technologies around, and npm, the Node packaged modules, are what make Node work.
“Node.js itself is around 140,000 lines of code, and all the packages have over a billion lines of code,” Boothby explained.
“The genius behind Isaac’s design of npm is that it solves dependencies, a longtime problem in computer science. … And anyone can publish right away.”
“npm is absolutely critical to Node.js’s success and the success of the Node ecosystem,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
ARM Cortex A17: An Evolved Cortex A12 for the Mainstream in 2015
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 11, 2014 1:00 AM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7739/arm-cortex-a17
ARM has been doing a good job figuring out its PR strategy as of late. In the span of a couple of years we went from very little outward communication to semi-deep-dives on architecture and a regular cadence of IP disclosures.
If you’re a fabless semiconductor, it looks like 28nm will be the sweet spot for manufacturing for a little while.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s a scientific FACT: Online comment trolls are SADISTS
Psychoboffins’ studies discover why, as well: ‘Trolls just want to have fun’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/12/study_shoes_that_online_comment_trolls_are_sadists/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Better Compensation Key to Retaining Top IT Talent
http://www.cio.com/article/748092/Better_Compensation_Key_to_Retaining_Top_IT_Talent
Money isn’t everything, but it’s a good place to start. As the economy slowly improves, revisiting your compensation strategy can help you both retain and recruit top-performing tech talent.
“With the economy improving, we’re constantly reminding clients that their top talent could jump ship for better opportunities.”
According to the survey, 88 percent of respondents said their organizations plan to give raises this year. Retaining top talent by doling out raises can help maintain a competitive advantage by keeping the best and brightest within your organization instead of losing them to competitors, Low said.
“The idea is that you should offer greater rewards to those who go above and beyond and who impact your company for the better. Equity still matters”
If compensation increases aren’t in your budget, there are ways to reward your talent that don’t involve cold, hard cash. Offering flexible work schedules or the opportunity to telecommute
Tomi Engdahl says:
Strange bedfellows: Microsoft could bring Android apps to Windows
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/12/5404098/microsoft-considering-android-apps-on-windows
Microsoft is stuck in a position where it’s struggling to generate developer interest in its latest style of apps across phones and tablets.
Some argue Microsoft should dump Windows Phone and create its own “forked” version of Android — not unlike what Amazon has done with its Kindle Fire tablets — while others claim that’s an unreasonably difficult task.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the company is seriously considering allowing Android apps to run on both Windows and Windows Phone. While planning is ongoing and it’s still early, we’re told that some inside Microsoft favor the idea of simply enabling Android apps inside its Windows and Windows Phone Stores, while others believe it could lead to the death of the Windows platform altogether. The mixed (and strong) feelings internally highlight that Microsoft will need to be careful with any radical move.
Where might Microsoft go for assistance? Android on Windows is a muddled mess right now, but Intel and software firm BlueStacks might be good places to start. Intel is pushing its own Dual OS concept to let PC makers create hardware that runs both Android and Windows. Meanwhile, AMD has sided with BlueStacks
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tablet Hourly Usage Study: iPad Dominates, Surface Users More Active During Working Hours
http://chitika.com/insights/2014/tablet-by-hour
Tomi Engdahl says:
A look at Apple’s R&D expenditures from 1995-2013
http://www.tuaw.com/2014/02/12/a-look-at-apples-randd-expenditures-from-1995-2013/
For a company that makes as much money as Apple, you might be surprised to learn that it spends far less on Research and Development (R&D) than many of its competitors, including bigwigs like Google, Microsoft and Samsung.
Apple has focused products and services:
1. iPhone
2. iPad – which enjoy over 91% of the business market.
3. Macintoshes – which is growing while the PC market is contracting.
4. AppleTV – Apple’s newest tier one product, soon to unveil a new model
5. Apple Stores – which make more profit per square foot than any existing retail store
6. Itunes – which has 91% of Microsoft’s Windows revenue, and has 50% of Google’s revenue.
7. Apple software – including FinalCut Pro, Logic, OS X, iOS, iWork, etc. etc.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCs sales may suck, but people still are buying Nvidia GPUs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57618812-92/pcs-sales-may-suck-but-people-still-are-buying-nvidia-gpus/
The company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue as graphics chip sales climbed.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samsung joins IBM’s secretive chip consortium
Asian electronics giant sighted at table with Google, Nvidia, Mellanox…
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/13/ibm_samsung/
Samsung Electronics has joined IBM’s OpenPOWER Consortium, adding another company to stuff Big Blue’s chips into a variety of hardware products.
OpenPOWER is a scheme by IBM designed to make it easy for companies to license the architecture and customize it for specific needs, like ARM does with its chips. Big Blue unveiled the consortium in August of 2013.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Million-dollar new disk tech could be USELESS for array vendors
Shingling, Etherneting and helium-filling drives irrelevant to array crew
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/13/new_disk_tech_useless_for_array_vendors/
2014 is starting with major disk drive tech innovation taking place – which may ultimately be totally useless for storage array vendors.
I’m thinking of shingled magnetic recording (SMR), Seagate’s Kinetic drives using Ethernet as the access protocol, and HGST’s helium-filled drives on the one hand, and asking myself why Dell, EMC, HDS, HP, IBM, NetApp and every other traditional disk storage array vendor would want to use them.
SMR drives are more susceptible to vibration-induced failures
Seagate’s Kinetic drives present an object storage interface using an Ethernet connection, and are intended top have server-based software driving them.
Array vendors like dual-sourcing disk drives
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM job cuts: Big Blue starts ‘slaughter’ of Indian and European workforce
Redundo reaper makes appearance after Lenovo sell-off
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/12/ibm_layoffs_india_europe/
IBM has begun slicing away at its workforce in India and Europe, as the company tries to shift its business to more lucrative, higher-margin technologies.
“We expect more in other countries. The number could reach 15,000 world wide,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Would (and should) Microsoft enable Android apps on Windows?
http://www.zdnet.com/would-and-should-microsoft-enable-android-apps-on-windows-7000026266/
Summary: Microsoft management is believed to be debating the technical and strategic wisdom of enabling Android apps on Windows and Windows Phone devices. But would such a move hurt or help Microsoft?
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hinted office in the autumn of bringing iPad and Android devices. Now the tune seems to have changed.
On Thursday, a commercial bank, Goldman Sachs technology conference, organized talked about Microsoft’s marketing director Tami Reller gave the impression that such plans are not on the move.
“We spend a lot of time to ponder how we will be able to get the full Windows experience to stand out,” Reller said.
He emphasized that the Office is still one of the strengths of Windows. Office also has a strong brand in itself.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/ipad+jaamassa+sittenkin+ilman+officea/a967646
Tomi Engdahl says:
The End of Windows XP: What You Need to Know
http://www.workintelligent.ly/technology/it/end-windows-xp-what-you-need-to-know/
There’s nothing to be ashamed of if your company still uses Windows XP. By this time, your ROI is off the charts. Most technology infrastructure, outside of legacy systems, just doesn’t last that long.
The problem, however, is Microsoft is finally pulling the plug on support after April 8, 2014.
For larger enterprises, Microsoft’s past data shows the average enterprise deployment can take 18 to 32 months from business case to full deployment.
And regardless of whether or not businesses meet their deployment dates, after early April, “there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates,” according to Microsoft’s online documentation.
Microsoft says running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 after support ends can lead to security risk
there’s open source operating systems that can also deliver the cloud as well as a stable computing environment. Linux, Chromium, and JoliOS are a few of the choices. Linux is the most mature and can be downloaded for free through popular distribution networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hyperlinking Is Not Copyright Infringement, EU Court Rules
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/14/02/13/2259256/hyperlinking-is-not-copyright-infringement-eu-court-rules
“Does publishing a hyperlink to freely available content amount to an illegal communication to the public and therefore a breach of creator’s copyrights under European law? After examining a case referred to it by Sweden’s Court of Appeal, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled today that no, it does not.”
Hyperlinking is Not Copyright Infringement, EU Court Rules
By Andy
on February 13, 2014
https://torrentfreak.com/hyperlinking-is-not-copyright-infringement-eu-court-rules-140213/
The problem came when Retriever published links to articles published on a newspaper’s website that were written by Swedish journalists. The company felt that it did not have to compensate the journalists for simply linking to their articles, nor did it believe that embedding them within its site amounted to copyright infringement.
The journalists, on the other hand, felt that by linking to their articles Retriever had “communicated” their works to the public without permission.
Today the Court of Justice published its lengthy decision and it’s largely good news for the Internet.
“In the circumstances of this case, it must be observed that making available the works concerned by means of a clickable link, such as that in the main proceedings, does not lead to the works in question being communicated to a new public,” the Court writes.
“Therefore, since there is no new public, the authorization of the copyright holders is not required for a communication to the public such as that in the main proceedings.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google: Under-the-hood change helps Web apps on Chrome
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57618868-93/google-under-the-hood-change-helps-web-apps-on-chrome/
Concurrent optimization means that Chrome can improve the performance of Web apps more rapidly. It now performs the optimization in the background instead of making users wait.
Concurrent compilation takes advantage of the fact that most computers these days have multicore processors that can handle multiple simultaneous “threads” of programming instruction sequences. Chrome, like all modern browsers, converts the JavaScript code of Web pages and Web apps into faster-running native code through a process called optimization, but it’s tricky to optimize code that’s actually running.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linking to a website doesn’t infringe copyright, Europe’s Court of Justice says
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2097660/no-authorisation-required-for-hyperlinks-to-copyright-works-cjeu-says.html
The owner of a website does not require authorization of the copyright holder to link to freely accessible copyright works on another site, even if Internet users get the impression that the work is appearing on the site that contains the link, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said Thursday.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 8 passes 200 million license sales
By Tom Warren on February 13, 2014 01:22 pm
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/13/5408666/windows-8-200-million-license-sales
Tomi Engdahl says:
The IT Talent Problem
http://ww2.cfo.com/it-value/2013/05/the-it-talent-problem/
Business-savvy IT executives can be hard to come by, and that’s a big problem if your company relies on technology to exist (it does). Maybe it’s time to start growing your own.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google will block local extensions in Chrome 33 for Windows, disable existing ones not in the Chrome Web Store
http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/02/12/google-will-block-local-extensions-chrome-33-windows-disable-existing-ones-chrome-web-store/#!vJt0d
Users can only install extensions hosted in the Chrome Web store, except for installs via enterprise policy or developer mode.
Extensions that were previously installed, but not hosted on the Chrome Web Store will be hard-disabled (i.e the user cannot enable these extensions again), except for installs via enterprise policy or developer mode.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HP claims ProLiant server audits to stop ‘competitive misuse’
We want you to ‘sell more and better’, HP gushes at channel partners
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/14/hp_firmware_audits/
Hewlett Packard is auditing ProLiant Server customers to stamp out “misuse” of its firmware intellectual property in a wide-ranging clampdown on who can support its servers.
The news has come to light in a confidential document meant only for HP partners that’s been seen by The Register.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Office on iPad: It’s alive and coming sooner than most think
http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-office-on-ipad-its-alive-and-coming-sooner-than-most-think-7000026372/
Summary: Microsoft’s Office for iPad, codenamed Miramar, isn’t dead. In fact, it just might beat Microsoft’s own touch-first Office implementation for Windows to market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Gartner Predictions: 10 Ways IT Rocks the World (Again)
http://www.enterpriseefficiency.com/author.asp?section_id=1129&doc_id=269098&image_number=2&_mc=sem_otb_edt_entereffppcm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Here’s How Google’s New Search Results Will Look Under European Antitrust Settlement
http://recode.net/2014/02/15/heres-how-googles-new-search-results-will-look-under-european-antitrust-settlement/
Google’s long battle with European antitrust regulators over what the European Commission deemed to be anti-competitive search practices appears to be reaching a conclusion. The commission’s competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia has approved the settlement
First, Google is loosening restrictions it had placed on publishers in the European Union who ran AdSense ads on their sites from incorporating ads from other third-party providers.
Google will display competitor search results.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Internet Trolls Are Actually Sadists, Study Finds
Trolls are susceptible to sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.
Read more: Internet Trolls Are Sadists and Psychopaths, Psychologist Report Finds | TIME.com http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/02/13/internet-trolls-are-actually-sadists-study-finds/#ixzz2tWTHRrgV
Tomi Engdahl says:
Someone In Mexico Named Their Kid ‘Facebook’
And now the governent is banning other parents from doing the same.
Read more at http://betabeat.com/2014/02/someone-in-mexico-named-their-kid-facebook/#ixzz2tWcLbu2v
Follow us: @betabeat on Twitter | betabeatNYO on Facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Plan 9 From Bell Labs Operating System Now Available Under GPLv2
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/02/16/0319238/plan-9-from-bell-labs-operating-system-now-available-under-gplv2
“Alcatel-Lucent has authorized The University of California, Berkeley to ‘release all Plan 9 software previously governed by the Lucent Public License, Version 1.02 under the GNU General Public License, Version 2.”
“Plan 9 has subsequently emerged as Inferno”
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Tomi Engdahl says:
How NOT to evaluate hard disk reliability: Backblaze vs world+dog
Consumer drives beat data centre versions… Yeah, let’s put that to bed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/17/backblaze_how_not_to_evaluate_disk_reliability/
A few months ago, Brian Beach, a distinguished engineer at cloud backup joint Backblaze, published a set of study-like blog postings relating to his firm’s experiences with hard drive lifespan in its 25,000+ spindle environment.
According to Backblaze’s research, enterprise drives failed at an annual rate of 4.6 per cent vs. 4.2 per cent for the consumer versions.
A bit of digging into the firm’s analysis reveals that the foundations underlying the Backblaze conclusions aren’t all that sturdy.
The problem is that it is comparing 14,719 drive-years of service on its consumer disks vs only 368 drive-years of service on data centre-grade drives.
Replacing one drive takes about 15 minutes of work.
So the value of higher reliability – in their unique situation – isn’t nearly as much as one might think. Using Brian’s analysis above, this means that a drive that offered double the reliability of the 4TB Seagates (which currently cost around $160) is only worth an additional $.016 (yeah, sixteen cents) to Backblaze.
So what can we learn from all of this? I think the most important point is that you need to carefully evaluate your information sources.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple passing Microsoft
February 12, 2014
http://ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2014/2/12/apple-passes-microsoft
A symbolic moment, this: in Q4 2013 the number of computers* sold by Apple was larger than the number of Windows PC sold globally. If you add Windows Phone to the mix they’re more or less exactly equal.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Git is good for devs, but here are 5 tips on making the transition
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/15/git-is-good-for-devs-but-here-are-5-tips-on-making-the-transition/
Adopting next-generation software development technology can be yield benefits, if you can just get everyone over the hump of a new system. This post tells you how.
Git is the next generation contender of traditional version control systems like Subversion, CVS, Perforce, or ClearCase, that’s quickly becoming the de-facto standard for modern source code collaboration.
Its popularity stems in part from its ability to dramatically improve several areas of the software development process. Examples include:
Gaining a tangible work-speed boost thanks to local clones, powerful context switching capabilities, and the raw speed of git.
Freedom to implement different workflows, feature-based development branches, simplification of integration, and release management to smooth out rough edges for the entire team.
Core security features like cryptographically validated chain of commits, commits sign-off, and release signing that lets IT and ops teams sleep soundly.
Git, the technology, also has huge open source mindshare.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HP claims ProLiant server audits to stop ‘competitive misuse’
We want you to ‘sell more and better’, HP gushes at channel partners
By Gavin Clarke, 14th February 2014
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/14/hp_firmware_audits/
Hewlett Packard is auditing ProLiant Server customers to stamp out “misuse” of its firmware intellectual property in a wide-ranging clampdown on who can support its servers.
It reveals how HP is using the firmware clampdown as a way to help designated partners make more money from ProLiant customers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
E-mail and ERP’s rotation is no longer enough. It is now also perform digitization and industrial internet.
CIO’s real mission has been oriented to the rest: digitalization and the industrial to the Internet. The organization must consider how their own products and services and how to digitized digitized solutions to intelligently discuss other solutions.
Digitalization is not just e-commerce, games, or monitoring services in the industry. It is the ability to take advantage of new technologies – sensor, cloud, mobile, or analytics – anywhere in action. And, in particular digitization is the ability to network globally in any sector.
Global digital service technical establishment today is relatively simple – but can you define your organization’s digital business model? The World’s best innovations are now start-ups – but how do you find and take advantage of them?
IT unit is not worth the candle to hide under a bushel: many organizations, it is the only unit that has years of experience in outsourcing, ecosystems, end-user support, networks, standards, master data, security, and architecture management.
Negligible Nor is it that on this day every IT professional is already used to working in a global, virtual environment.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/blogit/CIO_100_blogi/huomiseksi+teollinen+internet/a968301
Tomi Engdahl says:
Research firm Gartner estimates that about half of IT projects fail.
One of the main reasons of failures is that the systems simply that the benefits for which they are expected to produce. In the worst case, they do not provide benefits for the whole life cycle.
“The business and IT management there is still a gap between the legendary, the various parts of a different language and measuring different things,” Qentinel technology leader Jari Reinikainen says.
My problem is caused by the fact that the systems business benefits expected to mostly indirectly and hazy methods.
“For this project, is of course a very early stage of ROI and TCO calculations. Problems arise when the calculations do not ensure the realization of the project longer, during and after, but it is assumed that the system will pay for itself in the original period of time. ”
Some of the IT managers think that CIO’s role is to ensure that the IT systems to deliver benefits.
Information management often sees that it operates to develop and run the IT systems, but the responsibility of the benefits is the business unit.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/miksi+ithankkeet+floppaavat/a963821
Tomi Engdahl says:
With Hackathons Taking Center Stage, The Coming Transformation Of The Computer Scientist
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/15/with-hackathons-taking-center-stage-the-coming-transformation-of-the-computer-scientist/
For the first time next semester, more than 10,000 students are expected to participate in one of 10 mega-hackathons, in a discipline that graduated just about 16,000 students in 2012. That could mean that a majority of CS students will have participated in a hackathon before graduation in just the next few semesters.
Hackathons, though, are just one part of the coming transformation of computer science education. Once a theoretical subject to the chagrin of many undergraduates, computer science students are increasingly finding outlets like hackathons, open source projects, and startups to learn the applied skill sets desired by industry – and are getting the job offers to prove it.
Yet, this rebuilding of the pipeline for new engineers poses deep questions about the future of educating software developers. What is the proper role of universities and degree programs?
Like many professions today, software development is developing new rules for education and status identification. At one point, a degree from MIT or Stanford was the key ticket to a major Silicon Valley company, and from there, a start-up or a management role.
The new culture around hackathons and open source projects is going to upend this forced march. Students increasingly are engaging with startups earlier in their careers, and they are building products rather than writing code samples. With a continued focus on education, there is an opportunity here to solve the engineer crunch, and perhaps even expand the range of people who are involved in engineering the next great startups.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Launches Smart Visual Studio Add-On For Code Snippet Search
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/17/microsoft-launches-smart-visual-studio-add-on-for-code-snippet-search/
Whether you are a seasoned programmer or a beginner, chances are you spend a lot of your time looking for code snippets on Stack Overflow and similar sites. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, after all. Now, a team from Microsoft Research in Cambridge wants to streamline this process and bring it into the IDE. The team today launched the Bing Code Search add-on, which directly integrates code snippet search for C# (with other languages coming later) into Visual Studio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows lifecycle fact sheet
Last updated: February 2014
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/lifecycle
Windows 7 * Service Pack 1
End of mainstream support: January 13, 2015
January 14, 2020: January 14, 2020
Tomi Engdahl says:
Known for his research by International Data Corporation, or IDC has named IT ecosystem upheaval that began as the “3rd Platform”. Although the research is very marketing-oriented, the idea behind it is interesting
The third ecosystem is different from its predecessors that is industry specific and it has lack of a clear compass.
The first mainframe world concentrated in the ecosystem led by IBM.
Second ecosystem began the IBM PC and operating system produced by Microsoft
The new social, mobile was doing, cloud technologies and analytics based on the third ecosystem is not clear bow picture.
The third ecosystem is measured by the ability to change the sectoral nature of the business to use information technology more effectively and achieve significant productivity features to enable benefits.
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/blogit/ict_standard_forum/tietotekniikan+kolmas+valtakunta/a968461
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can Reactive Programming Handle Complexity?
http://slashdot.org/topic/bi/can-reactive-programming-handle-complexity/
Many readers questioned whether Reactive Programming enables you to address not just typical problems, but complex ones as well.
Certainly it can’t solve all use cases, but Reactive Programming is very capable of addressing many complex problems, and can address all other scenarios via a transparent integration with procedural languages.
Reactive Programming is an excellent approach for computational dependencies, typically initiated by database update events. So Reactive is quite a good match for REST PUT, POST and DELETE events
Tomi Engdahl says:
Clueless over your heaps of unstructured data? You could soon whip out ‘DIY tool’
El Reg looks into Data Gravity’s new work
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/18/datagravity_diy_analytics/
DataGravity appears to be working on a kind of GUI-driven SQL for unstructured data so small to medium businesses can run data analytics, possibly without having to hire data scientists – although this has not been confirmed.
Business users in departments such as HR, marketing, sales, legal, and finance may want to look into files to find out, for example, why recruits of a certain type perform better than others, or which social networking posts ultimately generated the most cash, and so on.
These are ad hoc queries which can not be easily generated using SQL; the data is not structured and the end users don’t know and don’t want to know SQL.
They want to sit at a screen and use a powerful but easy-to-understand GUI to pull up all sorts of information and images stored in multiple files across many different storage systems around the company.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft should get used to giving Windows away for free
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/microsoft-should-get-used-to-giving-windows-away-for-free/
The mobile revolution has changed the way businesses and users think about operating system upgrades. Free is now the expected norm. Will this work for Microsoft?
The most common way for businesses and individuals to get a new operating system is by purchasing a new PC.
when the next major version is developed, you traditionally either buy a new PC or pay for the new version of the operating system.
Two things have ruined that simple dynamic, and both of them are Apple’s fault. First, Apple started producing major updates to Mac OS X on an annual cycle, and it made the upgrade to the new version available for only $30. Meanwhile, Microsoft was still trying to convince users to pay $100 or more — offering a confusing array of options and licensing models
The second factor is the mobile revolution. Again, most people get a new mobile OS by acquiring a new mobile device. But, when a new version of the mobile OS is made available, it’s simply pushed out as an available update for all applicable devices
Microsoft offered a limited-time bargain for Windows 8 that users should have taken advantage of, but even that was still $40. Windows 8.1 was offered for free, but that’s an incremental update akin to Windows 8 Service Pack 1. The real test will be Windows 9.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Processors to tablets were sold in the last year for 3.6 billion dollars (=2.6 billion euros).
According to Strategy Analytics, the Apple iPad is the clear market leader (37 per cent).
Cell phone market is dominated by Qualcomm processor, and it’s processors were used in 11 per cent of tablets.
Chinese companies such as Actions Semiconductor, Allwinner, MediaTek and Rockchip managed last year to capture a third of the tablet processor market.
Intel, Marvell, Mediatek, Qualcomm and Samsung increased its sales last year at good rate.
Source: Elektroniikalehti
http://www.elektroniikkalehti.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=981:apple-ykkonen-tablettiprosessoreissa&catid=13&Itemid=101