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.
2,130 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
I, for one, welcome our VMware VSAN overlord
Though I wish it would open up a bit…
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/12/vmware_vsan_comment/
Storagebod So VSAN is finally here in a released form. On paper, it looks very impressive.
Is VSAN better because it runs in the VMware kernel? This seems logical but this has tied VSAN to VMware in a way that some of the competing products have not. For example, if I want to run a Gluster Cluster – which encompasses not just VMware but also XEN, bare metal and anything else – I could.
It should allow more pluggable options so I could run GPFS, ScaleIO, Gluster, Stornext within the VMWare kernel.
VSAN limits itself by tying itself so closely to the VMware stack; its scalability is limited by the current cluster size.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Netflix and Spotify help drive UK home entertainment revenues to £5.3bn
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/mar/12/netflix-spotify-uk-home-entertainment-sector
New figures show that three-fifths of Britain’s video, video games and music sales are now derived from the internet
Tomi Engdahl says:
VLC now available for Windows 8, no support for Surface 2 yet
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/12/5502100/vlc-windows-8-download-now-available
A Windows 8-style version of VLC is finally here. After months of delays, the Kickstarter-funded project has reached its beta goal and is available to download from the Windows Store. While Windows 8 includes a built-in video player, VLC adds its signature support for a broad array of formats
Tomi Engdahl says:
PCIe 3.0 is the latest release of the ubiquitous PCI Express high-speed peripheral interconnect standard that provides 8GT/s of interconnect bandwidth which doubles the PCIe 2.0 bit rate while preserving full compatibility with all existing software and mechanical interfaces.
At the backplane design level, the doubling of data transfer rates in PCIe 3.0 means much higher signal speeds and additional signal integrity challenges
Source: Optimizing PCIe 3.0 Backplane Designs for Performance and Reliability
http://app.bronto.com/public/?q=preview_message&fn=Link&t=1&ssid=24339&id=fk60dcdk9rfru6gyg3o5yi8i5d19y&id2=9rzcmdpm3q6ykkztre6ng458ruxdb&subscriber_id=addjrcivgyiakgvdovjxpccnvvqfbdo&messageversion_id=bopjgblvdjwuzvvfgchrgzrnuzblbgf&delivery_id=byysrphlxvckacyvvuehvmubmvloblc&tid=3.XxM.B1We4w.GtYo.AdgL_g..AtcG2g.b..s.AX4y.b.UyCgoA.UyCgoA.MvgaWA
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kodak names tech industry vet Clarke CEO, aims to be B2B player
http://www.zdnet.com/kodak-names-tech-industry-vet-clarke-ceo-aims-to-be-b2b-player-7000027260/
Kodak, recently emerged from bankruptcy, has revamped, shed debt and is hoping to take its intellectual property to commercial printing, packaging, and services. Competitors for the new enterprise-focused Kodak would be players such as Lexmark, Hewlett-Packard, Canon, and Xerox.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Epic Partners With Mozilla To Port Unreal Engine 4 To The Web
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/12/epic-partners-with-mozilla-to-port-unreal-engine-4-to-the-web/
Epic and Mozilla today announced that they are porting Unreal Engine 4 to the web.
At last year’s Game Developers Conference, Mozilla showed a port of Unreal Engine 3, the foundation for many AAA games, running in the browser. That was a bit of a wake-up call for many developers, given that this kind of plug-in-free gaming experience in the browser seemed impossible just a few years before.
The Mozilla tools that made this possible were asm.js, the organization’s high-performance subset of JavaScript, and the Emscripten compiler that can take C/C++ code and turn it into asm.js code that can run on any browser.
Now with Unreal Engine 4, Epic is going beyond the demo and is making the web a core platform for developers who use its engine for their games.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony’s VR tech will be revealed at GDC – and it represents virtual reality gaming’s greatest hope
http://www.edge-online.com/news/sonys-vr-tech-will-be-revealed-at-gdc-and-it-represents-virtual-reality-gamings-greatest-hope/
Sony will reveal its Oculus Rift-beating VR headset at GDC next week, according to developers familiar with the tech.
A prototype is already in some thirdparty developers’ hands, who have told us that Sony’s VR headset is far superior to Oculus Rift’s first incarnation, though that is expected to even out a little with the arrival of Rift’s new, more advanced Crystal Cove devkit.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Goodbye One Laptop per Child
http://www.olpcnews.com/about_olpc_news/goodbye_one_laptop_per_child.html
With the hardware now long past its life expectancy, spare parts hard to find, and zero support from the One Laptop Per Child organization, its time to face reality. The XO-1 laptop is history.
Finally, OLPC Boston is completely gone. No staff, no consultants, not even a physical office. Nicholas Negroponte long ago moved onto the global literacy X-Prize project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Data Doomsday is Coming
http://www.cio.com/article/749453/Data_Doomsday_is_Coming
As corporate stockpiles of data continue to grow, mostly unmanaged, to massive levels, it becomes more likely that many major organizations will face a crisis very soon.
Gartner predicts that one-third of Fortune 100 companies will be hit with an information management crisis by 2017. Gartner says the crisis is likely because so many U.S. companies today can’t “effectively value, govern and trust their enterprise information.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Not sure if you’re STILL running Windows XP? AmIRunningXP.com to the rescue!
Better double check…
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/14/am_i_running_xp/
If you’re wondering who is still running Windows XP in this day and age, given that support for the OS is ending soon, the answer is it might be YOU! Or at least, so Microsoft suspects.
But fear not: Redmond has stepped up its outreach program with a new website that’s designed to get to the bottom of this mystery, once and for all.
Those blissfully ignorant souls who haven’t the foggiest clue what OS their PCs might be running can now wing on over to AmIRunningXP.com and get a straight-shooting, no-nonsense answer to the question that has been confounding them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft closing in on Apache’s web server crown
And sprinting up on the inside, here comes Nginx!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/14/microsoft_closing_in_on_apaches_web_server_crown/
50 million more of the world’s web servers started to run Microsoft’s internet information server (IIS) during February, according to Netcraft.
If IIS can keep growing at this rate, Netcraft observes, it could overtake Apache during 2014.
That prospect is dampened somewhat by the fact that big increase for Microsoft is attributed to a single company – the Nobis Technology Group – switching to IIS.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Desktop Search to Decline $1.4 Billion as Google Users Shift to Mobile
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Desktop-Search-Decline-14-Billion-Google-Users-Shift-Mobile/1010668
Overall desktop ad spending set to decline in 2014 while mobile grows 83.0%
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mozilla scraps Metro version of Firefox, citing low interest
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57620382-93/mozilla-scraps-metro-version-of-firefox-citing-low-interest/
Very, very few are interested in using the browser on Windows 8′s touch-first interface, so Mozilla is mothballing the code and sticking with the older, more popular “desktop” version.
it’s over for now, although Firefox will mothball the code in case it needs to change its mind
Tomi Engdahl says:
Oculus VR, EA, Avegant and others join to form ‘Immersive Technology Alliance’
http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/13/immersive-technology-alliance/
Well, this is certainly a motley crew: a variety of companies in the virtual reality space are teaming up to create the “Immersive Technology Alliance.” The group is an evolution of an earlier consortium, The Stereoscopic 3D Gaming Alliance
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Bubble Question
Everywhere I go, everywhere I speak, I get asked this question. Are we in a bubble?
http://avc.com/2014/03/the-bubble-question/
It’s been a good time to be in the VC and startup business and I think it will continue to be as long as the global economy is weak and rates are low.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ask Slashdot: Best Management Interface On an IT Appliance?
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/03/15/0039225/ask-slashdot-best-management-interface-on-an-it-appliance
“What are the best examples of good UX design on an IT appliance that you’ve managed? What was it that made you love it?”
Comment:
For usability, you need to look at your target market. This means that you should be asking the people who will buy your product, rather than the people on Slashdot.
Specific examples are hard to come by, but I’ve noticed the general trend that differentiates the “good” from the “barely usable”..
Scalability. For example, a good interface will pop up a “search” box for finding a security group in Active Directory. A bad one will let me chose security groups from a list or a drop-down. Both look equally good when the developer is working in a test environment.
Annotations. There is absolutely no reason not to include a general “note” or at least a “description” field with every. Single. Thing.
Versioning.
Policy. Settings should trickle down through hierarchies. I should never have to set the exact same setting five hundred times.
Help.
Behind the Scenes. Some GUIs have 1:1 mappings with some sort of underlying command-line or protocol.
Really, GUI design is — or should be — a science, and not a trivial one!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google and Microsoft Both Want To Stop Dual-Boot Windows/Android Device
http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/03/14/1932227/google-and-microsoft-both-want-to-stop-dual-boot-windowsandroid-devices
“Over the past several months, we’ve seen signs of the next step in the laptop’s evolution: Android/Windows dual-boot laptops. Several companies have built these machines already”
“However, neither Google nor Microsoft seem to want such an unholy marriage of operating systems, and they’ve both pressured Asus to kill off the dual-boot product lines.”
‘Google has little incentive to approve dual-OS models, since that could help Microsoft move into mobile devices where Android is dominant. … Microsoft has its own reasons for not wanting to share space on computers with Google’
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google and Microsoft are out to stop dual-boot Windows/Android devices
Asus is the current target of their ire.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/03/google-and-microsoft-are-out-to-stop-dual-boot-windowsandroid-devices/
We’ve seen numerous companies announce devices that boot Android and some flavor of Windows, but very few of them ever hit the market.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and Google are both out to stifle any device that doesn’t have a firm allegiance to either Android or Windows. The report says that both companies have told Asus to end its dual-OS product lines and that Asus is complying.
Both companies have reasons to want to stop dual-boot devices. Windows 8 is under pressure with its desktop, and Microsoft does not want Android to get a foothold there. Android dominates smartphones, and Google doesn’t want Windows Phone paired with Android. Both companies have ways of making OEMs comply with their wishes.
The objections from Microsoft and Google are a big blow for Intel, whose x86 architecture is the only chip that can run Android next to the full version of Windows 8.
All of this ignores the fact that dual-OS devices are always terrible products. Windows and Android almost never cross-communicate
blog says:
It’s difficult to find well-informed people on this subject,
but you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
Tomi Engdahl says:
IT managers wanted to get fired , ” to use a lot of money , and all work smoothly ”
Gartner analyst Robert Handler always remembers a mandate of his career early:
“I was asked to collect the evidence, so that the company could fire the information technology leader”
Nothing wrong was found . In fact, consider the manager was the best CIO, which Handler had met.
Why CFO thinks the CIO should be fired?
” He uses a lot of money, and everything seems to be running properly .”
At that point, Handler decided that the information management management positions are not for him.
The case is a common paradox of the IT world.
“When everything goes smoothly, no one will remember the existence of IT department”
Source: Tietoviikko
http://www.tietoviikko.fi/cio/itjohtajalle+potkut+quotkayttaa+paljon+rahaa+ja+kaikki+toimii+ongelmittaquot/a970819
Tomi Engdahl says:
The era of Facebook is an anomaly
Researcher danah boyd talks about teens, identity, and the future of digital communication
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/13/5488558/danah-boyd-interview-the-era-of-facebook-is-an-anomaly
The era of Facebook is an anomaly. The idea of everybody going to one site is just weird. Give me one other part of history where everybody shows up to the same social space. Fragmentation is a more natural state of being. Is your social dynamic interest-driven or is it friendship-driven?
The weird thing about Facebook and the dynamics of it becoming a utility — which [teens] really despise — is the fact that it becomes this backdrop. It’s not the place of passion. It’s really valuable when you want to reach everybody, it’s really valuable when you don’t have somebody’s cell to text them, it’s really valuable when you need to contact somebody in a more formalistic structure. That social graph is still extraordinarily valuable — that has the potential to really be long-standing. With that said, Facebook could screw it up
Whereas in the Facebook era, you have to balance all these audiences simultaneously.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why does IT struggle to enable business innovation?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft wants you to start spending in it’s shop:
Windows XP support is ending*
BUY A NEW PC
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/cat/categoryID.67770000/offerID.42494569909?ClickID=bmqfsqfennmqq6qqe1vynvzv66uneynueqqv#shop-computers
Tomi Engdahl says:
It seems that Windows 8 touch interface (formerly known as Metro) is very rarely used:
In the months since, as the team built and tested and refined the product, we’ve been watching Metro’s adoption. From what we can see, it’s pretty flat. On any given day we have, for instance, millions of people testing pre-release versions of Firefox desktop, but we’ve never seen more than 1000 active daily users in the Metro environment.
Source: https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2014/03/14/metro/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Straight to 8: London’s Met Police hatches Win XP escape plan
Custom support? Why yes, Microsoft, how generous of you
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/17/met_police_ditch_windows_xp_straight_to_windows_8/
The Metropolitan Police are bypassing Windows 7 and going straight to Windows 8 as they ditch Windows XP from nearly 40,000 PCs.
But the force will not have finished the move before April’s end-of-support deadline
Met has agreed a custom support agreement with Microsoft to keep Windows XP machines
Microsoft charges $200 per PC for a Windows XP custom support agreement in the first year, rising to $400 then $800 in years two and three
The information came to light via a Freedom of Information Request by The Register.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Apple, HP, Intel may be hit by slowdown in growth of smartphone sales
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25347385/apple-hp-intel-may-be-hit-by-slowdown
The smartphone business has generated staggering wealth for companies such as Apple and triggered a recent scramble by Hewlett-Packard and Intel to try for a piece of the action.
But it now looks like its best days may be behind it, a troubling trend for companies here and elsewhere that have hitched their fortunes to the smartphone juggernaut. Although smartphones remain wildly popular, their sales — about $338 billion last year — are growing at a slower pace and their prices are dropping fast, making it harder to wring a profit from them.
That comes at the worst possible time for Intel, HP and other Silicon Valley companies whose businesses heavily depend upon the personal computer. With PC sales dwindling, they’ve been urgently seeking ways to tap into the smartphone boom, but some analysts think they may be too late. Even mighty Apple is considered at risk because it gets the vast majority of its revenue from the iPhone.
However, Intel officials say they’re confident the business can be profitable.
“Cost decreases in computing devices are, and have always been, a fact,” company spokeswoman Cara Walker said. “This is a good thing for consumers and for us as a manufacturing leader. We focus on what we can control, and that’s innovating and leveraging our manufacturing advantage.”
No one suggests the smartphone business will vanish — at least not anytime soon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tech CEOs Warn of Threats to Cloud, Big Data Economy
http://www.cio.com/article/749714/Tech_CEOs_Warn_of_Threats_to_Cloud_Big_Data_Economy
Leaders of some of the nation’s top tech firms say protectionist cloud policies and Internet restrictions could undermine the potential of the data revolution. To that end, they call on policymakers to advocate the free flow of information across national borders — and to pay special attention to nations restricting Internet freedom.
Top executives at firms such as Dell, IBM and Xerox gathered in the nation’s capital this week under the auspices of the Technology CEO Council, bringing with them a message that the data economy is imperiled by concerns about security and privacy and protectionist policies that could limit the growth of cloud computing and balkanize the Internet.
“The biggest barriers I think that we see are not around the engineering. It’s around regulation. It’s around protectionism. It’s around trust, or lack thereof. It’s around policies and procedures,” says Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns, who also chairs the CEO council.
“Countries that take a protectionist view and say, ‘I’m going to protect my data and make sure that it’s secure for my own economic purposes or political purposes,’ or for whatever reason, really run the significant risk of cutting themselves off from this bounty that comes with the data economy,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
With ‘No Meaningful Position Beyond Flash’, Gaming Platform Mochi Media Will Close March 31
http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/16/with-no-meaningful-position-beyond-flash-gaming-platform-mochi-media-will-close-march-31/
If the news is a strong mark of the general viability of businesses that are focused too much on the shrinking world of Flash gaming, it doesn’t look like it came as a surprise to Mochi Media specifically
As for Mochi Media, you might call it another casualty in the decline of Flash, in this case as a platform of choice among games developers that are today focused on iOS, Android, Steam and more.
“If Mochi had a more meaningful position today beyond Flash, then there may have been a different path for the company going forward,”
“Most ‘Flash’ game developers I knew from the halcyon days of Mochi services (2006-2010) have moved on to make games in HTML5, Unity, and Corona for platforms like Android, iOS and Steam,” games developer Steve Fulton notes in a post on a Gamasutra community board.
Flash these days seems to have diminishing importance as a platform for web development. By one estimate, today it’s used on only 14.7% of web sites, a decline of more than five percentage points compared to a year ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Amazon has destroyed the unicorn factory’ … How clouds are making sysadmins extinct
Who’ll build your data center if they all work for AWS, Google?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/14/cloud_skills_extinction/
The rise of the cloud is wiping out the next generation of valuable sysadmins as startups never learn about how to manage data-center gear properly, a Pasadena tech biz boss has said.
The problem, according to Steve Curry – the president of managed OpenStack provider Metacloud – is that modern upstarts are going directly to cloud services like Amazon and missing out on the crucial experience of managing (and breaking) their own data center kit as they grow.
Finding people with skills in “large-scale operations at a global scale” is “really rare,” he told The Reg in San Francisco on Thursday, and worried it may become almost impossible to recruit such techies.
Unicorns, he explained, are “those smart people [that] everyone wants but no one has ever seen one
backend-as-a-service company Firebase started out life on a major public cloud but had to shift to bare-metal servers after it ran into performance issues.
Though investors and pundits will encourage the valley’s startups to go to the cloud, it seems likely that the tech community is creating a problem for itself.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tech More: Bill Gates Jobs
Bill Gates: People Don’t Realize How Many Jobs Will Soon Be Replaced By Software Bots
http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-bots-are-taking-away-jobs-2014-3
Big changes are coming to the labor market that people and governments aren’t prepared for, Bill Gates believes.
Gates said that within 20 years, a lot of jobs will go away, replaced by software automation
He’s not the only one predicting this gloomy scenario for workers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microsoft Office for iPad will be unveiled this month
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/17/5519614/office-for-ipad-satya-nadella-march-27th-event
Satya Nadella is planning to host his first press event as Microsoft CEO next week. The software maker has been inviting members of the media to a special cloud- and mobile-focused event in San Francisco on March 27th. Nadella is expected to discuss Microsoft’s “mobile first, cloud first” strategy,
Nadella’s unveiling of Office for iPad will be the first major press event for the new CEO
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shuttleworth: Firmware is the universal Trojan
Kill proprietary firmware
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/18/shuttleworth_firmware_is_the_universal_trojan/
Canonical boss Mark Shuttleworth has called on the world to abandon proprietary firmware code, calling all such code “a threat vector”.
“Any firmware code running on your phone, tablet, PC, TV, wifi router, washing machine, server, or the server running the cloud your SaaS app is running on” is a threat, he writes, calling on the industry to abandon secret firmware entirely.
Certainly, there’s plenty of evidence out there to support Shuttleworth’s concerns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OpenGL mobile graphics spec inches closer to desktop, laptop cousin
OpenGL ES 3.1 released, creeps up on OpenGL 4.4
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/17/open_source_mobile_graphics_spec_moves_closer_to_parity_with_desktop_laptop_version/
“The OpenGL family of APIs including OpenGL ES, OpenGL and WebGL have proven themselves as the foundation for 3D graphics on mobile devices, PCs and the Web,” said Khronos Group president and Nvidia VP of mobile ecosystem Neal Trevett in a statement.
As its name implies, OpenGL ES (Embedded Systems) is a royalty-free standard, available to any and all developers who want to spruce up the graphics performance of their mobile apps.
The new spec continues the OpenGL ES working group’s effort to move features down from the mainstream OpenGL 4.4 spec and into the rapidly expanding low-power space.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OASIS Approves OData 4.0 Standards For an Open, Programmable Web
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/03/17/1720214/oasis-approves-odata-40-standards-for-an-open-programmable-web
“The OASIS members approved Version 4 of the OData standards, which now also feature the long requested compact JSON as primary format.”
If (PlatformIndepenentProgrammingRelated == True) And (RelatedToJava == False) {
Good!!!
}
They cracked the code on good web programming standards lol.
OASIS Approves OData 4.0 Standards for an Open, Programmable Web
https://www.oasis-open.org/news/pr/oasis-approves-odata-4-0-standards-for-an-open-programmable-web
Axway, BlackBerry, CA Technologies, Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Progress Software, Red Hat, SAP, SDL, and Others Enhance Open Data Protocol
“In this new version, we’ve eliminated boundaries between isolated services, essentially moving from an approach of ‘structured data on the Web’ to a ‘web of structured data’ approach.”
“OData is the equivalent of ODBC for the Web. OData was always simple and intuitive, but version 4.0 applies the lessons that have been learned since the inception of OData into a clean streamlined standard,”
OData began as an open project on the public OData site in 2009. OData producers, consumers and libraries (many of them open source) include Java, PHP, Drupal, Joomla, Node.js, .NET, SQL Server, MySQL, iOS, WP7, and Android.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Deloitte Tech Trends 2014
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/uk/services/consulting/technology/tech-trends-2014/index.htm
Tomi Engdahl says:
An Executive Recruiter’s Advice For The CIO’s First 100 Days
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2014/03/17/an-executive-recruiters-advice-for-the-cios-first-100-days/
Heller: In their first 100 days, CIOs need to do a number of things in parallel. First is to find some low-hanging fruit — a technology problem that has been creating problems for internal users for years, but that could be fixed by a relatively simple (and inexpensive) solution. CIOs should not attempt to re-engineer all of the back-end systems in their first 100 days. Most companies provide a “target-rich” environment for new CIOs looking to add value right away. CIOs need to find their target and deliver. The good-will they create from that early quick-fix will give them the space and support to start working on the longer-term initiatives.
Second, CIOs should spend much of their first 100 days with their major business partners. If the new CIO’s predecessor was fired, he probably spent too much of his time holed up in his office with his head down.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nitrous.IO scores $6.65M to eliminate messy development set up
http://gigaom.com/2014/03/18/nitrous-io-scores-6-65m-to-free-developers-from-messy-ide-set-up/
Startup claims it can loose the ties that bind developers to unwieldy desktop-based IDEs and now has new cash to push that vision.
The company’s pitch is that instead of installing and tweaking development environments on their laptops — which can be time-consuming and annoying — developers can get right to work using Nitrous.IO’s Web IDE using their iPad or Android tablets. They can share those development environments with workgroup members, clients or partners. If they are wed to their Macbooks or Windows PCs, they can also use Nitrous in conjunction with their favorite desktop editor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Firefox 28 arrives with VP9 video decoding, Web notifications on OS X, HTML5 video and audio volume controls
http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/03/18/firefox-28-arrives-vp9-video-decoding-web-notifications-os-x-html5-video-audio-volume-controls/#!AwA91
Mozilla today officially launched Firefox 28 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Additions include VP9 video decoding, Web notifications on OS X, and volume controls for HTML5 video and audio.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Java 8 Officially Released
http://developers.slashdot.org/story/14/03/18/223233/java-8-officially-released
“Oracle today officially released Java 8, nearly two years after Java 7, and after much delay. The new release includes a number of critical new features, including Lambda expressions and the new Nashorn JavaScript engine.”
JDK 8 Release Notes
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/8train-relnotes-latest-2153846.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solid-State Drives: Get One Already!
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/solid-state-drives-get-one-already
However, at a recent gathering of like-minded Linux users, I learned that many of my peers hadn’t actually made the move to SSDs yet. Within that group, the primary reluctance to try a SSD boiled down to three main concerns:
I’m worried about their reliability; I hear they wear out.
I’m not sure if they work well with Linux.
I’m not sure an SSD really would make much of a difference on my system.
Luckily, these three concerns are based either on misunderstandings, outdated data, exaggeration or are just not correct.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Python 3.4.0 released
http://blog.python.org/2014/03/python-340-released.html
Python 3.4 includes a range of improvements of the 3.x series, including hundreds of small improvements and bug fixes
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony Announces Virtual Reality Headset For PS4
http://games.slashdot.org/story/14/03/19/0322246/sony-announces-virtual-reality-headset-for-ps4
Tomi Engdahl says:
USB cuts the cord, again, with WiGig-derived wireless spec
‘MA-USB’ will allow kit to chat over USB at up to 10 Gbps
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/19/usb_cuts_the_cord_again_with_wigigderived_wireless_spec/
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) Implementors Forum has announced that development is under way on a new “Media Agnostic (MA) USB specification.
MA-USB removes the need for USB devices to connect by wire. Instead, they’ll use WiGi, WiFi or maybe even UWB to swap data with whatever other systems they connect to. The choice of WiGig and the fact the WiFi alliance has made its Serial Extension v1.2 available to form the basis of MA-USB means gadgets should be able to chat at gigabits-per-second with existing drivers in the target OS. USB 2.0 and 3.0 will therefore be supported by the wireless standard.
The advent of MA-USB thickens the wireless USB plot. The USB Forum already ratifies “Wireless USB”, a short-range and slowish (max speed of 480Mbps is most easily-achieved over just three metres) spec that has found its way into devices like wireless game controllers
Tomi Engdahl says:
LEPA Releases 1700W MaxPlatinum Power Supply, EU Only
by Ian Cutress on March 19, 2014 5:47 AM EST
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7878/lepa-releases-1700w-maxplatinum-power-supply-eu-only
In the GPU area, we have had discrete and onboard graphics that run normal web computing for 85% of regular users as well as it needs to. But the boundaries are pushed at the upper limit, where resolution and pixel power matter most
with most desktop computers using sub-400W at peak
for the extreme enthusiast end
LEPA has released their 1700W MaxPlatinum power supply as part of their CeBIT 2014 launch.
Enermax (who make the unit) has told me that to make a 1700W Platinum model for 110/115V regions requires a different design. At the minute this is not planned
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Is What Happens To Your Files When You Stop Paying For A Microsoft Office Subscription
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-when-office-365-expires-2014-3#ixzz2wPdXT0Yo
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Stress Of Being A Computer Programmer Is Literally Driving Many Of Them Crazy
http://www.businessinsider.com/syndromes-drive-coders-crazy-2014-3
Being a software programmer is one of the best jobs these days for your pocketbook and your job security, but it can be incredibly bad for your mental health.
Two things are going on that are literally driving programmers crazy.
One is something known as the “imposter syndrome.” That’s when you’re pretty sure that all the other coders you work with are smarter, more talented and more skilled than you are. You live in fear that people will discover that you are really faking your smarts or skills or accomplishments.
Imposter syndrome is common in professions where the work is peer reviewed. Writing software is just such a field, particularly open-source software where anyone can look at the code and change it.
programmers think they need to work harder to become good enough
That programmers are expected to work insanely long hours isn’t new. But this idea that they are doing it of their own accord, for the sheer joy of it, is new.
Overworked coders tended to produce less high-quality code when working 60 hour/weeks than refreshed people did when working 40-hour weeks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Xbox boss Marc Whitten leaves Microsoft for Sonos as PS4 leads console sales
14 year veteran departs in the shadow of Xbox One and Titanfall
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2334776/xbox-boss-marc-whitten-leaves-microsoft-for-sonos-as-ps4-leads-console-sales
GAMES CONSOLE MAKER Microsoft has either lost or shed the head of its Xbox division and said goodbye to 14-year veteran and Xbox One chief product officer Marc Whitten.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM: 11 Historic Changes at Big Blue
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1321377&
With the release of its annual financial figures for 2013, IBM itself admits that the news is not all that they had wished. Yet, the company stuck to its message of technological transformation.
“We must acknowledge that while 2013 was an important year of transformation, our performance did not meet our expectations,” said Ginni Rometty, CEO and chairman of IBM, in her letter in the company’s annual report pointing to pre-tax income that slipped 8% and revenues that were down 5%.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Intel reinvents the PC as giant ‘Black Brook’ fondleslab
‘All-in-one’ reference platform and 20th anniversary Pentium revealed
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/20/intel_reinvents_the_pc_as_giant_black_brook_fondleslab/
Intel has shown off its vision for the next generation of PCs, in the form of “Black Brook”, a reference design for a “desktop all-in-one” computer.
The new class of device is a PC built into a touch-screen that appears to be up to about 20 inches on its diagonal dimension, packs a battery and nestles into a docking station.
Intel says it expects such machines to reach the market during 2014 and 2015.
the new all-in-one reference and the new chips are part of an effort Intel says is aimed at revitalising the desktop.
The company has also pointed out that while the PC market is a mess, 2013′s fourth quarter saw year-over-year desktop volume rise seven per cent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Major Companies Not Making Full Use of Big Data to Spot Fraud
http://www.cio.com/article/749959/Major_Companies_Not_Making_Full_Use_of_Big_Data_to_Spot_Fraud?taxonomyId=600010
Most companies are spurning the chance to improve their anti-fraud and anti-bribery efforts by not taking full advantage of big data analysis, according to research from business consulting firm EY.
EY found that 63 percent of senior executives surveyed at leading companies around the world agreed that they need to do more to improve their anti-fraud and anti-bribery procedures, including the use of forensic data analytics (FDA).
“By combining multiple data sources and leveraging advanced FDA tools, companies are now able to gain new and important insights from their business data.”
EY said traditional spreadsheet and database applications can struggle with the increasing volumes, velocities and varieties of data generated by global companies.