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Submission + - Amazon takes on Microsoft, Google with WorkMail for businesses (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: Amazon Web Services today launched a new product to its expansive service catalog in the cloud: WorkMail is a hosted email platform for enterprises that could wind up as a replacement for Microsoft and Google messaging systems. The service is expected to cost $4 per user per month for a 50GB email inbox. It’s integrated with many of AWS’s other cloud services too, including its Zocalo file synchronization and sharing platform. The combination will allow IT shops to set up a hosted email platform and link it to a file sharing system.

Submission + - FCC calls blocking of personal Wi-Fi hotspots "disturbing trend" (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: The FCC on Tuesday warned http://transition.fcc.gov/Dail... that it will no longer tolerate hotels, convention centers or others intentionally interfering with personal Wi-Fi hotspots. This issue grabbed headlines last fall when Marriott International was fined $600K for blocking customer Wi-Fi hotspots, presumably to encourage the guests to pay for pricey Internet access from the hotel.

Submission + - How not to waste your money on the second wave of 802.11ac wireless gear (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: The best way to avoid wasting your money on Wave 2 of 802.11ac access points is to not buy them right away, and the second-best is to not overreact to their presence on your network. Wave 2 APs have been on the market for about a year, dating back to last January’s release of the Asus RT-AC87U, but the technology hasn’t yet become commonplace among enterprise users.

Submission + - Conference calls a waste of time? In 1915, this one made history (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: These days, making a call across the U.S. is so easy that people often don’t even know they’re talking coast to coast. But 100 years ago Sunday, it took a hackathon, a new technology and an international exposition to make it happen.
The first commercial transcontinental phone line opened on Jan. 25, 1915, with a call from New York to the site of San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Alexander Graham Bell made the call to his assistant, Thomas Watson. Just 39 years earlier, Bell had talked to Watson on the first ever phone call, in Boston, just after Bell had patented the telephone.

Submission + - Smartphones, tablets & eBay send SkyMall to Chapter 11 (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: SkyMall, the quirky airline catalog, looks as though it may be grounded before long. Parent company Xhibit has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection http://www.xhibitcorp.com/inve... and seeks to sell its assets. In an SEC filing, Xhibit explains that it has fallen victim to an "intensely competitive" direct marketing retail industry that now includes the likes of eBay and Amazon.com. Smartphones and tablets are largely to blame for SkyMall's downfall, according to the SEC filing. "Historically, the SkyMall catalog was the sole in-flight option for potential purchasers of products to review while traveling. With the increased use of electronic devices on planes, fewer people browsed the SkyMall in-flight catalog."

Submission + - Big names like Google dominate open-source funding (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: Network World’s analysis of publicly listed sponsors of 36 prominent open-source non-profits and foundations reveals that the lion’s share of financial support for open-source groups comes from a familiar set of names.

Submission + - Linus Torvalds Wants Us All to Chill Out About the Leap Second (wired.com)

alphadogg writes: The leap second is the rare and obscure practice of occasionally adding a second to the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) system that most of us use to set our watches. It’s necessary, but not exactly computer friendly. In 2012 it crashed websites such as Reddit and Yelp and snarled up airline departures in Australia, so you’d think most computer experts would really hate them. After all, we have perfectly accurate timekeeping systems, such as the one used by GPS, that don’t futz with leap seconds. But it turns out many computer folks are OK with the leap second, including Linux’s creator, Linus Torvalds.

Submission + - Hotel group asks FCC for permission to block some outside Wi-Fi

alphadogg writes: The FCC will soon decide whether to lay down rules regarding hotels’ ability to block personal Wi-Fi hotspots inside their buildings, a practice that recently earned Marriott International a $600,000 fine. Back in August, Marriott, business partner Ryman Hospitality Properties and trade group the American Hotel and Lodging Association asked the FCC to clarify when hotels can block outside Wi-Fi hotspots in order to protect their internal Wi-Fi services.

Submission + - Vulnerability in embedded Web server exposes millions of routers to hacking (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: A serious vulnerability in an embedded Web server used by many router models from different manufacturers allows remote attackers to take control of affected devices over the Internet. A compromised router can have wide-ranging implications for the security of home and business networks as it allows attackers to sniff inbound and outbound traffic and provides them with a foothold inside the network from where they can launch attacks against other systems. It also gives them a man-in-the-middle position to strip SSL from secure connections and hijack DNS settings to misrepresent trusted websites. The new vulnerability was discovered by researchers from Check Point Software Technologies and is located in RomPager, an embedded Web server used by many routers to host their Web-based administration interfaces.

Submission + - Ping Identity co-founder now has sights set on commercial drone management (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: The Federal Aviation Administration has taken a hard line so far against most commercial uses of unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e.,drones) for safety and privacy reasons. But one other good reason for taking things slow is that the software for managing such drones has trailed hardware development. A new company called PixiePath launched by Ping Identity co-founder Bryan Field-Elliot seeks to address the software shortage by delivering SaaS-based tools for controlling fleets of commercial drones. Because of the FAA taking its time outlining rules, PixiePath could find its biggest early opportunities up North or overseas.

Submission + - Remember when Cisco sued Apple over the iPhone name? (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: Cisco Systems' General Counsel Mark Chandler, explaining Friday's blockbuster patent and copyright infringement lawsuits against switching rival Arista Networks, http://www.networkworld.com/ar... emphasized that "I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve initiated suit against a competitor, supplier or customer." Chandler might be right, but he's probably pretty close to having to resort to his second hand for counting lawsuits. And when Cisco does sue, it makes a splash. Remember when the company lawyered up vs. Apple seven years ago over the name of a brand new little device dubbed iPhone?

Submission + - Cisco slaps Arista Networks with suit for "brazen" patent infringement (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: Cisco today filed two lawsuits against data center switch competitor Arista Networks for allegedly violating its intellectual property. One suit is for patent infringement, which charges Arista with violating 14 Cisco patents for 12 features in the Arista EOS operating system. The second suit is for extensive copying of Cisco’s user manuals and command line structures, right down to the grammatical errors within them. “This is not an accident but a strategy,” says a source familiar with the matter. “It was a deliberate, brazen and blatant intellectual property violation in order to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace. Arista’s shortcutting to get to market and win share.”

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