Home Tags Posts tagged with "Software"
Tag:

Software

Tech Update

Toyota Uses Open-Source Software in New Approach to In-Car Tech

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Toyota Uses Open-Source Software in New Approach to In-Car Tech

Toyota Motor Corp on Wednesday said the infotainment system of its revamped Camry sedan to be sold in the United States will run on a Linux-based, open-source technology platform as it tries to keep up with tech firms in developing software for cars.

With the Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) system in a mainstay model, Toyota aims to have the flexibility to customise its software, while it would also keep user data that could otherwise be captured by CarPlay from Apple Inc or Android Auto from Alphabet Inc’s Google – applications which enable users to access smartphone data through vehicle infotainment systems.

Toyota is among 10 global automakers working with suppliers and technology companies to jointly build AGL, a basic, open-source platform for vehicle applications which automakers can customise, eliminating the need to code systems from the ground up for each vehicle model.

Developing the platform in collaboration with Mazda Motor Corp, Suzuki Motor Corp, Daimler AG and others will reduce development time and costs, Toyota said, and create an industry standard platform to operate in-vehicle features including music and navigation applications.

The platform can also be used to support future advanced technologies, including self-driving functions and connected car services.

“It’s very necessary to reduce the overhead of duplication work among our suppliers so they can spend more time to create new things rather than maintaining fragmentary codes,” said Kenichi Murata, group manager of Connected Strategy and Planning at Toyota.

Cars typically require over 100 million lines of computer code as automakers pack as muchtechnology as possible to attract buyers.

So much so that coding has become an increasingly cumbersome part of vehicle development, which takes years, compared with the mere months it takes for tech firms to develop apps.
In addition, the process requires constant updating to keep up with technology developments and which results in disparate interfaces between automaker’s products.

The latest Camry sedan to be launched in coming months will use AGL to operate its suite of in-vehicle apps, and the Japanese automaker said it planned to expand the platform to other Toyota and Lexus vehicles in North America and elsewhere.

Roughly 70 percent of the operating platform for the latest system consists of largely generic coding, while the remaining 30 percent was customised for the Camry, Murata said.

At the moment, automakers make vehicles compatible with CarPlay and Android Auto. While this enables users to connect smartphones to cars, Dan Cauchy, general manager of automotive at the Linux Foundation, said it makes it difficult for automakers to have control over customising their platforms.

“It comes down to an automaker wanting to customise their operating platform to their liking and not having a third party dictating what the applications are going to be for the vehicle,” he said.

“A lot of automakers want that control.”

© Thomson Reuters 2017

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on Twitter, Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Tags: Toyota, Automotive Grade Linux, AGL, Transportation, Self Driving Cars, Apps

[“Source-ndtv”]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
News Update

How New Software Can Improve Retail Sales

by admin
written by admin

Image result for How,New,Software,Can,Improve,Retail,Sales

Although the holiday season may be over, that doesn’t mean retail stores should happily see their overall sales drop. There’s still plenty that can be done throughout the rest of the year to ensure that customers are still coming in and buying everything they need from your store instead of a different one’s. Although it might be tempting to adopt any new technology that comes along your way, the truth is that this can be a mistake. When stores bring in too many new and complex technologies, it can actually have an adverse effect on the store’s overall productivity. In order to help avoid this issue, this guide has picked out a few of the most effective software advances that are currently available in the market. Each software platform outlined in this list has a clear purpose and can be easily adapted into virtually any retail store, ensuring that they begin improving store productivity at a rapid pace.

Inventory Management Systems

Barcode inventory software can be a useful tool for managing when items have gone missing, or when they need to be restocked due to rising popularity. As it stands, there are many different companies that sell inventor software systems, including tech firms like IT Systems. It’s difficult to overstate the value of inventory software systems, as they’re particularly useful to small businesses that have struggled in the past to keep track of inventory movements. Of course, inventory management systems are also a good choice for any business owners that prefer to let a computer handle any data-related tasks anyway.

eCommerce Platforms

Although most people tend to think of retail stores as being physical locations that rely on actual customers visiting them on a daily basis, it’s also important to keep the Internet in mind. Through eCommerce software platforms, companies can substantially boost their productivity when dealing with transactions over the Internet. Even if your retail store doesn’t regularly do business over the Internet, these platforms can still be a useful marketing agent, ensuring that people are still thinking of your brand even when they’re not at your store.

Adopting new technologies can sometimes be a scary and difficult process, but it doesn’t have to be. With these recommendations, you should feel a little more confident in your decisions, and hopefully you’ll begin to see the many improvements to productivity that new software platforms have to offer. Whether you’re hoping to improve your store’s inventory management capabilities, or simply want to give your digital marketing a little boost, there are plenty of options out there to help you get the job done.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tech Update

JuJu Offers Speedy Model-Driven Software Approach

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

canonical-juju-ubuntu

The JuJu cloud platform developed by Canonical integrates a wide variety of cloud services and servers on both public and private clouds using an innovative model-driven software approach.

That success has changed fundamentally the nature of software operations as organizations move to cloud-scale services, according to Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical.

The impact on cloud operations is very much like the transition that happened with the big data community, Shuttleworth told technology writers and analysts during a teleconference earlier this week.

“That brought about a velocity of change in the data field — the same thing we believe is happening with the cloud software,” he said.

Juju is an interesting approach to managing installation and configuration in a visual or model-driven way, observed Al Hilwa, program director for software development research at IDC.

“In this sense, it brings many of the benefits of modeling which have typically been used in software development to the realm of software configuration and life cycle management,” he told LinuxInsider.

What It Does

Canonical developed JuJu as an open source service orchestration management tool. The platform facilitates fast deployment, integration and scaling of software using a wide choice of cloud services or servers.

JuJu is built around a service modeling tool that provides a quick way to model, configure, deploy and manage applications in the cloud with only a few commands. JuJu can deploy hundreds of preconfigured services, OpenStack, or an organization’s own code to any public or private cloud.

“The big challenge today is for corporations to operate the same way on the public clouds and the private infrastructure,” said Shuttleworth. “JuJu solves that problem.”

JuJu lets users integrate complex software to scale very quickly. It gives operators an effective way to share the cost of integration and operations across all of the consumers of the software, he said.

How It Works

JuJu employs preconfigured bundles and customized charms, which are available from the JuJu app store.

Charms are sets of scripts that simplify the deployment and management tasks of a service. They are regularly reviewed and updated.

Bundles are collections of charms that link applications together. That enables the deployment of whole chunks of infrastructure in one action.

“While the tool is competitive with other configuration management tools in some ways, it is really intended to operate at a higher-level of abstraction across multiple software domains,” said Hilwa.

Juju’s success will rely on two factors, according to Hilwa. One is its support for multiple environments. The second is the ecosystem support it receives to install and connect more and more products.

Costly Operations

“The cost of operating software today is shifting. Organizations have to learn to optimize operations cost rather than purchasing strategy effectively,” said Shuttleworth.

Ubuntu is the platform that most people use as they move into the cloud. That is true just as in the previous generation Linux started replacing Windows and Solaris, largely on RedHat and Suse, he said.

“In this generation, Ubuntu is very much the lead platform,” Shuttleworth claimed. “We see more than 50 percent of software consumers, like big banks, moving to Ubuntu today. They are moving to Ubuntu because of the operations in the cloud we are talking about today.”

Playing With Models

Software is becoming more complex because of microservices, noted Shuttleworth. Today’s software has massive components that run on hundreds of nodes instead of a few nodes. The pace of change has never been seen before.

“The way to handle all this is to change to a model-driven operation,” he said.

JuJu is the open source version of the model-driven software approach used for data operations of companies like Google, Amazon and Goldman Sachs, noted Shuttleworth. All of these large companies have their own homegrown versions.

“JuJu solves the problem of how do you operate on a public cloud and on a private infrastructure in exactly the same way,” said Shuttleworth. “The big picture story today is operations across two widely different domains.”

[Source:- technewsworld]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Internet

Google to Buy Cloud Software Company Apigee for $625 Million

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Google to Buy Cloud Software Company Apigee for $625 Million

Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Thursday it is acquiring cloud software company Apigee Corp in a deal valued at about $625 million (roughly Rs. 4,158 crores), the tech giant’s latest effort to claim a greater share of the lucrative cloud business.

San Jose-based Apigee’s software helps companies’ digital services interact with apps used by customers and partners.

The service is critical for businesses transitioning to the cloud, Diane Greene, who runs Google’s cloud computing division, said in an interview. “They are a leader in this application programming interface area,” she said.

Cloud computing is the increasingly popular practice of using remote internet servers to store, manage and process data.

Apigee specializes in managing so-called application programming interfaces, or APIs, the channels through which digital services connect when a company logs a purchase for a customer or places an order with a supplier.

Google will pay Apigee shareholders $17.40 for each share, a 6.5 percent premium to the stock’s Wednesday close.

Apigee’s shares were slightly above the offer price at $17.43 on Nasdaq in afternoon trading on Thursday.

The company, whose customers include AT&T, Burberry Group Plc, Vodafone Group Plc and the World Bank, went public in April last year at $17 per share.

Greene, a former VMware CEO, has pushed to raise Google’s profile in corporate computing since she joined last year.

During her tenure, Google has streamlined engineering efforts and appointed new leadership for its cloud efforts, improving traction with clients, Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said during the company’s latest earnings call.

Greene predicted that the Apigee acquisition would redouble Google’s momentum.

“Our customer lists are extremely complimentary,” she said. “There’s some overlap and some areas where we are going to be able to help each other once [the deal] closes.”

The Apigee deal comes a day after Google and online storage company Box Inc said they would partner to enable Box’s corporate customers to integrate Google’s suite of word processing, spreadsheets and other productivity tools, known as Google Docs.

Google, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, IBM Corp and others are vying for a share of the fast-growing corporate cloud computing business.

Apigee, with high-profile clients in a strategically important area, will help Google close in on the competition, said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy.

“Google has fallen behind both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services in enterprise cloud computing, and this move is intended to strengthen that position,” he wrote in an email.

[Source:- gadgets.ndtv]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tech Update

Software Flaws Used in Hacking More Than Double, Setting Record

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

Illustration file picture shows a man typing on a computer keyboard in Warsaw

The number of previously unknown software flaws used by hackers more than doubled last year, a new report says, in another sign of the increasing sophistication of cybercrime and online espionage.

Secret vulnerabilities in computer programs are especially prized by criminal gangs, law enforcement and spies because software vendors have not been warned and so cannot publish fixes.

In 2015, 54 such holes came to light and were deployed by hackers, according to a report published on Monday by the largest security software vendor, Symantec Corp. That is up dramatically from 24 the year before and 23 the year before that; the next-highest total over the past 10 years was 15 in 2007.

Symantec’s total of “zero-day” or unknown vulnerabilities includes both flaws that were discovered because they were used by top-flight hackers who left tracks and those that were revealed to the public at the same time as the software maker.

In 2015, electronic files named “Hacking Team” were dumped on the Internet, including six zero-days that criminals quickly made use of.

Thousands of other flaws were identified as usual last year by vendors, outside researchers, and government agencies. The vendors develop and issue patches, either announcing the flaws or pointing to them by virtue of the fixes.

Since criminals and others immediately take advantage of flaws to reach into unfixed machines, users must patch rapidly and completely or face being hacked.

Though most attacks happen because of inadequate patching, the rapid spread of new flaws through “exploit kits” sold in underground forums has allowed zero-days to be obtained by more people, including those installing ransomware and programs for stealing financial logins.

Four of the five most-used zero-day vulnerabilities last year were in Adobe Systems Inc’s Flash software, which can be used as a standalone program or a plug-in for various Web browsers, not all of which automatically update with Flash patches. Symantec said it expected Flash to become less popular as platforms stop supporting it, making it less of a bonanza for hackers.

Adobe said it had improved its security response. “Flash Player is one of the most ubiquitous and widely distributed pieces of software in the world, and as such, is a target of malicious hackers,” the company said via email.

“With regards to zero-days, we’ve been able to expedite the patching process to just days.”

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tech Update

Software Flaws Used in Hacking More Than Double, Setting Record

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

The number of previously unknown software flaws used by hackers more than doubled last year, a new report says, in another sign of the increasing sophistication of cybercrime and online espionage.

Secret vulnerabilities in computer programs are especially prized by criminal gangs, law enforcement and spies because software vendors have not been warned and so cannot publish fixes.

Illustration file picture shows a man typing on a computer keyboard in Warsaw
A man types on a computer keyboard in Warsaw in this February 28, 2013 illustration file picture. 

In 2015, 54 such holes came to light and were deployed by hackers, according to a report published on Monday by the largest security software vendor, Symantec Corp. That is up dramatically from 24 the year before and 23 the year before that; the next-highest total over the past 10 years was 15 in 2007.

Symantec’s total of “zero-day” or unknown vulnerabilities includes both flaws that were discovered because they were used by top-flight hackers who left tracks and those that were revealed to the public at the same time as the software maker.

In 2015, electronic files named “Hacking Team” were dumped on the Internet, including six zero-days that criminals quickly made use of.

Thousands of other flaws were identified as usual last year by vendors, outside researchers, and government agencies. The vendors develop and issue patches, either announcing the flaws or pointing to them by virtue of the fixes.

Since criminals and others immediately take advantage of flaws to reach into unfixed machines, users must patch rapidly and completely or face being hacked.

Though most attacks happen because of inadequate patching, the rapid spread of new flaws through “exploit kits” sold in underground forums has allowed zero-days to be obtained by more people, including those installing ransomware and programs for stealing financial logins.

Four of the five most-used zero-day vulnerabilities last year were in Adobe Systems Inc’s Flash software, which can be used as a standalone program or a plug-in for various Web browsers, not all of which automatically update with Flash patches. Symantec said it expected Flash to become less popular as platforms stop supporting it, making it less of a bonanza for hackers.

Adobe said it had improved its security response. “Flash Player is one of the most ubiquitous and widely distributed pieces of software in the world, and as such, is a target of malicious hackers,” the company said via email.

“With regards to zero-days, we’ve been able to expedite the patching process to just days.”

[Source:- Nbcnews]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tech Update

Soon, Software for E-Connectivity of Agricultural Markets: Radha Mohan Singh

by onkar
written by onkar
Soon, Software for E-Connectivity of Agricultural Markets: Radha Mohan Singh

Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh Thursday said the Centre will soon launch a new software to enable e-connectivity of agricultural markets in the country.

Speaking at the foundation ceremony of Sri Konda Laxmani Telangana State Horticulture University at Mulugu village in Medak district in Telangana, he said the new software could break the virtual and connectivity barriers of agricultural markets and will benefit the farmers in getting fair prices.

According to an official release, the minister said Karnataka was able to bring 50 agricultural markets on one platform for the benefit of farmers.

“Twelve states, including Telangana, have sent proposals regarding this and the Centre will sanction Rs 30 lakh to each agricultural market,” he said.

The establishment of this horticultural university comes in response to the budget announcement made by the Finance Minister to establish horticultural university in Telangana along with one more horticultural university in Haryana and two agricultural universities in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

An amount of Rs. 10 crores has been released to the university in the financial year 2014-15. Rs. 75 crores have been allocated in the current financial year, out of which Rs. 37.5 crores has already been released as the first instalment.

“With the establishment of this university, we are confident that the agricultural education and agriculture in general and horticulture in particular will get much needed boost,” the minister added.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Bandaru Dattatreya said that the soil in Telangana state is suitable to develop the region as seed bowl.

Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrashekar Rao requested the Union Minister for the Centre’s help in making the Telangana as seed bowl of the world.

[“source-techtimes”]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tech Update

Intel to Allow Antivirus Software to Use Its Integrated GPUs to Accelerate Malware Scanning

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Intel to Allow Antivirus Software to Use Its Integrated GPUs to Accelerate Malware Scanning

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Accelerated Memory Scanning will be available in Windows Defender
  • Advanced Platform Telemetry is available on Cisco’s Tetration platform
  • Intel Security Essentials offers critical hardware security capabilities

Intel has announced the development of new virus scanning techniques that will allow for better threat detection on Windows PCs and cloud services. These capabilities are called Accelerated Memory Scanning and Intel Advanced Platform Telemetry. Intel has also launched Security Essentials, which includes numerous critical root-of-trust hardware security capabilities, for Intel Core, Intel Xeon, and Intel Atom processors.

Accelerated Memory Scanning
According to Intel, current virus scanning methods can detect memory-based malware but end up using crucial CPU performance. With its new technology, the chipmaker aims to offload this work to its CPUs’ integrated graphics hardware. According to Intel’s internal tests, CPU utilisation can drop from 20 percent to just 2 percent. Intel has partnered with Microsoft to incorporate Accelerated Memory Scanning into Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection, its security framework for business and enterprise customers.

Intel Advanced Platform Telemetry
Intel’s second development is said to combine platform telemetry with machine learning algorithms for better detection of advanced threats, helping cut down on false positives and increasing overall performance. Intel has tied up with Cisco to integrate this technology with the Cisco Tetration platform, which offers data security and cloud protection.

“I am excited about the progress we are making, together with these key partners, to pioneer innovations across silicon and software to help protect customers from emerging threats,” says Rick Echevarria, Vice President, Software, Intel Corporation.

The company has also announced the introduction of Intel Security Essentials, which it is describing as a consistent set of critical security technologies across its CPU lines, designed directly into the hardware. These include existing features such as trusted execution, accelerated encryption, and secure booting, now brought under one umbrella. Talking about Intel Security Essentials, Echevarria said, “This standard set of capabilities will accelerate trusted computing as customers build solutions rooted in hardware-based protections. Further, these capabilities, directly integrated into Intel silicon, are designed to improve the security posture of computing, lower the cost of deploying security solutions and minimize the impact of security on performance.”

Intel was recently caught up in a massive hardware vulnerability scandal wherein two CPU design flaws known as Meltdown and Spectre were discovered to have affected millions of the company’s computer chips already in use around the world. The tech giant has promised to eliminate these flaws beginning with its upcoming Intel Xeon Scalable processors, which are set to be shipped in the second half of 2018.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Tech Update

LG Unveils ‘Software Upgrade Center’ to Offer ‘Faster, Timelier’ Updates for Smartphones

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

LG Unveils 'Software Upgrade Center' to Offer 'Faster, Timelier' Updates for Smartphones

HIGHLIGHTS

  • LG has launched a ‘Software Upgrade Center’ in South Korea
  • The new facility is aimed to provide “faster, timelier” software updates
  • LG G6 is the first model to receive an upgrade treatment from the center

LG on Thursday announced the launch of a ‘Software Upgrade Center’ office in South Korea that is specifically aimed at providing users with “faster, timelier” software updates. The new facility, which is located in LG’s new research and development campus in Magok-dong, western Seoul, will be responsible for developing and delivering regular OS updates and maintaining a consistent user experience across LG devices. At the initial stage, the company is set to utilise the resources of the facility to roll out Android Oreo for the LG G6. The update will debut in South Korea later this month, followed by other key markets.

To ensure a consistent user experience, the LG Software Upgrade Center will continuously test the stability and compatibility of hardware and software after updates. LG is planning to leverage the facility to roll out OS updates faster across all the countries where its smartphones are available. This means that the company is trying to build a model similar to Apple and Google that both are popular for releasing simultaneous updates worldwide for their handsets. Moreover, LG is evidently planning to separate itself from rival Android OEMs like Samsung, who are infamous for delaying software updates.

“Aligning after-sales support with customers’ needs is a top priority at LG,” said Jo Seong-jin, CEO of LG Electronics, in a statement while announcing the launch of the Software Upgrade Center. “Stable and consistent upgrades will demonstrate to our customers that LG smartphones have long and reliable lifespans.”

The launch of the Software Upgrade Center comes ahead of the LG G7 ThinQ that is slated to arrive on May 2 in New York, followed by a South Korean launch in Seoul on May 3. Furthermore, it premieres months after Google released Project Treble that has been designed to bring faster Android updates from smartphone makers. Under Project Treble, Google offers a new vendor interface that helps manufacturers push updates without waiting for chipmakers to send modified software. The architectural change is already a part of devices that come preloaded with Android Oreo.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
error: Content is protected !!