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Showing posts from July 22, 2018

New book project: VCP6.5-DCV Exam Guide

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The Mastering VMware vSphere 6.5 book is on the shelves from the end of December 2017 and it's going quite good, considering that it was my book. Now I can announce a new book project that it's amost complete and in the final review stage: still based on vSphere 6.5, this this the book is focues on the VCP6.5-DCV exam. The title will be: Data Center Virtualization Certification: VCP6.5-DCV Exam Guide Like in the previous previous project, there will be also Paolo Valsecchi as a co-author. Karel Novac is the technical reviewer. The book is available […] The post New book project: VCP6.5-DCV Exam Guide appeared first on vInfrastructure Blog . via Latest imported feed items on VMware Blogs https://ift.tt/2NDnBnv If New feed item from https://blogs.vmware.com/feed , then send me ...

Tata will stop selling the 'world's cheapest car'

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Tata's Nano was supposed to be a revolution in automotive design when it was unveiled in 2008 as the world's cheapest car -- in theory, it opened the door to vehicle ownership for people who'd otherwise have to spring for two-wheeled transport or nothing at all. Flash forward a decade, however, and the reality is very different. After winding down production, the Indian car maker has declared that the current Nano "cannot continue beyond 2019." The final manufacturing numbers helped explain the move. Tata made just one (yes, one) Nano in June versus 275 a year earlier, which itself was no great shakes in a market where virtually car segment has seen explosive growth. While the company didn't formally explain the exit, there were numerous problems that plagued the Nano from the start. It didn't roll off the line until 2009 , and there were...

Astronomy Picture of the Day: Fermi Science Finals

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Fermi Science Finals The Fermi Science Playoffs celebrate 10 years of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's exploration of the high-energy universe . Surviving all early rounds of voting, these two finalists in the competion square off at last. Digital illustrations from a list of 16 of Fermi's top scientific discoveries, they represent the competition's two top seeds, defeating 12th seed New Clues to Dark Matter and 14th seed Starquakes in Magnetar Storm in the semifinal round. On the left are unprecedented, unpredicted, 25,000 light-year tall Gamma-ray Bubbles above and below the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. On the right, violently me rging Neutron Stars Collide to create the first gamma-ray detected gravitational wave event. Pick one now and cast your vote here to crown the most popular science result from Fermi's first decade. July 23, 2018 via NASA http...

NASA helps businesses make use of its satellite data

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NASA has made its raw satellite data widely available for a long while. Now that it has a privatization-minded leader , though, it's looking to make that data more palatable for the business crowd. The administration has released a Remote Sensing Toolkit that should make it easier to use observational satell ite info for commercial purposes, including straightforward business uses as well as conservation and research. The move consolidates info that used to be scattered across "dozens" of websites, and helps you search that unified database for helpful knowledge -- you don't have to go to one place for atmospheric studies and another to learn about forests . The kit includes both some ready-to-use tools for making sense of satellite content as well as the code companies can use to craft their own tools. It's easy to see concerns that NASA ...

HomePod may get phone call support and multiple timers

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While Apple was quiet about HomePod updates at WWDC , that doesn't mean it's twiddling its thumbs -- its staff are privately testing pre-release software. And now, we might now what that software entail.s French site iGeneration claims to have details of the HomePod's iOS 12-based beta, and it could address a laundry list of feature requests for Apple's smart speaker. Most notably, it would include native phone call support. Instead of having to start the call on your iPhone and switch audio inputs, you could both place and receive calls through the HomePod. Your smartphone would just supply the cellular connection. This wouldn't be a new concept by a long shit, but it'd be extremely helpful if you'd rather not stay within earshot of your iPhone's modest speakers. The beta reportedly addresses a relatively small but important demand: ...

'Cosmos: Possible Worlds' trailer explores alien life and butterflies

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After the briefest of teases at the start of the year, Fox is ready to show Cosmos: Possible Worlds in earnest. The network has released an initial trailer that suggests Possible Worlds will follow the basic formula of the reborn series' first season while covering some decidedly different ground. As the name implies, there's a focus on extraterrestrial exploration and seemingly fantastical ideas. What would alien life be like, Neil deGrasse Tyson asks, and what are we doing to venture beyond Earth? There's even talk of exploring "paradoxical realities." At the same time, the show will focus on the small scale, including the very personal. You'll see the inner workings of a butterfly's wings, not to mention the early days of the late astrophysicist (and original Cosmos host) Carl Sagan. The series is once again focusing on how ...

NSA leader creates task force to fight Russian cyberattacks

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The President might have claimed that Russia stopped hacking the US, but intelligence officials know otherwise -- and they're stepping up their fight against the ongoing threat . Recently installed NSA and Cyber Command chief Paul Nakasone has created a dedicated task force (the Russia Small Group) to tackle online threats from Putin's regime. While he wasn't specific about what the group would do, he said it was "in line" with what intelligence agencies have been doing ever since the 2016 presidential election. In short: they're devoting extra energy to preventing a repeat of the widespread hacking from two years ago . Nakasone argued that this wasn't optional. If the US decided to "stand on the sidelines" and didn't focus its energy on digital adversaries like Russia and China, it risked letting those opponents shape...

'Disenchantment' trailer reveals a fantasy land gone wrong

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Netflix has finally offered more than a brief peek at Matt Groening's Disenchantment . The streaming service has posted the first full trailer for the animated series, and it's evident from the get-go that nothing in the fantasy genre is sacred here. The clip takes jabs at tropes like the royal wedding ( Princess Bride , anyone?) and even Game of Thrones ' best-known seat. You also get a better feel for characters beyond the roguish (but maturing) Bean. Elfo is hopelessly innocent, while Luci stands as Bean's literal and figurative personal demon. The 10-episode run premieres August 17th. It's far too soon to say whether or not this will come close to replicating the better moments of Futurama or The Simpsons , but the basic ingredients are there: Groening's iconic art style, top talent (such as Broad City 's Abbi Jacobson in the main ...

Snap is shutting down Snapcash, its payment service, on August 30th

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If you don't remember Snapcash, don't worry — on August 30th, Snap will discontinue its peer-to-peer money transfer service that launched at the height of the messaging app's popularity. Snapcash was announced back in 2014 when Instagram has yet to steal Snap's users with the disappearing stories format, and Venmo was one of few apps you can use to send money to friends. Today, Snapchat is struggling to grow its user base against Instagram, and companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Zelle have begun offering their own services for transferring money to contacts. In a statement to Techcrunch , Snap confirmed Snapcash's shutdown. "Snapcash was our first product created in partnership with another company – Square. We're thankful for... Continue reading… via The Verge - Tech Posts https://ift.tt/2O7Ke4p ...

Snapchat ends its peer-to-peer payment service on August 30th

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Snap's one-time hope of becoming a major player in money transfers has come to an ignominious end. The company has confirmed to TechCrunch that it's discontinuing its Snapcash service on August 30th. While it didn't say what would happen to users' accounts, it promised that they'd receive notifications through both the Snapchat app itself as well as the support website. It's sad news if you're a frequent Snapc hatter who used the feature to cover your share of restaurant bills, but you could see this coming given the competition and Snap's own fortunes. Snapcash launched in 2014 as a partnership with Square that theoretically gave both sides a tremendous boost: Snap got a payment platform with relatively little work, while Square attached its service to a very familiar name. However, it's no secret that Snapcash didn't ta...

Google reportedly offered Android changes to EU in 2017

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The European Union may have characterized its $5 billion Android antitrust fine as punishment for an intransigent Google, but the practical reality might be different. Bloomberg sources have claimed that Google offered to make changes to its Android policies in August 2017, not long after it received an EU antitrust penalty for its product search practices . Although Google didn't dive into specifics, it had offered to "loosen restrictions" in Android contracts and had considered distributing its apps in "two different ways." The EU wasn't having it, according to the sources. Officials reportedly said only that a settlement was "no longer an option," and that Google's offer was "too little too late." It couldn't even mention the possibility of paying a fine as part of an agreement -- regulators had effective...