Microsoft launches Minecraft: Education Edition for schools



Microsoft wants kids playing Minecraft in class, and it’s hoping that schools will not just let them, but support them. It’s launching a version of Minecraft today called Minecraft: Education Edition that includes some classroom tools and a way to roll out accounts to every student in a class or district.
The app has been in development since last January, when Microsoft purchased a mod working toward the same goal. The educational tools went into a beta period this summer, with Microsoft hoping to have a full release ready by the time school started. It missed that date by a couple months, but the game is now ready to go on both Windows 10 and macOS.


Despite the new name, Education Edition isn’t dramatically different from regular Minecraft. It’s pretty much the same game, just with some tools that’ll make things easier for teachers — there’s a way to see where all their students are on a map, give students different resources, and teleport people to specific locations. There are also a few new in-game items, including a camera and a chalkboard.
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Japanese messaging company, Line posts profit worth $50.8 million in third quarter



Japanese messaging app operator Line Corp said on Wednesday net income swung to profit in the third quarter, as advertising sales increased after it introduced a new platform in June for hosting digital ads. Line, which raised $1.3 billion in the world’s biggest tech IPO this year, has said it is strongly positioned in its four core markets – Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia – although it has marketed itself as delivering steady returns rather than explosive growth.Line, which derives most of its income from mobile games and sales of cartoon emoticons called “stickers,” reported a net profit of 5.3 billion yen ($50.8 million) for the first nine months of 2016. It booked a net loss of 7.6 billion yen during the same period last year. The company did not release a breakdown of results for the July to September period but the quarterly results were derived from calculations by Reuters based on earlier earnings.

Based on the calculations, the company booked a net profit of 2.4 billion yen ($23 million) between July and September, compared to a 2.3 billion yen loss in the same period last year. January to September revenue was 103.2 billion yen, up 17.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, Line said.

That meant third-quarter revenue came in at 35.9 billion yen, the calculations showed, up 12.6 percent from the same period a year ago. During the third quarter, Line launched six new games, including “Gundam Wars” – a tie up with popular anime TV characters. It previously warned that expenses from marketing the games, four of which were developed in-house, could have a temporary impact on operating profit. Line, controlled by South Korea’s Naver Corp, has singled out ads as a key source of future revenue and third-quarter advertising sales rose 66 percent from the previous quarter to 12 billion yen, the Reuters calculations showed.

Line’s eponymous messaging app had 220 million active monthly users at the end of September, 3.5 percent higher than a year earlier, but flat versus the end of June 2016. That is less than WhatsApp and Messenger, both owned by Facebook Inc, which boast 1 billion users each. However, Line is one of the few pure messaging app plays available to investors. Line, which is listed in both Tokyo and New York, has climbed over 45 percent since its IPO in July. Prior to the earnings report, it was up 2.5 percent.

Startups and enterprises can leverage Big Data Analytics to optimise workforce





High-profile companies, particularly the e-commerce ones, have been laying off a number of employees. Ola fired around a thousand employees. Reportedly, India’s e-commerce marketplace Flipkart also laid off around 800 employees. Other enterprises and startups have also been cutting hundreds of jobs. Globally too, there have been such management decisions. Cisco is reportedly cutting 14,000 jobs in 2017 and Intel too laid off 12,000 employees. Startups such as Zomato and Foodpanda also fired employees. There could be several reasons for the pink slips: from over recruitment to poor financials to bad management decisions. Whatever the reason, laying off doesn’t augur well for the company itself; in fact, it has the potential to backfire. Valuable resources could migrate; frustration could erupt in employees staying back; long-term damage to a company’s image, production, and reputation and so on and so forth.

Big Data and Analytics can help HR streamline recruitment

Big Data and Analytics can help in sensible hiring and avoid layoffs. Well-researched recruitment is a precursor to prevention of mass firings. Not only that the technologies can also help companies deal with the enormous number of candidates that they have to screen as there is always chance for error. Additionally, the technologies factor in several other aspects such as background checks, market conditions, manpower requirement, etc. Also, processing of salaries and appraisals can be tedious, particularly in big corporations. All the data can be tough to handle. This is where Big Data comes into the picture; it removes the error out of the equation.

First of all, what exactly is Big Data? It is actually a term used for data sets so huge or complex that conventional data-processing methods would be insufficient. Big Data and Analytics tools process those data sets to find hidden patterns and unknown correlations, leading to discovery of meaningful market trends, candidate preferences and other useful recruitment information. Analytics may use several forms of data that may remain untapped through conventional programs. This includes data from Internet, social media and activity reports, candidate emails and survey results. HR firms can apply Analytics to describe, predict, and improve recruitment performance leading to workforce optimisation. The tools can also conduct sentiment analysis over data from social media platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. A company can use Analytics tool to find out prevailing market sentiment and decide whether it is the right time for recruitment.

How does Big Data work?

Big Data uses mathematical and statistical tools together with algorithms to discover trends and make predictions. The tools take into account parameters such as benefits and compensation, job history, and level of education. This can lead to workforce optimsation, prediction and maintenance of optimal labor pool, and performance assessment, thus helping recruiting managers decide who to hire and how to retain talent.

“It is impractical to expect that managers would take foolproof decisions. They do go wrong at times. The errors increase as soon as the number of parameters to be factored in the calculations increases. People just can’t track and memorize that huge data. Therefore, it’s best that algorithms sort it out,” said Somesh Misra, VP, Products and HR, Deskera—a global business software provider having its own Big Data and Analytics tool.

There are several tools in the market that can take the hassle off for HR departments. Tools like AppDynamics and Workforce Analytics reduce the burden in several ways. They not only assess and predict whether a potential candidate would accept a job offer or if the prospect only in exploration mode, it would also track other significant feed such as social media. For example, culling information on the frequency of a potential candidate’s visits to LinkedIn, the frequency of LinkedIn page updates, whether the candidate is exploring different other options, whether he is asking for recommendations from other LinkedIn users. The tools also provide information on aspects like cultural fit of a candidate for the organisation, their personality with respect to organization values, etc.

Big Data HR tools give companies an edge

These tools help companies avoid taking the firing road in the long term and help them retain resources crucial to their growth. In today’s corporate world of cut-throat competition, companies need to be good at identifying, recruiting as well as retaining talent with the appropriate skill set. Through Big Data and Analytics, HR departments can collect, generate, visualise, and access data in a way not possible before. The technologies can go a long way ensuring that image and reputation of a company built over several years doesn’t get tarnished.

IBM issues apology after cyber-attack shuts down Australian national census



International Business Machines Corp apologized to Australia on Tuesday for what the government has described as a “malicious” cyber-attack that shut down a national census, but blamed two domestic internet providers for the security lapse. IBM was the lead contractor for the five-yearly August 9 household survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) which went offline that day after four distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, caused by the website being flooded with clicks.

The breach embarrassed a government that has sought to impress voters with its cybersecurity credentials. At a Senate inquiry into the matter, IBM Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Kerry Purcell said he apologized “unreservedly” for the inconvenience and added that he is negotiating a settlement with the government for failing to fulfill the A$10 million ($7.6 million) contract.

Purcell also said IBM was helping a police investigation, and declined to say who he suspected was behind the attack. But he went on say that attacks were launched through a router in Singapore, and blamed Australian ISP Vocus Communications Ltd, a subcontractor of NextGen Networks Pty Ltd, for failing to shut it down.

“We had repeated assurances from the ISP that the appropriate protocol was in place,” Purcell told the inquiry. “The primary root cause was through a router that was outside Australia.” In a written submission to the inquiry, IBM said its preferred anti-DDoS measure, which it calls “Island Australia”, involves “geoblocking” or getting the company’s ISPs to shut down offshore traffic coming into the country.

In a written submission to the inquiry, Nextgen said IBM told it about “Island Australia” six days before the census website went live in July, and that IBM declared a test of the strategy four days before the census a success. It said Nextgen followed IBM’s instructions, but noted that IBM rejected Nextgen’s offer of additional anti-DDoS detection measures.

Vocus said in a submission that it told Nextgen the week before the census that it “did not provide geoblocking” and that “Vocus was in fact requested to disable its DDoS protection product covering the e-Census IP space”. It did not specify who gave that instruction.

Broadcom will buy Brocade Communications Systems for $5.5 billion in cash



Chipmaker Broadcom Ltd said on Wednesday it would buy network gear maker Brocade Communications Systems Inc for $5.5 billion in cash, to expand its fiber channel and data storage businesses.The $12.75 per share offer represents a premium of 46.7 percent to Brocade’s close on Friday.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Brocade was in talks to sell itself.

Brocade shares were up 7.2 percent at $12.05 in premarket trading on Wednesday. Broadcom shares were untraded.Singapore-based Broadcom, formerly called Avago, is known for its connectivity chips, while California-based Brocade makes networking hardware, software and storage products.
“This strategic acquisition enhances Broadcom’s position as one of the leading providers of enterprise storage connectivity solutions to OEM customers,” Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan said in a statement.

Customers use Brocade’s fiber channel protocol-based networking products to build storage area networks within their data centers.Broadcom said it planned to divest Brocade’s IP networking business, consisting of wireless and campus networking, data center switching and routing, and software networking solutions.A big part of Brocade’s IP networking business that Broadcom plans to divest was acquired as part of Brocade’s $1.5 billion acquisition of Ruckus Wireless earlier this year. This unit generated $209 million in product revenue in the third quarter.“We will work with Broadcom as it seeks to find a buyer for our IP Networking business,” Brocade Chief Executive Lloyd Carney said in a statement.Reuters reported on Tuesday that a Broadcom-Brocade deal was imminent.

Broadcom said it would take on about $400 million of Brocade’s debt and fund the deal with available cash and debt.

Intel Security outlines strategy for protecting new digital economy



Intel Security has announced a new strategy by means of an enhanced unified defense architecture, which has been designed from the ground up, to give more power to organisations. It has done this to increase the effective protection of today’s new digital economy which consists of three main factors: trust; time and money.

Intel says that world’s economy is no longer a physical one and that the growing number of interconnected networks and systems puts everyone (including organisations) at the risk of cybercriminals forcing the users and businesses to go on a defensive.“Cybercriminals are forcing cybersecurity companies to re-draft the rules of engagement for defending the civilised world; to effectively counteract them, we have to abandon old security playbooks to become more unpredictable and collaborative and make cyber defense a priority,” said Chris Young, senior vice president and general manager of Intel Security Group. “Our strategic charter is simple, yet disruptive: integrate, automate and orchestrate the threat defense lifecycle to drive better security outcomes – ultimately reducing more risk, faster and with fewer resources.”

Intel Security’s new unified architecture is basically enabled by four key integrated systems: Dynamic Endpoint, Pervasive Data Protection, Data Center and Cloud Defense, and Intelligent Security Operations. All of these systems work together in a deeply integrated manner to multiply the effectiveness of the system as whole.

Along with the above, Intel Security also announced its intent to open the McAfee Data Exchange Layer (DXL) to enable the industry with a concrete solution to disrupt the cyberattacker’s advantage.

Samsung will block Galaxy Note7s from connecting to cellular networks



It's time to really surrender your Samsung Galaxy Note7 if you haven't already done so.Starting on Nov. 18, Note7 phones won't connect to cellular networks...in New Zealand, according to a notice posted on Samsung New Zealand's website.Devices will not be able to "make calls, use data or send SMS messages." Samsung says it'll be contacting customers from now until Nov. 18 with info on the service disconnection to allow proper time for them to return and replace their defective phones.
Blocking access to cellular networks is the latest move by the Korean electronics giant to force customers — some of whom are defiantly unafraid of their devices blowing up — into complying with its global recall of the Note7 after launch devices and replacements startedcatching on fire.
New Zealand customers who absolutely refuse to give up their Note7s, obviously, run the risk of the phones inexplicably combusting.

But they won't be total bricks. Though they won't be able to connect to cellular networks in New Zealand, they should still be able to work with networks in other countries (not that you'd be able to legally transport them by air since they're banned from all major airlines) and connect to Wi-Fi networks. And, of course, the phones will still work as cameras and music players. 

At this point, though, the only reason anyone should keep the Note7 is as collectible. And even then, you'll probably want to keep it in a fireproof box just to be on the safe side.