April 02, 2016

Five Technologies That Will Disrupt Healthcare By 2020

AI is consistently improving the approach and access to reliable and accurate medical image analysis with help from digital image processing, pattern recognition and machine-learning AI platforms. ... Innovative, automated patient guidance and engagement solutions, such as AI-enabled medication adherence to observe patient devotion by using advanced facial recognition and motion-sensing software, have started to automate one of the major healthcare processes of directly observed therapy (DOT). New entrants with similar solutions are expected to rapidly capture this sub-segment of the market.


Which country is most prepared for tech disruption?

While less than half of those surveyed felt their education was boring or old fashioned, young people were twice as likely to say so. Confidence in entering the workplace was again a feeling shared mostly among those in middle-income economies. ... The need for so-called "soft skills" was, in the minds of many, the most crucial aspect of the modern workplace. Skills such as communications, relationship-building and problem-solving were prioritized between 86% (Australia) and 79% (Brazil), compared with academic achievement, which scored only between 50% (South Africa) and 36% (Germany). Employers expectations, as perceived by those surveyed, were also focused on soft skills. While technical skills were important, time management, people management and active learning were all considered to be either more important or of equal importance.


Are healthcare CIOs being cut out of the analytics loop?

“The best organizations are taking more of a dyad approach,” Weaver observes. “The operator and the technologist are both at the table, having that conversation, so you’ve got the right technology support to support the operator. A lot of times, the operator may be running the analytic shop. But one of the things we’ve found is that while the CIO may not be running the analytics shop, the CIO is a critical partner. Because to do the analytics, you have to both collect the data and then pull it out of the operational data warehouse and put it into an analytic capability to be able to analyze it.”  What happens in organizations where the analysts report to the operators and the CIO doesn’t have input? “Those places that have gone to the operator model find that begins to break if they don’t keep a consistent relationship with the technology folks,” he responds.


How Technology is Transforming Women-Owned Businesses in Africa

Technology is transforming the lives of women business owners in Africa as they are playing a significant role in the creation of jobs in their communities. Also, technology incubators dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs continue to populate the continent, and with increased access to the internet, entrepreneurs in emerging economies will continue to utilize various technological tools and resources to start, expand, and grow their businesses. Nigeria, in particular, leads the way in the number of women entrepreneurs that have developed. But, what else can be done to ensure that women are not just users of technological tools but also creators of them? How can we work to engage and increase accessibility in rural areas of the continent?


Is HyperContainer the Answer for Cloud Native Applications?

In a HyperContainer, the application process is still able to access what it needs: kernel and data. The difference is that the container does not run on the host kernel. Instead, every container gets its own, independent, guest kernel. By doing this, the application running inside is perfectly isolated from both other containers and the host. Performance wise, with the assistance of the super tiny guest kernel, a HyperContainer is able to finish booting in milliseconds (100-150ms), which is dramatically faster than a VM. Some may argue that this speed still lags behind a Linux container, but consider that an application usually takes longer to get started anyway meaning that, in practice, there is simply no difference.


The IT skills gap is a reality, but doesn’t have to be

Despite the popular conversation around big data in the business world, in 2014, the report notes that there was a decrease in the pay for these skills. According to the report, this can be attributed to the unrealistic expectations of business leaders, who reported being unsatisfied with the ROI on analytics and analytics professionals. Foote says that business leaders needed to temper their expectations around what big data and analytics could do for the business over time. And the attitude might have already started to shift, considering that as of 2015, the data shows that the market value of 74 noncertified and certified big data skills increased by six percent over the span of 12 months. One of the barrier around effective big data strategies at companies is about getting "decision makers to be more comfortable with data-driven decision making," according to the report.


Build this Raspberry Pi guardian robot and stave off intrusions!

Younger siblings -- gross! They sneak into your room and grime up your stuff. Sometimes you might also feel that way about your spouse. Babe, get your greasy mitts off my sunglasses. What you need is a sentinel, a guardian, a robot defender. This latest project comes to ZDNet via Dexter Industries, which makes cool components for DIY robotics builds. I have no affiliation to Dexter, but I dig what they do and I'm happy they've brought us a new build. Build and program this little GoPiGo to protect your wardrobe, your closet, or your whole room. Hide GoPiGo behind a closed door and when the door is opened it will attack, scaring intruders and snapping a picture as proof that your inner sanctum has been violated.


Why You Shouldn’t Enable “FIPS-compliant” Encryption on Windows

This setting does two things to Windows itself. It forces Windows and Windows services to use only FIPS-validated cryptography. For example, the Schannel service built into Windows won’t work with older SSL 2.0 and 3.0 protocols, and will require at least TLS 1.0 instead. Microsoft’s .NET framework will also block access to algorithms that aren’t FIPS-validated. The .NET framework offers several different algorithms for most cryptography algorithms, and not all of them have even been submitted for validation. As an example, Microsoft notes that there are three different versions of the SHA256 hashing algorithm in the .NET framework. The fastest one hasn’t been submitted for validation, but should be just as secure. So enabling FIPS mode will either break .NET applications that use the more efficient algorithm or force them to use the less efficient algorithm and be slower.


Is Artificial Intelligence Really Dangerous?

Ever since the beginning of time, we humans have had a desire for technological advancements and innovation. Through our vivid imaginations, we have been able to develop technologies that previously seemed impossible were just a part of our science fiction fantasies. Virtual reality, space tourism, self-driving cars and the much talked about artificial intelligence. Some of the most talented innovators have blurred the lines between fantasy and fiction for us. Artificial intelligence is now a very real prospect that companies are focusing on. Now, for those of you who are still new to this concept, Artificial intelligence is a field of science which focuses on how hardware and software components of a machine can exhibit intelligent behaviour. Instead of being fed information from the user himself, they learn over the course of time and become more intelligent.


How the New JSON Support Will Work in SQL Server 2016

"Someone might say -- this will not be fast enough, but we will see," Popovic said. "Built-in JSON parser is the fastest way to process JSON in database layer. You might use CLR type or CLR parsers as external assemblies, but this will not be better than the native code that parses JSON." Popovic said the JSON functionality will be rolled out over time in the SQL Server 2016 previews. SQL Server 2016 CTP2 is planned to include the ability to format and export data as JSON string, while SQL server 2016 CTP3 is expected to incorporate the ability to load JSON text in tables, extract values from JSON text, index properties in JSON text stored in columns, and more, he said. The SQL Server team will be publishing more details about the huge new release of SQL Server 2016 as the days count down to the first public preview, expected this summer.



Quote for the day:


“What high-performing companies should...create: A great place for great people to do great work.” -- Marilyn Carlson


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