Opinion

On Task.Factory.StartNew and Task.Run methods

Learn the best practices to create and schedule tasks efficiently in .Net using Task.Run and Task.Factory.StartNew methods

Cloud services brokers sound better than they really are

Even when you use containers to make applications truly portable, brokering application resources on demand raises tough challenges

How to work with MSMQ in C#

MSMQ is a simple, convenient, reliable and persistent backing store for storing your messages

Data lakes 101: Come on in, the water’s fine

How to plan for and build a central hub for data analytics with the ever-evolving Hadoop ecosystem

Look out, Spark and Storm, here comes Apache Apex

A new open source streaming analytics solution derived from DataTorrent's RTS platform, Apex offers blazing speed and simplified programmability. Let's give it a spin

Office 365’s corporate takeover is imminent

Exchange Online is IT's biggest reason for shifting from on-premises Microsoft servers to the Office 365 cloud services

Listening to advice will make you a better developer

Some of the best lessons about software development aren't even about writing code

Has Ubuntu become a boring distribution?

Also in today's open source roundup: Counter-Strike 1.6 has been ported to Android, and Google has released its annual Android Security Report

Why Apple’s iBeacons technology has gone nowhere

The iPhone user base is huge, but Apple's commitment to privacy and the difficulty in managing beacons conspire against success

Ignore your cloud APIs — at your own risk

API abuse and neglect will get you in serious trouble, especially in the cloud, so use the available management tools to stay ahead

Encryption laws should think global, not local

Internet standards aren't bound by geography, and they won’t bend to local absurdities like the Burr-Feinstein bill

Q&A: Gene Kim explains the joy of devops

A renowned devops expert reveals a fundamental secret to productivity — and the satisfaction a well-run devops shop can deliver

22 new concerns added to Docker security benchmark

The Center for Internet Security released the second version of the Docker Security Benchmark in conjunction with the Docker 1.11.0 release

Don’t overlook SaaS, the original cloud option

Software as a service is the original cloud, but 15 years later IT organizations often neglect to consider it in cloud migrations

5 steps to a modern data architecture

Becoming a true data-driven organization requires adopting a more centralized approach to data architecture and analysis

Apache Beam wants to be uber-API for big data

New, useful Apache big data projects seem to arrive daily. Rather than relearn your way every time, what if you could go through a unified API?

How to work with transactional WCF services

Take advantage of transactional WCF services to execute service operations as a single unit by adhering to the ACID principles of transaction management

Alarm bells ring while the boss turns a deaf ear

What’s that noise? It's not the alarm — it's the sound of money being flushed down the drain, thanks to a questionable security plan

The rhetoric and reality of IT decision making

When it comes to deciding on vendor relationships, you have to assume you're being sold to by everyone and not rely any any single voice

The cloud is growing up

The cloud's diversification will push certain providers to deliver a single solution, potentially causing compatibility issues

Why it makes perfect sense for Dropbox to leave AWS

Scaling out cloud apps still a challenge despite multi-core CPU advancements

The issue lies in how apps are architected to facilitate parallel computing and how the operating system gains insight into application processes.

Linux Mint 18 will include Cinnamon 3.0 and Mate 1.14 versions

Also in today's open source roundup: Why Microsoft needs Linux, and BlackBerry will launch two Android phones

Disrupt or die? Beware the siren calls of tech consultants

Every company should intentionally and actively design and execute its tech strategies, instead of jumping on the latest consultant fad

Who wins and who loses as the cloud moves out of IT

IT spending may appear to be dropping, but it's actually shifting from IT to the business

Linus hasn’t given up on the year of the Linux desktop

Also in today's open source roundup: How Remix OS will eat the world. And goodbye open source, hello free software

Machine learning’s biggest job

Search gives people the superpower to find an answer to almost any question. Machine learning is about to give that same capability to machines

3 safeguards for intelligent machines

How can we ensure that autonomous devices, including Internet of things endpoints, will never go rogue? Start with these three basic principles

If you don’t tip your waiter, should you tip your app developer?

Restaurants are replacing tipping with higher wages. Should something similar happen in the free app development community?

Machine learning is a poor fit for most businesses

The cloud makes dynamic-learning systems available and affordable — but there aren't too many use cases for the technology

Get started with Apache Spark

Reap the performance and developer productivity advantages of Spark for batch processing, streaming analysis, machine learning, and structured queries

What Spark’s Structured Streaming really means

Thanks to an impressive grab bag of improvements in version 2.0, Spark's quasi-streaming solution has become more powerful and easier to manage

Windows? Linux? The OS is dead, killed by the cloud

Who thinks in terms of developing for operating systems anymore? The cloud is where developers need to be — and Lambda helps them feel right at home

You shall not PaaS!

The implementation of any connected database or computer system must consider security, first and foremost, and PaaS can be a big help

The next evolution of enterprise devops is to harden it

A great idea, killer functionality and a robust technology don't mean much if you can't deliver your code quickly and predictably

Why did Microsoft make Windows 10 run Linux?

Also in today's open source roundup: Is it time to trust Microsoft? And 14 ways to secure your Android phone or tablet

A tale of two containers

The story of Linux containers has many points of view. Vendors see it one way, but are they really addressing customers needs?

Inside job: What CIOs miss in preventing data leaks

DLP and user training are good defenses against accidental data loss, but companies need a third approach to detect insider threats

User stores files where Windows refuses to go

Quick tip from the help desk: Name your files wisely … if you ever want to see them again

The cost of an error: Balancing the role of humans and machines

When the cost of an error isn’t trivial, we need better approaches to error mitigation to operationalize and scale machine learning

The importance of ‘dogfooding’ in the cloud

Amazon.com runs entirely on AWS EC2 and Microsoft runs Office365, Skype, and XBox Live on Azure. But Google doesn't run any of its products on GCP. Here's why it matters

Does Microsoft secretly still hate Linux?

Also in today's open source roundup: Five Linux distros that break the mold, and Google releases the largest Android security update.

Microsoft takes the lead in apps that work together

Apple's Handoff has seen limited adoption, but perhaps Microsoft's more expansive take will gain wider usage

3 tips for landing a well-paid cloud job

This advice should increase your salary by tens of thousands dollars and put you on the best cloud career path

How to work with nullable types in C#

Take advantage of nullable types to assign 'no values' or 'null values' to value types when there is no value available

Is it too late for Microsoft to embrace Linux?

Also in today's open source roundup: DistroWatch reviews Parsix GNU/Linux 8.5, and Debian GNU/Linux 8.4 'Jesse' is available for download

Visualizing data that matters

Developed by MIT Media Lab and Deloitte, Data USA delivers interactive JavaScript visualizations of thousands of public data sets on jobs, income, education, and health

Microsoft embraces Linux — way too late

As usual, Microsoft is late to the party. But this isn't like all the other times that came before

How to work with Hangfire in C#

Take advantage of Hangfire, an open source job scheduling framework, to schedule fire-and-forget, recurring tasks in Web applications sans the need of a Windows Service

Have IT degree, will project manage — but is it a skills match?

Here are the skills needed to make project management a good fit for IT degree holders