TensorFlow 2.0, the next major version of Google’s open source machine learning framework, will see its first beta version in late 2018.
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(Insider Story)

As I discussed in my review of Google Cloud Bigtable in 2016, Google’s 2006 Bigtable paper inspired several large-scale distributed open source NoSQL databases, including Apache HBase and Apache Cassandra. I went on to explain that Cassandra was born at Facebook using ideas from Bigtable and the key-value store Amazon Dynamo, and that while Cassandra is a bit more popular than HBase, has a SQL-like query language (CQL), and is easier to get up and running than HBase, it is still complicated and has a significant learning curve.
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(Insider Story)

Automation of business processes and workflows is of paramount importance in today’s enterprises. With the increase in demand for cloud computing, enterprises need a way to integrate workflows and applications so as to maximize business efficiency and opportunity. This is exactly where Azure Logic Apps comes into play.
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(Insider Story)

TensorFlow 2.0, the next major version of Google’s open source machine learning framework, will see its first beta version in late 2018.
To read this article in full, please click here
(Insider Story)

There are good and bad reasons to track people's movements, but the best way to scream to users that you're spying on them is to lie about or not reveal what you're doing. Corporate developers, if you're not guilty of bad conduct, why are you trying to so hard to hide it?
This comes to mind after two unrelated news stories cropped up this week.
The Associated Press reported that Google kept tracking consumers after they had selected a privacy option that supposedly blocked the tracking. Only days after that AP report did Google quietly change its help page, from claiming “with Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored” to “This setting does not affect other location services on your device” and “some location data may be saved as part of your activity on other services, like Search and Maps.”
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The life-threatening bacteria MRSA can cripple a medical facility since it is resistant to treatment. But scientists report that they are now making advances in a new technique that avoids antibiotics, instead using light to activate oxygen, which wipes out bacteria. The method also could be used to treat other microbial infections, and possibly even cancer.

In remote areas of the world, everyday items like electrical outlets and batteries are luxuries. Health care workers in these areas often lack electricity to power diagnostic devices, and commercial batteries may be too expensive. Today, researchers report a new type of battery — made of paper and fueled by bacteria — that could overcome these challenges.

Many people rely on contact lenses to improve their vision. But these sight-correcting devices don't last forever and they are eventually disposed of in various ways. Now, scientists are reporting that throwing these lenses down the drain at the end of their use could be contributing to microplastic pollution in waterways.

The latest release of the ExTiX Linux distro is a major disappointment. ExTiX 18.7 has several shortcomings that make it troublesome to use. The flaws easily might be fixed in a patched follow-up release. Still, to a new Linux user, the problems inherent in ExTiX 18.7 give the Linux OS in general a black eye. New releases of any software platform never come with guarantees. Sometimes, an earlier release works almost flawlessly while its upgrade down the line fails to impress. That was my experience revisiting the ExTix distro.

The Homeland Security Department has announced the National Risk Management Center, part of a new effort to combat cyberthreats to the U.S. The new agency's mission will be to defend the critical infrastructure through greater cooperation between the public and private sectors. The center will bring together government experts and industry partners to work out ways that the government can support the partners. The idea is to create a single point of access to all government resources that can be used to defend against cyberthreats.