Apple Loosing its Grip in the Tablet Market, as its market share falls from 60 to 30% in a year,

According to the latest data published by the market intelligence firm IDC, charted for us by Statista, Apple's tablet market share has dropped from above 60% in the June quarter of 2012 to just 26.9% this year. 

Add caption

Meanwhile, Samsung's market share jumped about 10 percentage points, Lenovo and Asus gained ground, but most of all, a group of "others," which likely includes Amazon's Kindle Fire and Microsoft's Surface families, has clearly started to bite on Apple's products and now beginning to chip  them away .

The ipad today has lost its mojo.. and unless Apple starts changing the market by launching newer tablets or starts to innovate newer technologies  and features( example wearable with Tablets.) Apple is in the risk of becoming history as far as tablets are concerned 

.According to the latest data published by the market intelligence firm IDC, charted for us by Statista, Apple's tablet market share has dropped from above 60% in the June quarter of 2012 to just 26.9% this year. Meanwhile, Samsung's market share jumped about 10 percentage points, Lenovo and Asus gained ground, but most of all, a group of "others," which likely includes Amazon's Kindle Fire and Microsoft's Surface families, has eaten Apple's lunch, growing about 20 percentage points in a two-year span.China’s Huawei was the big winner in June quarter smartphone sales, according to IDC.

The iPhone turns seven : A tribute to the Gadget that changed the mobile forever

CNET UK Presents: History of the iPhone, dedicated to the memory of Steve Jobs from Drew Stearne on Vimeo.

• The first generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007
• Development of what was to become the iPhone began in 2004, 
• A group of 1000 apple  staff were " working on the highly confidential Project" which was code named Project  Purple 
• Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
• The two initial models, a 4 GB model priced at US$ 499 and an 8 GB model at US$ 599, went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm local time
• 3 July DVD Jon first cracks activation. People can use the apps on the phone without a subscription
• 9 July :iPhone Dev Team releases a jailbreak method. The first use of this is ringtones.
• 20 July :Nightwatch adapts a toolchain to the iPhone. The first apps are compiled

BitTorrent Unveiled New Decentralized "Bleep" Instant Messenger

Pretty good news for privacy-oriented people! BitTorrent unwraps its new instant messaging program that doesn’t store your metadata and helps you with encrypted communication to keep your online conversations private, whether its voice or text communications.
BitTorrent named its Online chat service as "Bleep", a decentralised peer-to-peer voice and text communications platform that offers

Facebook's Internet.Org App Offers Free Internet in Zambia

Earlier this month, the founder of the Social Networking giant highlighted the future of universal Internet access, the dream that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to fulfil, in an effort to make Internet access available to everyone across the world just like a service as essential as of 911 in the case of an emergency.



Dream comes true! Facebook Inc. (FB) in partnership with Bharti

Russian Government Asks Apple to Hand Over iOS and Mac Source Code

Just few days after the announcement that Russian government will pay almost 4 million ruble (approximately equal to $111,000) to the one who can devise a reliable technology to decrypt data sent over the Tor, now the government wants something which is really tough.


APPLE & SAP, HAND OVER YOUR SOURCE CODES

Russian government has asked Apple to provide the access to the company’s source

Your stories: which course would you attend first, if you won Free Training for Life?

By Sarah Morgan

Which would be your first certification, if you won Firebrand's Free Training For Life competition? You'd get free access to over 160 training courses from the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, EC-Council, CompTIA, PMI and many more. Whether you're working in IT security, cloud computing or project management, you'd find the courses you need to climb up the career ladder.

We asked you to share your “first course choices” on our Google+ page, because we were curious about your picks and the stories behind them.

Reading your responses was thoroughly enjoyable. Some of them were witty, well-justified and though provoking, so it was hard to pick the Top 5. But at last here they are, the best answers from 5 lucky winners of 100 extra tickets to Free Training For Life:

It’s extremely important to keep your networks safe and this response seems to agree.

“If I won FTFL I would choose the Cisco CCNA and CCNA Security as my first course, as I know that I would then be able to protect my systems and myself without physical confrontation. I am small so actual confrontation has never gone well for me. So having that card in my back pocket will set me off on the right path. I would then go down the project management side of things and do PRINCE2 course and other courses related to project management.“ – Rachel

Some of you have already attended training with Firebrand, so you know what to expect and how to further develop the skills you’ve already got.

“If I won FTFL it would be a toss-up between Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and CompTIA Sec+. Having done CompTIA A+ I thoroughly enjoyed the course and loved the introduction into cryptography, the AAA of computing, types of attacks and various methods of procuring data - I had no idea that it was so in-depth and that was just a skim over the subject.

Having developed an appetite for it, I think both courses would be a great next step, though I think the CEH would provide a unique insight into security from the side of the intruder. I spoke to some people doing the course whilst doing my CompTIA A+ on the Firebrand campus and they spoke very highly of the course and learned a lot.

I'd also build up my Comp TIA A+ a little more with N+ and then work through ITIL before potentially branching into CISM or CCNA. I plan to build a wide-ranging skillset throughout my career and hopefully Firebrand will be the ones to help me do it!” – David

This could be you in a few months' time. Watch Joseph, last year's winner, talk about his certification plans.

Having a solid foundation is essential in preparing for long-term future goals.

“With so much choice it's not an easy decision. It would be either the CompTIA Trifecta [A+/N+/Sec+] to gain a solid foothold in an IT career or a Cisco CCNA qualification. Cisco would be the ideal choice as in today’s ever increasingly "Connected" world this would probably the most future proof qualification, as networks are always going to be required and therefore the properly certified individual will be the 'Key player' to keep this moving forward.” – Paul

We can’t stress this enough: you can beat a hacker, if you can think like one.

“I would go for the EC-Council CEH v8 to acquire the required skillset needed to help keep networks more secure. It's like the saying...to catch a thief, you have to think like a thief. With Firebrand Training, that dream would become a reality…” – Clevelon

If you’re familiar with what you need to make progress, you have a very good chance of reaching your goals.

“If I win the FTFL Competition, I will start with the BCI Certificate Training. The reason is because as an IT practitioner, my chosen area of specialty is IT Management, and with the Five Core Modules of the BCI Curriculum, (1. Policy, Programme Management and Culture;  2. Understanding the Organisation;  3. Determining Business Continuity Strategy;  4. Developing a BCM Response;  5. Exercising, Maintaining and Reviewing BCM Arrangements) I should be able to gain the requisite foundation for a start in the Sphere of IT Business Management.” - Imo

As you see different people have different preferences and ideas about their future. We’d be delighted to hear more of your stories. Tell us which course you’d take first, if you won Free Training For Life. You can do so on the Firebrand Google+ page.

Send us your story of which course you'd take and why, and the best ones will again be rewarded with 100 extra entries and a "Failure Is Not An Option" t-shirt.

About the Author:       
Sarah writes for Firebrand Training on a number of IT related topics. This includes exams, training, certification trends, project management, certification, careers advice and the industry itself. Sarah has 11 years of experience in the IT industry. 

Attackers Compromise TOR Network to De-Anonymize Users of Hidden Services

A critical vulnerability in Tor — an encrypted anonymizing network considered to be one of the most privacy oriented service, which is used by online users in order to hide their activities from law enforcement, government censors and others — was probably being used to de-anonymize the identity of Tor users, Tor project warned on Wednesday.



115 MALICIOUS ToR RELAYS WERE DE-ANONYMIZING

Made in China vs Married and Divorced in China: Infographic

How does Made in China compare to Married and Divorced in China .This chart shows how the made in china automobile industry  graph is moving with marriages and divorces  graph
According to the latest  Chinese Passenger Vehicle sales figures..  January, 2013.had seen " the highest number of Chinese cars being  sold .
Now comparing this chart with the chart of marriages and divorces in the  country

Chinese marriages  have increased by 63% over the last 10 years, while divorces has increased by 133% in the same  number of years ( 2003 to 2012)

Similarly demand for r Green  cards from Chinese immigrants to United States has seen  an increasing uptrend  with a growth of nearly 100% from 562 in 2010  to  1202 in  2012 

Instasheep — Instagram Account Hacking Tool Released

Two days ago, we reported at The Hacker News about a critical issue in the most popular image and video sharing service, Instagram app for mobiles, that allows an attacker to hijack users’ account and successfully access private photos, delete victim's photos, edit comments and also post new images.



Yesterday, a London developer Stevie Graham has released a tool called “Instasheep” a play

Signal — Open Source iPhone App to Make Free End-to-End Encrypted Voice Calls

Good News for Privacy Lovers!! An open source software group Open Whisper Systems has released the first free and Open Source phone call application for iPhone users, which is specifically designed to make secure and encrypted calls.



When we talk about the privacy of our messages and voice calls, Open Whisper Systems has usually a very strong track record. Whisper is the company behind the

Android "Fake ID" Vulnerability Allows Malware to Impersonate Trusted Apps

Due to the majority in the mobile platform, Google’s Android operating system has been a prior target for cybercriminals and a recently exposed weakness in the way the operating system handles certificate validation, left millions of Android devices open to attack.



Researchers at BlueBox security, who identified the vulnerability, dubbed the flaw as Fake ID, which affects all versions of

If you have an MCSE/MCSD or are planning to get one – this affects you

By Sarah Morgan

Microsoft’s head of communications, Tim Sneath wants to make the MCSD and MCSE ‘harder for everyone.’

Last year, the retirement of Microsoft’s Master level certs left the most determined of IT professionals without top tier Microsoft qualifications to strive for. The Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM) and Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) have all been discontinued without replacement.

But whilst there are no plans to release a new pinnacle certification, Microsoft does have something else in mind.

Without the Master Level certifications, there's a new top tier

Currently, the most advanced Microsoft certifications on offer are the MCSE and MCSD. To reflect their top-tier status, Microsoft now plans on upping the difficulty of both MCSE and MCSD certifications. 

Sneath describes the changes: ‘[Microsoft] will add a variety of richer test types that make it harder for people to memorise answers. We’re also adding richer questioning types. In testing for SQL certifications, we ask you to actually create an SQL query.’

The aim is to make certifications reflect more practical knowledge, not just theory.

Microsoft wants the route to an MCSE/MCSD to be more rigorous, but without excluding the majority. Instead of just a small elite group of cert holders, Microsoft now wants to embrace a broader community. These tougher certs will be promoted as something new and unique.

Sneath received his MCSE 20 years ago – ‘I thought I was pretty special. We want to bring that back.’

And the changes to MCSD and MCSE certs don’t just apply for new candidates. As MCSE holders are required to recertify every three years, and MCSD holders every two years; these changes definitely have the potential to catch some professionals out.

Microsoft haven't yet announced a time-frame for these new updates, so if you’re recertification is looming, or you’re planning on achieving one of Microsoft’s new pinnacle certs – now's the time to so. You can find our full range of MCSE and MCSD certs here.

About the Author:       
Sarah writes for Firebrand Training on a number of IT related topics. This includes exams, training, certification trends, project management, certification, careers advice and the industry itself. Sarah has 11 years of experience in the IT industry. 

THE TABLET WARS: Leaders and Laggards and also rans

The tablet market grew by 11% over last year. The figure would have been higher had it not been for a decline of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2014, as opposed to the first quarter. The reason for the decline: Large enterprises are holding off on purchasing decisions. 

According to Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC's director for tablets,Apple still leads the tablet market, but it hasn't had a good quarter as far as sales figures go. The iPad has lost ground to both Android and Windows tablets.

 Apple shipped 13.3 million units, a decline of 9.3% year-on-year. The company's market share stood at 26.9%. Apple has announced plans to fight back, and it is pinning its hopes on the enterprise sector to drive growth. 

 Samsung, Apple's biggest rival, had a mixed year and shipped 8.5 million units in  Q2,  2014 and saw its market share increase by 1.6% yoy. Samsung struggled to maintain its momentum and saw its market share slip to 17.2% in the second quarter.Lenevo shipped 2.4 million units and moved up to the No 3 ranking, displacing Asus from its position.

Google working on a gigantic 5.9 inch smartphone to be launched in November

Google may be working on a gigantic 5.9 inch smartphone to be released in November,2014 according to a new report from Android Police. The company is reportedly working with Motorola on the phablet, which will supposedly come with a fingerprint sensor and will launch with major US carriers. Google and Motorola are said to be calling it 'Shamu' internally. That size is unusually large for a smartphone. It's one inch shy from being the same size as most mini tablets, such as the Google Nexus 7. Samsung's Galaxy Mega, which comes in both 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch screen sizes, and LG G Pro 2 are the only other phablets that compare in size. Most phablets fall into the 5.3-5.7-inch range.

Who are The Biggest Top 10 Indian Online Retail ( Etailer) brands)

Top  10 Indian Online Retail Players ( Nielsen Research Report )

The Latest Nielsen  Research Report  on Online Retail Brands in India shows the top 3 online etailer brands 

No 1:Flipkart 

No 2:ebay

No3:Homeshop18

The research covered across geographies of Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and  Chennai shows regional preferences across the online retail categories.

Homeshop18 is ranked no  2 only in Pune, whereas in the other 3 regions of Mumbai. Delhi and Chennai its ebay which is the 2nd ranked etailer.

Flipkart and Snapdeal  (  1st and 4th  ranked ) are the only 2 online retail brands that are consistent across all 4 regions

Million Android Users vulnerable to malicious attack due to a security flaw

Source: StatCounter Global Stats - OS Market Share

Android continues to be beset by problems whenever it just seems that its  all ready to blow competition away ..

Apparently Millions of people using Android devices could be left open to attack from malicious apps that appear to come from legitimate developers, due to a flaw in Google's mobile software. The flaw has been named "Fake ID" by security company Bluebox Labs, which discovered it.

The worse part as  globally Android's marketshare is bigger than its nearest competitors and this  affects almost all Android phones. 

Bluebox says the vulnerability dates back to the January 2010 release of Android 2.1 and affects all devices that are not patched for "Google bug 13678484," which was disclosed to Google and released for patching in April..The root of this vulnerability lies in what's called a "certificate chain," in which encrypted certificates that verify the identities of Android apps can trust each other to communicate and share data.

 However, Google says it has already issued a patch to protect Android users from attacks exploiting the flaw.

Nielsen 's Global Confidence Tracker show consumer markets improving across N American, Europe and Asia

Global consumer confidence increased one index point to 97 in the second quarter of 2014, marking the highest level since first-quarter 2007. This forward momentum comes after a stagnant 2013, when confidence was stubbornly stuck at 94 for three out of four quarters.  So regionally which markets contributed to the feel  good effect ?

• Regionally, North America (103) and Europe (77) reported consumer confidence increases of three and two points, respectively, from the first quarter. 
• Confidence was highest in the Asia-Pacific region, which held steady from the first quarter with a score of 106. 
• Confidence declined in the Latin America (90) and Middle East/Africa regions (93), dropping three points and one point, respectively.
• Nielsen Global confidence Tracker  helps you to track trends across markets . see here 

Facebook Self-XSS Scam Fools Users into Hacking Themselves

Scammers have again targeted more than one billion active users of the popular social networking giant Facebook, to infect as many victims as possible.



Not by serving fake post, neither by providing malicious video link, instead this time scammers have used a new way of tricking Facebook users into injecting or placing malicious JavaScript or client-side code into their web browsers.

Chinese Hackers Stole Blueprints of Israel's Iron Dome Missile Defense System

Chinese hackers infiltrated the databases of three Israeli defense contractors and stole plans for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, according to an investigation by a Maryland-based cyber security firm ‘Cyber Engineering Services Inc. (CyberESI)’.



Not just this, the hackers were also able to nab plans regarding other missile interceptors, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,

Internet Penetration vs Mobile Penetration : Central Europe

The above chart from shows the  Internet population in terms of numbers as well as percentage penetration  compared  the corresponding mobile data

• The Internet Population  in Central Europe is 130,119,800 which is equivalent to 78% internet penetration. The urban areas  make up for 69% of online  population
  
• There are approximately   60,412,000 Facebook users  in this region , which roughly translate in 36% penetration
  
• Mobile Penetration growth has been a staggering 131%  which in numbers come out to be 220,493,431

Instagram Mobile App Issue Leads to Account Hijacking Vulnerability

In the era of Government surveillance, ensuring the security and safety of our private communications regardless of platform – email, VOIP, message, even cookies stored – should be the top priority of the Internet industry. Some industry came together to offer Encryption as the protection against government surveillance, but some left security holes that may expose your personal data.



A

Researcher to Demonstrate Poor SSL Implementations Using Pineapple WiFi

A leading provider of advanced threat, security and compliance solutions, Tripwire, has announced that Craig Young, a security researcher from its Vulnerability and Exposure Research Team (VERT), is working on a paper about SSL vulnerabilities that will be presented at DEF CON 22 Wireless Village.



There are thousands of websites over Internet that contain serious mistakes in the way that

Latin America now accounts 10% of the global mobile market , as revenues touch $107billion

East Asian markets cross 28% mobile broadband connectivity , Internet users jump 48%

According to the latest report from wearesocials latest 2014 data shows East Asian mobile broadband penetration at 28% ( as a percentage of the market size across east asia)

Here are the Highlights

1.  Mobile broadband subscriptions by numbers :million Social media usage across mobile devices by numbers : million
2.  Active Internet Connections by numbers : 756,093,363 which was about 46% Internet users spread across across 56% urban centres 
3. In 2014 the Internet users across east asian market grew by 48%, as social media users increased by 43%, and the biggest increase was 
4. Mobile penetration  showed the biggest growth as it zoomed by  astonishing 92%

Digital Indicators In South Asia : Internet Penetration vs Mobile Penetration

MOBILE BASED  INDICATORS : South Asian Active Mobile broadband users increased to 62million, which takes the mobile broadband penetration across total population to be 3.8milliom , with 89milion consumers going social via the mobile device 

INTERNET AND SOCIAL INDICATORS : 17%penetration rates with 31% across urban cent res , with 72% increase in Mobile subscription 

Kali Linux 1.0.8 — New Release Supports UEFI Boot

Great news for Hackers and Backtrack Linux fans! Offensive Security, the developers of one of the most advance open source operating system for penetration testing known as 'KALI Linux', has finally announced the release of the latest version i.e. Kali Linux 1.0.8.



Kali Linux is based upon Debian Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing, including a variety

Russian Government Offers $111,000 For Cracking Tor Anonymity Network

The Russian government is offering almost 4 million ruble which is approximately equal to $111,000 to the one who can devise a reliable technology to decrypt data sent over the Tor, an encrypted anonymizing network used by online users in order to hide their activities from law enforcement, government censors, and others.



The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) issued a notice on

Highest Trafficked Real Estate web Properties accessed from Desktop as of June 2014

According to the latest Experian  Market Research published  for the month of june  shows zillion  , Trulia and Realtor as  the biggest web sites in terms of traffic from desktops - .
Zillion leads the  Real Estate market with approx 19% market share traffic followed by Trulia with 9% and Realtor with 7.7% of the overall real estate web site reach for  the month of june, 2014

The marketshare reflects and takes into consideration  the top 10 most visited web sites from desktops only 

Intel launches Hardware-based Self-Encrypting Solid State Drives

Data security is a big task for businesses as well as a challenge for IT leaders, whether it be securing networks or devices. Past few months, we often came across various data breaches, the largest among all was Target data breach, which cost a business nearly $50,000 in lost productivity, replacement and data recovery. 



Once a bad actor has stolen your hardware or compromised your

SQL Server 2014 certifications: What you need to know

By Sarah Morgan


With the release of SQL Server 2014, Microsoft has made some significant changes to their current SQL Server certifications. And unlike the move from Microsoft SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server 2012 – the certifications associated with Microsoft SQL Server 2014 don’t follow the usual trend. The release of SQL Server 2014 is a little different.

How different you ask? Well, we’ve put together a handy FAQ to explain just that.

Q. Will Microsoft be providing a new MCSA: SQL Server 2014 certification? 

A.  There are currently no plans to offer a new MCSA certification. Certifications for SQL Server 2014  will only be offered at the MCSE level. This new product focuses on performance tuning and high availability – features best suited for the advanced MCSE.

Q. How will this affect the MCSA: SQL Server 2012 certification? 

A. Don’t worry. You’ll still be able to get the MCSA: SQL Server 2012 qualification. Its associated exams (70-461/70-462/70-463) will remain without any alterations. The MCSA: SQL Server 2012 will also remain as the prerequisite for both MCSE certificates.

Q. How does SQL Server 2014 affect the MCSE: Data Platform and MCSE: Business Intelligence certifications?

A. The MCSE: Data Platform (70-464/70-465) and MCSE: Business Intelligence (70-466/70-467) exams were updated In April 2014 with SQL Server 2014 topics. Their exam numbers will stay the same.

Q. I’m already working towards earning an MCSA/MCSE certification associated with SQL Server. How will the changes to Microsoft's Official Curriculum affect me?

A. If you are currently studying for your MCSA: SQL Server 2012, you have nothing to worry about. This MCSA and its associated exams will not be changed. Though you may now find it referred to as MCSA: SQL Server.

Both the MCSE: Data Platform and the MCSE: Business Intelligence were updated April 2014 to include SQL Server 2014 content. If you earned your MCSE credential before this, you will not be tested on SQL Server 2014 or future releases until your recertification exam.

If you are on track to earn your MCSE credential after the exam updates, make sure you revise the correct material. You can do this by reviewing the details on the revised exam objectives which you can find on the Firebrand website.

Q. I want to start learning more about the updates to SQL Server 2014. Where can I find training material?

You can already find a series of free training modules available via the Microsoft Virtual Academy. Alternatively attend our 3 day course focused on updating your skills for SQL Server 2014.


Hopefully we’ve answered your SQL Server 2014 certification questions. But if not, don’t hesitate to contact us directly through our social platforms or just leave a comment and we’ll get back to you.

About the Author:       
Sarah writes for Firebrand Training on a number of IT related topics. This includes exams, training, certification trends, project management, certification, careers advice and the industry itself. Sarah has 11 years of experience in the IT industry. 

Mayhem — A New Malware Targets Linux and FreeBSD Web Servers

Security researchers from Russian Internet giant Yandex have discovered a new piece of malware that is being used to target Linux and FreeBSD web servers in order to make them a part of the wide botnet, even without the need of any root privileges.



Researchers dubbed the malware as Mayhem, a nasty malware modular that includes a number of payloads to cause malicious things and targets to

The Mobile Barometer Index : 2 charts that tell a story

MOBILE USAGE AMONG LOWER AND MIDDLE INCOME NATIONS IS HIGH

THE MOBILE HAS BEEN A KEY DRIVER TO INCREASE INTERNET PENETRATION  ACROSS THE WORLDS MOST REMOTEST PLACES

Who does what with a Mobile . The above Mobile Barometer named so because its a kind of measuring data chart which shows how many users are doing what with their devices

The core of the mobile usage was (if we remember ) was to actually make calls .. However over the last 5 years, the mobile has replaced quite a few things at  our  homes .Think of it .We can not afford  not having a watch ,a music player, a camera, a video camera, movie CD, music  collection, with us anymore , we can leave our  travel road maps,our story books, .. the list is endless 

The Mobile barometer chart above shows some interesting insights on how Mobile takes up a lot of time in the middle and lower economy markets,and along with it users who go online with the mobile  device too tends  to show a higher numbers in those markets.Infact the mobile device has been among the biggest driver in increases  Internet access  across the remotest parts of  the world

Mobile centricity and Wealth Distribution: Is Mobile for Masses or Classes

A recent Mobile from Inmobi  , (  one of the biggest mobile ad platform in terms of reach)

Mobile media have  surpassed traditional media (TV & online) in terms of time spend • 

 Multi-screen behavior is common – 61% of mobile web users engage in mobile activities (e.g. social networking, text messaging) while watching TV •

an average mobile users who use the web ( Mobile web users ) consumes 6 hours of media ( which means apart from mobile web, which is getting streamed to them in real time . additional media usage  like TV/web/ desktop, radio and magazines continue  to be a part of such consumers life. No doubt multi screen behavior  is becoming more mainsrteam now

 Across the 14 markets, growth in mobile use in the next year is likely to come from social media, followed by entertainment

It seems mobile centricity   and income levels are inversely proportional .Mobile centricity defined by: 

•  Relative importance of   mobile in media consumption 

•  Comfort level with transacting through device 

•  Breadth and depth of mobile activity 

•  Mobile influence on offline and online purchasing behavior 

CompTIA tackling the image problem of the IT industry

By Edward Jones 

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

CompTIA labels the IT industry with "an image problem" as it continues to address the lack of women in the channel through its Advancing Women in IT (AWIT) initiative.

With less than 16% of the UK IT industries 1.2 million workforce being women, it's a statement you simply can't challenge. The industry has an image problem and it's time we addressed it as a community.

IT doesn't appeal to the young

CompTIA claims a lack of appeal to the younger generation is at the core of this issue. Again, difficult to contest when applications to Computing Science at GCSE and A level continue to fall. Left unchecked,  this will significantly reduce the volume of talent entering the industry and exacerbate a skills gap estimated to reach 700,000 IT professionals across Europe by 2015.  

CompTIA Senior vice president,  Nancy Hammervik, reflects on the issue. She said: 

“The primary barrier to interest in IT as a career is that young people – girls, especially – don’t understand the full range of options available to them,” 

“But when they’re exposed to specific job and career opportunities their interest level jumps,” Hammervik continued. “We’ve taken the next step to reach out directly to women and girls on the wonderful opportunities available to them in our industry.”

Advancing Women in IT

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

This next step is via the 'Advancing Women in IT' initiative. Driven by an elite group of “trailblazing female entrepreneurs”, the program aims to engage at the grass root level and transform the representation of women in IT. Delivering the message direct to schools and colleges via a series of workshops, free educational tools and events, the program aims to engage more than 10,000 people by the end of 2014.

Firebrand Training’s UK Managing Director, Emma Seaman said:  

“If we are to reverse the downward trend of young women taking an interest in IT then we must break the stereotype that ‘IT is for geeks’. 

Attracting more women into IT received a big boost this week 

This week CompTIA launched two new websites, Dream IT and the Career Resource Centre. Both seen as a huge boost in the battle to attract more women into the IT workforce.

The new Career Resource Centre contains a wealth of information and career resources all with the express aim of showing women and girls that IT is a great place to work.

The Dream IT initiative is the brainchild of CompTIA’s 'Advancing Women in IT' community. It offers ready-made presentation materials which can be used by anyone looking to spread the fantastic opportunities available to women and girls in the IT industry.

Get Involved!

If your interested in adavncing women in IT, why not head over to the Dream IT site and explore to find out all the ways you can get involved.

What are you waiting for?

About the Author

As part of Firebrand's global marketing team, Edward actively works to serve the IT community with news, reviews and technical how to guides. Working in the industry for almost 3 years, Edward has a wide variety of experience with Microsoft Technologies including SharePoint, Windows Server and Exchange Server. Edward is an active member of the IT community contributing to a variety of tech publications including Microsoft TechNet, Channel Pro and PC Advisor.

Is your business safe from the Visa & MasterCard Backlash?

By Sarah Morgan

Visa and MasterCardwill suspend your ability to process online payments if you are using Windows Server 2003.

When Windows Server 2003 End of Service hits in July 2015, any business running the software will no longer adhere to the PCI compliance standards. Without updates and support, the integrity and security of the Windows Server 2003 platform cannot be guaranteed.

Adherence to PCI is required for businesses that want to host Visa and MasterCard transactions on their websites. Lose it and your crippling your businesses ability to make money online.

Microsoft states that “Payment Card Industry (PCI) policies will not be met with an operating system that is EOS”.

With just under a year to go until Microsoft cuts all support for the outdated software, businesses could be risking far more than they realise.

You don’t have much time - Upgrade now

When Windows Server 2003 loses all support on July 14^th2015, you can’t afford to be caught unawares.  Continue running the software at your peril – failing to upgrade could cost you £100,000 a year.

What’s more, according to Microsoft’s initial estimations, it could take you 200 days to migrate, so you’re going to have to act fast.

But, updating to Windows Server 2012 doesn’t have to be a trial. If you’re amongst the 62% of businesses who haven’t yet planned to migrate – you can still make sure your transition a smooth one.  

Avoid those frustrating first-time software mistakes. Become a Windows Server 2012 expert in just 9-days and make your upgrade an easy one. Plus, you’ll be Microsoft MCSA: Windows Server 2012 certified– your first step to earning the advanced MCSE certification.

What percentage of your revenue comes from online payments? This could disappear come 2015.

So, start making your migration plans now, you don’t have long!

About the Author:       
Sarah writes for Firebrand Training on a number of IT related topics. This includes exams, training, certification trends, project management, certification, careers advice and the industry itself. Sarah has 11 years of experience in the IT industry. 

Latest Chinese Mobile Brand Gionee plans to sell 5million units in India

While Gionee's Smartphones has been in news for quite some time now,  and their claim to fane is " they are the  current contender for the world's slimmest smartphone crown, the Gionee Elife S5.5  has  5.5mm thickness -and thats quite a show stealer and  TENAA has just certified a mid-range model that's even thinner. T

• Apparently he Gionee GN9005 Not only that, the phone weighs just 94.6g - among the lightest Android smartphones and measures 139.8 x 67.4 x 5.0 mm., includes LTE connectivity
• 16GB of built-in memory (no microSD slot) and a 2,050mAh battery , A 5mm-thick handset has been spotted at the China-equivalent of the FCC, called the Gionee GN9005

As a recent entrant in the highly competitive Indian smartphone industry ,the Chinese handset manufacturer, is looking at a market share of 3-4 per cent in the ₹1 lakh crore Indian mobile handset market. Gionee claims to have sold 10 lakh pieces last year, is targeting to sell five million pieces in the second year of its operations. 

It sells phones in the range of ₹1,750 to ₹30,000. Of the 17 phones it sells, five are feature (basic) phones, while the remaining 12 are smartphones.The local indian arm of the Chinese Smartphone maker is an Syntech Technology Private Ltd, which operates as the arm of Gionee,

The Boom in Online Video Advertising : 3 Reasons why brands need to rethink

Is there anybody on the planet who actually enjoys pre-roll video advertising? Research has shown that 94% of people skip pre-roll ads. Is there anybody on the planet who actually enjoys pre-roll video advertising? Research has shown that 94% of people skip pre-roll ads)

Online video advertising are one one of the fastest-growing ad mediums across any media , far outpacing growth in spending on television and other digital formats. Correspondingly, online video ad viewership exploded in 2013, reaching over 35 billion views in the U.S. in December

The increasing spends a on" Video advertising " signals  some important market changes both across the demand and supply side ( Advertisers and Publishers )

1)Web Monetization  Publishers would see a definite shift   on their earnings from their site,  from online advertisements as,   more advertisers would move from CPM/CPC model to CPM ( Cost per view ) Web  monetization will undergo a rapid shake up   ( for either  good or worse.) However  I have quite a few reasons to believe that it would be the later 

2)Surplus of Low  Quality Inventory :With the change in the revenue model,as more publishers rush to create video centric content,the CTRs would drop, as there will be a surplus  of " low quality inventory.. as   any new market  will see a huge  rush of players, which will add to the quantity but not quality

3)Measuribility of   Video advertising : Almost all forms  of  online Video advertising currently  is still interruption based 

1) It  forces the usersto watch atleast 30 seconds of  ads  before you  watch the video on Youtube

2) All the 3 formats , pre roll, post roll,  and instream video ads are interruption based. Unless the way advertising across Video are steamrolled, remember its the brands that would suffer more 

3) How to you define a "metric " for engagement.? time spent for watching the video for 2 mins, 20 seconds, or closing the window after watching the ad