HP The Machine new supercomputer monster for big datas

The Machine from HP Labs is a major disruptive technology innovation. Capable of adressing 160 petabytes in 250 nanoseconds, the machine uses photoelectornics with ions storage capability on memristors and a optic fiber connection between memory and processor. The Machine should run on open source software stack and non volatile android operating system version are already in development. This is a revolution in computing ! Great HP Labs. The Machine should be commercialized from 2018.

Visualizing the Internet in Real Time - a tool for BIg Datas by Akamai Technologies

The tools offered by Akamai to measure the Internet are quite interesting, notably they have stats about number of users, number of sites, network connections, attacks/viruses, network performance and are using some visualisation framworks to make the datas more friendly.

Anatomy of Linux computers : the File System Commands - part 1 ls

A- How are organized files in Linux ? 

If we examine the root file system of a typical linux fedora system, the Linux file system uses the command "ls" for showing file content . Running it as root, we get the following results :

root@localhost /# ls
bin   dev  home  lib64       media  opt    run   srv  tmp  var
boot  etc  lib   lost+found  mnt    proc  root  sbin  sys  usr

The file system is organized in sections : 

 
    /bin Essential user command binaries (for use by all users)

    /boot Static files of the boot loader, only used at system startup 

    /dev Device files, links to your hardware devices like /dev/sound, /dev/input

    /etc Host-specific system configuration 

    /home User home directories. This is where you save your personal files 

    /lib Essential shared libraries and kernel modules

    /mnt Mount point for a temporarily mounted filesystem like /mnt/cdrom

    /opt Add-on application software packages

    /usr /usr is the second major section of the filesystem. /usr is shareable, read-only data. 

    /var contains variable data files. This includes spool directories and files, administrative and logging data, and transient and temporary files. 

    /proc System information stored in memory mirrored as file

1. INODES

in order to show the inodes associated with the files, we must use the -i option : the inodes are associated registries associated with each file containing some metadatas. Inodes stands for Index Nodes. There is an inode number for each file. For example inode=5829 for the directory bin. In POSIX and partially POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as GNU/Linux, Android, Apple's Mac OS X, Windows NT operating systems, an inode contains information about : 
- the size of the file in bytes, in blocks and IO blocks
- the devicesID, inodeID, Links (how many hard links are pointing to the inode, an hard link) and timestamps last accessed last modified for each UID UserID and GID Group ID. The stat system call retrieves a file's inode number and some of the information in the inode.

root@localhost /# ls -i
   5829 bin        17 lib         1835009 opt        13 sbin   786433 var
      2 boot       16 lib64             1 proc  1179649 srv
   1025 dev        11 lost+found     3267 q           1 sys
1310721 etc   1966081 media       1703937 root     8070 tmp
      2 home  1048577 mnt            1159 run   2883585 usr

root@localhost /# stat boot
  File: ‘boot’
  Size: 1024       Blocks: 4          IO Block: 1024   directory
Device: 801h/2049d Inode: 2           Links: 4
Access: (0555/dr-xr-xr-x)  Uid: (    0/    root)   Gid: (    0/    root)
Access: 2014-05-11 15:39:55.000000000 +0200
Modify: 2014-01-09 03:12:33.000000000 +0100
Change: 2014-01-09 03:12:33.000000000 +0100
 Birth: -

1. ACCESS RIGHTS

in order to show the access rights, ls must be used with -l 

root@localhost /# ls -l /etc
total 2936
drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root     4096 25. Aug 2013  abrt
-rw-r--r--   1 root root       47 16. Mär 21:15 adjtime
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root     4096  7. Okt 2013  akonadi
-rw-r--r--.  1 root root     1518  7. Jun 2013  aliases
-rw-r-----.  1 root smmsp   12288 19. Aug 2013  aliases.db
drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root     4096 25. Aug 2013  alsa
drwxr-xr-x.  2 root root     4096 16. Apr 23:07 alternatives

...

root@localhost /# ls --scontext
system_u:object_r:bin_t:s0       bin -> usr/bin
system_u:object_r:boot_t:s0      boot
?                                dev
system_u:object_r:etc_t:s0       etc
system_u:object_r:home_root_t:s0 home
system_u:object_r:lib_t:s0       lib -> usr/lib
system_u:object_r:lib_t:s0       lib64 -> usr/lib64
...

for more information about the ls command and the basic structure of a linux system

NAME
       ls - list directory contents

SYNOPSIS
       ls [OPTION]... [FILE]...

DESCRIPTION
       List  information  about  the FILEs (the current directory by default).
       Sort entries alphabetically if none of -cftuvSUX nor --sort  is  speci‐
       fied.

       Mandatory  arguments  to  long  options are mandatory for short options
       too.

       -a, --all
              do not ignore entries starting with .

       -A, --almost-all
              do not list implied . and ..

       --author
              with -l, print the author of each file

       -b, --escape
              print C-style escapes for nongraphic characters

       --block-size=SIZE
              scale   sizes   by   SIZE   before   printing    them.     E.g.,
              '--block-size=M'  prints sizes in units of 1,048,576 bytes.  See
              SIZE format below.

       -B, --ignore-backups
              do not list implied entries ending with ~

       -c     with -lt: sort by, and show, ctime (time of last modification of
              file  status  information)  with -l: show ctime and sort by name
              otherwise: sort by ctime, newest first

       -C     list entries by columns

       --color[=WHEN]
              colorize the output.   WHEN  defaults  to  'always'  or  can  be
              'never' or 'auto'.  More info below

       -d, --directory

              list  directory entries instead of contents, and do not derefer‐

              ence symbolic links

       -D, --dired

              generate output designed for Emacs' dired mode

       -f     do not sort, enable -aU, disable -ls --color

       -F, --classify

              append indicator (one of */=>@|) to entries

       --file-type

              likewise, except do not append '*'

       --format=WORD

              across -x, commas -m, horizontal -x, long -l, single-column  -1,

              verbose -l, vertical -C

       --full-time

              like -l --time-style=full-iso

       -g     like -l, but do not list owner

       --group-directories-first

              group directories before files.

              augment  with  a  --sort option, but any use of --sort=none (-U)

              disables grouping

       -G, --no-group

              in a long listing, don't print group names

       -h, --human-readable

              with -l, print sizes in human readable format (e.g., 1K 234M 2G)

       --si   likewise, but use powers of 1000 not 1024

       -H, --dereference-command-line

              follow symbolic links listed on the command line

       --dereference-command-line-symlink-to-dir

             follow each command line symbolic link that points to  a  direc‐

              tory

       --hide=PATTERN

              do  not  list implied entries matching shell PATTERN (overridden

              by -a or -A)

       --indicator-style=WORD

              append indicator with style WORD to entry names: none (default),

              slash (-p), file-type (--file-type), classify (-F)

       -i, --inode

              print the index number of each file

       -I, --ignore=PATTERN

              do not list implied entries matching shell PATTERN

       -k, --kibibytes

              use 1024-byte blocks

       -l     use a long listing format

       -L, --dereference

              when showing file information for a symbolic link, show informa‐

              tion for the file the link references rather than for  the  link

              itself

       -m     fill width with a comma separated list of entries

       -n, --numeric-uid-gid

              like -l, but list numeric user and group IDs

       -N, --literal

              print  raw entry names (don't treat e.g. control characters spe‐

              cially)

       -o     like -l, but do not list group information

       -p, --indicator-style=slash

              append / indicator to directories

-q, --hide-control-chars

              print ? instead of non graphic characters

       --show-control-chars

              show non graphic characters as-is  (default  unless  program  is

              'ls' and output is a terminal)

       -Q, --quote-name

              enclose entry names in double quotes

       --quoting-style=WORD

              use  quoting style WORD for entry names: literal, locale, shell,

              shell-always, c, escape

       -r, --reverse

              reverse order while sorting

       -R, --recursive

              list subdirectories recursively

       -s, --size

              print the allocated size of each file, in blocks

       -S     sort by file size

       --sort=WORD

              sort by WORD instead of name: none -U, extension  -X,  size  -S,

              time -t, version -v

       --time=WORD

              with  -l,  show time as WORD instead of modification time: atime

              -u, access -u, use -u, ctime -c, or  status  -c;  use  specified

              time as sort key if --sort=time

       --time-style=STYLE

              with  -l, show times using style STYLE: full-iso, long-iso, iso,

              locale, +FORMAT.  FORMAT is interpreted like 'date';  if  FORMAT

              is  FORMAT1<newline>FORMAT2, FORMAT1 applies to non-recent files

              and FORMAT2 to recent files; if STYLE is prefixed with 'posix-',

              STYLE takes effect only outside the POSIX locale

       -t     sort by modification time, newest first

      -T, --tabsize=COLS

              assume tab stops at each COLS instead of 8

       -u     with  -lt:  sort  by, and show, access time with -l: show access

              time and sort by name otherwise: sort by access time

       -U     do not sort; list entries in directory order

       -v     natural sort of (version) numbers within text

       -w, --width=COLS

              assume screen width instead of current value

       -x     list entries by lines instead of by columns

       -X     sort alphabetically by entry extension

       -1     list one file per line

SELinux options:

       --lcontext

              Display security context.   Enable -l. Lines  will  probably  be

              too wide for most displays.

       -Z, --context

              Display  security context so it fits on most displays.  Displays

              only mode, user, group, security context and file name.

       --scontext

              Display only security context and file name.

       --help display this help and exit

       --version

              output version information and exit

       SIZE is an integer and optional unit (example:  10M  is  10*1024*1024).

       Units  are K, M, G, T, P, E, Z, Y (powers of 1024) or KB, MB, ... (pow‐

       ers of 1000).

       Using color to distinguish file types is disabled both by  default  and

       with  --color=never.  With --color=auto, ls emits color codes only when

       standard output is connected to a terminal.  The LS_COLORS  environment

       variable can change the settings.  Use the dircolors command to set it.

   Exit status:

       0      if OK,

       1      if minor problems (e.g., cannot access subdirectory),

       2      if serious trouble (e.g., cannot access command-line argument).

AUTHORS

       Written by Richard M. Stallman and David MacKenzie.

GOOG why the google stocks have decreased by 50 percents ?

When we look the recent crackdown of google, which value cours in GOOG action cotated at the Nasdaq 28 March at 1120.150$ lost 50 percents and finally founds 543.140$ on the 4th April 2014. we can explain this dilution by a spin off GOOGL

Spin off Date 04/03/2014
Security Type Equities
Parent Company Symbol GOOGL
Parent Company Price Per Share $1,135.10
New Company Security Type Equities
New Company Symbol GOOG
Percent of Cost Allocated 0.499229 (Not the Final Number)
Allocate Value the Same as Cost Basis Unchecked
New Company Price per Share $569.85
Share Distribution Ratio 1.0
Conversion Price for Cash in Lieu For Fractional Shares N/A

Neuromorphic Computing is coming up with IBM Synapse, Neurogrid and the US Brain Project

  In the emerging field of neuromorphic engineering, the neuromorphic computer is soon to be industrialized given an interesting Georgia Tech roadmap for developping neuromimetic devices.

Neuromimetic devices are analog information treatment, memorization and communication systems repeating the human cognition : a neuromorphic computer, having special electrical power requirements, is made of an integrated circuit with biological based neurons structures made of silicon and a FPAA for Field Programmable Analog Array, that permits to use the computing device.

Like field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), whiches are digital integrated circuits that are nearly ubiquitous in modern computing, the FPAA can be reconfigured by reprogramming it ("field-programmable."). There are scalable and we can forsee large-scale neuromorphic systems based on neuro mimetics, openning new frontiers in robotics and computing. To make cognitive applications easier to build and to help create an ecosystem of application developers, the team has created composable, scalable software cores called corelets.

Stanford scientists (including Krishna Shenoy, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford and Boahen's neighbor at the interdisciplinary Bio-X center), have recently developed microchips 9,000 times faster than a normal PC: Neurogrid, a circuit board consists of 16 custom-designed "Neurocore" chips, which can simulate 1 million neurons and billions of synaptic connections. 

When we look the U.S. BRAIN Project – (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies), two projects comparable to Neurogrid are particularly interesting :

* IBM's SyNAPSE Project (Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics) has developped a chip code-named Golden Gate, to emulate neurons establishing communication with synaptic connections on the fly. At present a Golden Gate chip consists of 256 digital neurons.

* Heidelberg University's BrainScales project is developing analog neuromimetic mini network chips called HICANN (High Input Count Analog Neural Network). At present, the HICANN system can emulate 512 neurons 

Facebook invest acquires Oculus Rift VR company in Virtual Reality for $2 billions

Facebook new deal is the acquisition of Oculus Rift VR firm which produces a type of virtual reality (VR) glasses and 3D virtual reality augmented glasses as we can see on the video from Oculus Rift Development Kit. 

Oculus Rift started financement with Kickstarter and was bought by Facebook $400 million cash and 23.1 million Facebook shares, plus another $300 million in potential bonuses, announced the purchase via a blog post.

Mark Zuckerberg defined VR as the "next major computing platform after mobile"


Oculus Rift is similar to the project from SONY called Project Morpheus, the new PlayStation 4 VR headset, have been already described superior to Oculus Rift. 

4x4 Android Development Programming the First App

an App or Android application package file (APK) .apk is a javacode compiled by Android SDK Tools with datas and ressources files. The MIME type associated with APK file is application/vnd.android.package-archive

Below is a summary of programming the first application on Android, just after having created MyFirstApp from Google. 4x4 principle : 4 points for 4 code-components famillies.

1. The principle of functionment and organization of apps population into Android is based on the model of security-sandbox where : 
-Each app is runned by a linux user with a unique userID following principle of least privileges
-Each process runs on a Darrick VM
-Requests to user datas are granted on install 
-Any app can theoretically start another app components and instantiate their classes

2.App components types : there are only 4 types

ACTIVITY
SERVICE
PROVIDER
RECEIVER

Activities are screens : StartActivity(Intent)
Services : Startservice(intent), Bindservice (intent)
Providers of content: eg contacts with Content Resolvers
Brodcast receiver (eg low battery, download finished, call for activities) : Intent Objects : sendbroadcast (intent)

3. Manifest : android manifest.xml
defines permissions
api level
hw, sw, features needed : defines screen sizes, imput configuration (user-configuration) device features (user-features)
API librairies : eg. google maps API
declaration of Components :

 ACTIVITY 
 SERVICE 
 PROVIDER
 RECEIVER

4. Ressources
example : logo.png in Res/drawable having a RESSOURCEID in compiled code.

30 emerging technologies in IT for 2014-2015 and the future

Emerging Technologies in Electronics

-Electronic nose
-E-textiles
-Flexible electronics
-Memristor
-Spintronics
-Thermal copper pillar bump


Emerging Technologies in Information and Communication Technologies

-4G
-Ambient intelligence
-Artificial brain
-Artificial intelligence
-Atomtronics
-Augmented Reality
-Bitcoin
-Cybermethodology
-Emerging memory technologies T-RAM, Z-RAM, TTRAM, CBRAM,SONOS, RRAM,Racetrack memory,NRAM, Millipede memory
-Fourth-generation optical discs (3D optical data storage,Holographic data storage)
-GPU
-Machine translation
-Machine vision
-Mobile collaboration
-Optical computing
-Quantum computing
-Quantum cryptography
-Radio-frequency identification
-Semantic Web
-Software-defined radio
-Speech recognition
-Three-dimensional integrated circuit
-Virtual Reality
-3D printing and Bio-printing
-Claytronics

3 BYOD solutions for MDM Mobile Device Management and MAM Mobile Application Management

BYOD devices such as mobile phones, tablets, smartware can be identified in a network and monitored, and being remotely configured by group policy. Such applications are called MDM (Mobile Device Management). 

Some products available are notably : 

• meraki from cisco (which supports all OSes)
• air-watch from vmware
• spiceworks (open source free MDM Mobile Device Management)

Over-the-air programming (OTA) capabilities are considered a main component of mobile network operator and enterprise-grade Mobile Device Management software.

MAM (Mobile Application Management) focuses on internal software caracteristics such as installing remotely apps 

9 Smartglasses alternatives available to Google Glass release 2014

SmartGlasses are coming up ! In the emerging technology market of wearable computers, several new products releases in smartware and glassware are able to augment reality with a 3D vision and full interaction interface, that includes full computer devices, able to telephon, speak, measure a quantity of dimensions including acceleration, gyrometry, GPS, SMS, IR, sound, electromagnetic signal and can communicate with internet and clouds.

1. Google Glass (400$, available summer 2014, 5 Mo pixel camera, microUSB charger, 3.5audio jack, 16Go onboard storage)
2. SpaceGlasses from MetaPro  (3000 $, available june 2014,  include a 1.5GHz Intel i5 CPU, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD)
3. Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 (1000 dollar, already available)
4. Optinvent Ora-S AR (1000 $, march 2014)
5. Durovis 
6. Telepathy One
7. Glassup (300$, june 2014)
8. Reconjet (600$, May 2014)
9. Epiphany Eyewear  (300 $, 2014)

Example Spaceglasses

Example M100