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The Los Angeles Times says an unusual cyberattack that disrupted its printing operations and those at newspapers in San Diego and Florida over the weekend came from outside the United States, but it stopped short of accusing a specific foreign government. Computer malware attacks on infrastructure, while relatively rare, are hardly new: Russia has been credibly accused of shutting down power grids in Ukraine and a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia, Iran crippled a casino in Las Vegas, and the United States and Israel attacked a nuclear enrichment plant in Iran. But this would be the first known attack on major newspaper printing operations, and if politically motivated, it would define new territory in recent attacks on the media. The malware was focused on the networks used by Tribune Publishing, which until recently owned The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune. The two papers still share their former parent company’s printing networks. The Los Angeles...

How many crazy gizmos are needed to achieve your optimum sleep environment? On winter nights, the white-noise app on my phone is tuned to Air Conditioner: a raspy, metallic whir that sounds like the mechanical noise that might echo deep inside the ductwork of a huge commercial building. (Among the app’s other offerings are Dishwasher Rinsing, Crowded Room and Vacuum Cleaner.) It lulls me to sleep nonetheless, because it blankets the din in my apartment (the ragged snore of a roommate; the clanking of the steam radiator; the cat’s skidding pursuit of something only he can see). It may also soothe because it replicates an early sound environment, probably that of a Manhattan childhood, though perhaps it suggests something much, much older. Some sleep experts note that babies, their ears accustomed to the whisper of the maternal circulatory system and the slosh of the womb, sleep better accompanied by a device that mimics those familiar whooshings. My app is but one note in...

From Facebook to creepy online ads, the worst tech of the year made the internet feel like an unsafe place to hang out. Yet there were some products that were fixed, our personal tech critic writes. Personal technology was so awful this year that nobody would think you were paranoid if you dug a hole and buried your computer, phone and smart speaker under six feet of earth. Facebook made headlines week after week for failing to protect our privacy and for spreading misinformation. Juul, the e-cigarette company under investigation for marketing products to teenagers, emerged as the Joe Camel of the digital era. And don’t get me started on just how intrusive online advertising has become. On the other hand, there was good technology this year that improved how we live, like parental controls to curb smartphone addiction and a web browser with built-in privacy protections. For the last two years, I’ve reviewed the tech that needed the most fixing and the tech that was fixed...

Customers are crucial to a successful business. They can be one-off customers or repeat buyers. Ideally, a business wants a mix of both. Problems arise when marketing tactics fail to attract either type, which is why customer engagement is so critical in today's hypercompetitive e-commerce environment. It should be no surprise that customers prefer companies that treat them as valued individuals. It is also no secret that engaged customers talk, shop and spend more. So, how do e-commerce brands stand out and tell customers that they (and not just their wallets) matter? The answers: With personalized user experiences (UX) that capture attention and make shopping convenient. With a seamless flow of content, data and functionality across channels. With quality service that customers respond to with sales. With the integration of new technology that deepens relationships, boosts retention rates and increases revenues. Consider the real-life, in-store experiences that influence customer...

Virtual reality devices, including headsets and peripherals, offer consumers and businesses new ways to experience and share immersive content for entertainment, educational, social and other purposes. VR's unique capability to promote user interaction through highly immersive content provides untapped potential in terms of storytelling, advertising, the practice of medicine, business, travel and much more. Virtual reality headsets are now available at increasingly attainable prices, and many consumers have computing hardware capable of supporting the demands of VR software. Compared with other consumer technology products, VR headset adoption, purchase, and purchase intention rates remain extremely low. Slow Start Only 7 percent of U.S. broadband households surveyed owned at least one virtual reality headset as of Q3 2017. Three percent reported having purchased a headset in the year prior, and 14 percent reported their intent to purchase one in the coming year. Those rates reflec...

The  2018 Open Source Technology Jobs Report  shows rapid growth in the demand for open source technical talent, with Linux skills a must-have requirement for entry-level positions. The seventh annual report from The Linux Foundation and  Dice , released Wednesday, identifies Linux coding as the most sought-after open source skill. Linux-based container technology is a close second. The report provides an overview of open source career trends, factors motivating professionals in the industry, and ways employers attract and retain qualified talent. As with the last two open source jobs reports, the focus this year is on all aspects of open source software and is not limited to Linux. This year's report features data from more than 750 hiring managers at corporations, small and medium businesses, and government organizations and staffing agencies across the globe. It is based on responses from more than 6,500 open source professionals worldwide. Linux skills rank as the mos...

In my career as an IT resume writer, I've seen a lot of IT resumes cross my desk, and I'd like to share some common of the most common formatting problems that I see regularly. Of course, an IT resume requires more than great formatting. It requires well-written, targeted content, and a clear story of career progression. It needs to communicate your unique brand and value proposition. Still, if the formatting is off, that can derail the rest of the document and prevent your story being read by the hiring authority. I'll start with a few IT resume formatting "don'ts." 1. Don't Use Headers This is an easy fix. Headers and footers made a lot of sense when an IT resume was likely to be read as a printed sheet of paper. In 2018, how likely is it that a busy hiring authority is going to take the time or the effort to print out the hundreds of resumes that are submitted for every position? Not terribly. Your IT resume is going to be read online. That's why us...

December has become consistent with the Chinese curse, "May You Be Born In Interesting Times." We are up to our armpits in wars, and each is very different. Qualcomm and Intel are fighting for 5G control, and Intel is tearing itself apart. Microsoft passed Apple in valuation, largely because it has not been focusing on Apple. Canadian authorities just arrested the daughter of the Huawei founder, at the request of the United States, cratering the stock market again, and setting up a chain of events that could ensure that President Trump might lose not only the next election, but everything. I'll share my thoughts about those things and close with my product of the week: the Always Connected Lenovo Yoga C630, the laptop that showcases our coming always-connected 5G future. Qualcomm vs. Intel One unpleasant aspect of my job is that I get really sick of watching companies repeat mistakes. I think I should publish a book of mistakes and number them, and then I could save mysel...