Microsoft wants to push .NET everywhere with Core 2.0: Under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has made a consistent push toward embracing open source software and cross-platform support. That continues in a big way with the release of .NET Core 2.0, the latest edition of its open-source software development framework.
As a companion, Microsoft has also unveiled .NET Standard 2.0. This is a specification that defines which APIs (application programming interfaces) a .NET implementation is required to have. It's hugely important to developer productivity, since over the years .NET's codebase has been forked off a few times for various purposes, such as to better target mobile devices. Before .NET Standard, developers would have to familiarize themselves with multiple class libraries.
Meanwhile, .NET Core 2.0 "treats Linux as a single operating system," Microsoft said in a blog post. "There is now a single Linux build (per chip architecture) that works on all Linux distros that we’ve tested. Our support so far is specific to glibc-based distros and more specifically Debian- and Red Hat-based Linux distros. There are other Linux distros that we would like to support, like those that use musl C Standard library, such as Alpine. Alpine will be supported in a later release."
Microsoft has also added improved support for Docker containers, a move that makes sense given how much general industry momentum Docker has.
POV: .NET dates back nearly 20 years, when it was tightly coupled to the Windows ecosystem, and its evolution away from that mindset—whether forced by simple pragmatism or not—has been something to see. One thing Microsoft has always excelled at is developer evangelism, and like every major platform vendor, it wants to retain and grow developer mindshare as the next wave of enterprise applications—leveraging containers, microservices and cross-platform capabilities—are being built.
That's the goal of .NET Core 2.0, but Microsoft will also have to pay heed to the needs of IT shops still invested heavily in server-side apps built with the closed-source .NET Framework.
AWS rolls out new data management and security services: While Amazon Web Services rolls out a slew of new features each quarter, it used the occasion of this week's AWS Summit in New York to make several particularly significant ones.
Amazon Macie is a security service "that uses machine learning to help customers prevent data loss by automatically discovering, classifying, and protecting sensitive data in AWS," the company said. It can spot sensitive data such as PII (personally identifiable information) and sound off alerts to customers if it detects something may be awry.
Macie is based on technology AWS acquired earlier this year through the purchase of startup Harvest.ai. It will join AWS security features such as Amazon Inspector, and gives AWS an answer to the likes of Microsoft Azure's Threat Detection service.
Named initial Macie customers include Netflix, Edmunds.com and Autodesk. AWS plans integrations with third-party monitoring services such as Splunk
Meanwhile, AWS also announced the general availability of Glue, a serverless ETL (extract, transform and load) service. Serverless computing means that customers only pay when the service is actually running; there is no need to set up and maintain infrastructure. Initial customers include News Corp. and 21st Century Fox.
Glue was first announced at last year's re:Invent conference. It has native support for a number of AWS data stores, including Amazon Aurora, Amazon RDS MySQL, Amazon RDS PostreSQL, Amazon Redshift and Amazon S3, along with MySQL and PostgreSQL databases running in a virtual private cloud on EC2.
While AWS has other ETL-related tools, such as Elastic MapReduce and Data Pipeline, Glue is focused on rapid preparation of AWS-stored data based on a Spark environment; it's not appropriate for every use case, as AWS explains in a FAQ.
POV: The race between AWS, Microsoft, Google, IBM and Oracle for cloud workloads is running at an ever-faster clip, with features just as important as lower prices. To that end, Microsoft this week announced the acquisition of startup Cycle Computing, which will add more support for HPC (high-performance computing) jobs on Azure.
UPS using VR headsets for driver safety training: The days when driverless delivery trucks will be a common sight are some ways off, and in the meantime major carrier UPS is using virtual reality headsets to help train human drivers at its Integrad facilities. Here's how the company describes its plans:
IT experts at UPS created the VR training modules that users see and hear inside VR headsets like the HTC Vive. Students using the modules must verbally identify potential road hazards such as pedestrians, parked cars and oncoming traffic. The 360-degree view inside the headset is realistic down to the finest details.
“Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training,” said Juan Perez, UPS chief information and engineering officer. “VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.”
UPS will replace touchscreen devices currently being used with the VR headsets. The new VR training is only for drivers of UPS's ubiquitous brown package delivery vehicles, but may be expanded to tractor trailer training later. Real-world driving is still a part of Integrad training centers, which include replica city streets and sidewalks.
POV: This is one enterprise-centric VR case study to watch very closely. UPS has long been a heavy investor in driver safety and training, spending nearly $200 million on it last year alone, as the Boston Globe notes. Its efforts have led to a 32 percent drop in accidents since 2008. It will be interesting to see how well it weaves VR into existing training programs, and how much impact the technology will have on its safety results.
Facebook eyes real estate ads for growth: The social network's Dynamic Ads offering is now targeting real estate, which has become a white-hot market in the U.S. over recent months. The move comes following Dynamic Ads' initial forays into travel, retail and mobile application installations, as AdWeek notes.
POV: This is a natural next step for Facebook, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Cindy Zhou. "Most realtors post about and discuss their listings, or ask for referrals on their Facebook page," she says. "Providing an opportunity for buyers to find listings driven by their preferences on both Facebook and Instagram has tremendous potential."
Facebook's treasure trove of data also provides broader signals regarding buyer intent, Zhou adds. "People could be posting about a relocation to a particular city, or asking for ideas for vacation property areas," she says. "These are earlier signals in comparison to a person actively searching for properties on Zillow."