The IT industry's transition to mobile computing, cloud services, social networking, and big data technologies--collectively referred to as the third platform--will accelerate in 2013, according to IDC Predictions 2013: Competing on the 3rd Platform, a recent report from International Data Corporation.
Google's Android operating system is cruising toward total dominance of the smart phone market globally. According to new research, Android will power 68.3 percent of all smart phones shipped in 2012--up nearly 20 points from 2011--while Apple's iOS remains at a healthy but unmoving 18.8 percent market share. On the horizon, both Android and iOS will be challenged by Microsoft Windows-based handsets.
More smart connected devices--desktops, laptops, tablets, and smart phones--shipped in the latest quarter than in any other quarter in history, topping 303.6 million units, growing 27.1 percent from the same period last year, according to a new analysis and forecast released by market research firm IDC. The strongest gains were seen by the three leading manufacturers: Samsung, Apple, and Lenovo.
Driven by stronger-than-expected Android tablet sales and new developments from Apple, adoption of tablets worldwide is growing faster than previously predicted.
The Open Academic Analytics Initiative, an NGLC grant recipient, is seeking to engender an ecosystem for learning analytics based on open source technologies. Its research includes scaling factors for learner analytics, the portability of predictive models among different types of academic institutions, and intervention strategies that leverage Open Educational Resources. Marist College, the lead institution on the grant, has partnered with two community colleges and two HBCUs to accomplish OAAI goals.
The University of Notre Dame's Wireless Institute will partner with Agilent Technologies to research and develop multiple-input, multiple-output wireless technologies.
By 2015 more end users will access the Internet through a mobile device than a PC, according to a new report from the International Data Corporation.
What's driving big data initiatives? According to a new report out of the University of Oxford, key factors include risk and financial management and the need to understand and predict customer behaviors to find new ways to engage with them. However, despite these imperatives, few organizations are actually in the "execute" phase of their big data strategies, as most are still educating themselves, exploring options, or, at best, testing out ideas and technologies.
Educators at both the high school and postsecondary levels are writing the same types of comments on student papers, according to a new study, which also suggested that feedback intended to help students improve their writing skills may not be having the desired effect
Are the security risks in the cloud any greater than those in an on-premises environment? One report analyzing 12 months of operational data found that the risks are about equal.