Articles by Jack M. Germain

The age of digital adoption is well underway. This technology enables users to fully use digital tools to become entirely self-sufficient and competent. One of the most pressing needs for digital revitalization is enhancing customer relations But it takes more than just installing new software to gain the full benefits of the digital adoption proce...

Zorin OS is one of the more endearing Linux operating systems available for both Linux veterans and computer users transitioning from Windows. But despite some stellar improvements delivered in version 16, released Aug. 17, Zorin OS falls short of offering wider user appeal to those looking beyond Windows-like computing However, this latest upgrade...

New research suggests that retailers may not be fully prepared to handle the expected increase in online shopping and risk considerable shopper bounce to their competitors AI-powered personalization platform Qubit on Sept. 29 announced findings from its 2021 survey of 1,500 U.S. and U.K. consumers that amplifies the need for improvement in the reta...

Unless you are deeply rooted in the inner workings of internet search engine rankings, you may not know that organic search exists and differs from other search engine results. Take heart. You belong to a rather large club of unenlightened members of this technology With the right inquiries, though, you can remain oblivious to technical SEO and sti...

Canonical on Sept. 21 announced the lifecycle extension of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) and 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) to help organizations implement their transition to new applications and technologies This lifecycle extension enables organizations to balance their infrastructure upgrade costs. The support extensions give them additional time to...

Gitpod on Tuesday announced the creation of a new open-source project licensed under MIT around Gitpod's OpenVSCode Server implementation of upstream, stock VS Code Founded in 2020, Gitpod is an open-source platform for automating the provisioning of ready-to-code developer environments. It is designed for applications running in the cloud....

Positive Technologies on Wednesday released a report that indicates ransomware attacks have reached "stratospheric levels." Researchers into the Q2 2021 cybersecurity threatscape also point out the evolution in attack strategies and a rise in malware created to target Unix-based systems. Many different versions of Unix exist, and they share similar...

If you have the Linux skills to bolster a solid IT foundation, you will be in high demand for a job working in the open source software industry Hiring is rebounding in the wake of the pandemic, as organizations look to continue their digital transformation activities. This is evidenced by 50 percent of employers The Linux Foundation surveyed who s...

Intuit on Monday announced an agreement to acquire Mailchimp, a global customer engagement and marketing platform for small and mid-market businesses, for $12 billion in cash and stock advances. The purchase could be the linchpin that thrusts the mostly financial software company into solving more fertile mid-market business challenges for its customers...

Consumers are flexing their shopping muscles by pressuring digital merchants to take more seriously how they respond to customer experience satisfaction complaints One of the biggest weapons consumers now wield is at their fingertips. They are expressing their displeasure with abandoned shopping carts and shopping where they find better alternative...

Adobe on Aug. 19 announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire cloud-based video collaboration platform Frame.io. The acquisition joins Adobe Creative Cloud's video capabilities with Frame.io's cloud-first workflow functionality to create an end-to-end video collaboration platform With over a million users across media and enterta...

Backed by many of the world's largest companies for more than a decade, the Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX) specification is now an internationally recognized ISO/IEC JTC 1 standard The Linux Foundation announced Thursday that the SPDX specification has been published as ISO/IEC 5962:2021. It is now the open standard for security, license com...

Are you looking for a way to reinvent the traditional vendor marketplace? Consider adding composable commerce to your toolbox. This marketing approach enables businesses to offer their brands a distinct method of continuously optimizing their customers' experiences Composable commerce leverages multiple best-of-breed vendors combined into a complet...

The "Linux Threat Report 2021 1H" from Trend Micro found that Linux cloud operating systems are heavily targeted for cyberattacks, with nearly 13 million detections in the first half of this year. As organizations expand their footprint in the cloud, correspondingly, they are exposed to the pervasive threats that exist in the Linux landscape This l...

Call Centers are often consumers' first encounter with a business. That experience can make or break a customer's decision to continue interacting with the company Because call centers shoulder the burden of a customer's first look into a company, it is imperative the business invest in keeping its call center employees on board for the long run to...

When I reviewed POP!_OS 20.04 in May 2020, I saw its potential to be one of the best starting points for any new Linux user The latest release, POP!_OS Linux 21.04 issued June 29, clearly shows that the in-house tweaking of the GNOME desktop to the COSMIC GNOME-based desktop is even more inviting....

Bot detection and mitigation firm Netacea on August 11 announced its research reveals that businesses are paying a high price because of the expanding use of malicious bot traffic deployed against them Automated bots operated by malicious actors are costing businesses an average of 3.6 percent of their annual revenue. For the 25 percent worst affec...

Microsoft's new Cloud PC with Windows 10/11 service potentially offers a way for some Linux users to sidestep what could be the last barrier for businesses to adopt the Linux desktop without leaving behind must-have Windows applications But if you lack a company's backing, for the time being, you can expect Microsoft's new platform to consider you ...

Imagine reading a headline in tomorrow's news stating that your neighbor's identity was stolen and their life savings cleaned out by criminals who entered through their 'smart' washing machine Ridiculous, you say? Well, have you checked your own home Wi-Fi network lately?...

A much-awaited shopping splurge by pandemic-weary consumers is greeting online retailers with an unanticipated worsening of a recurring back-end problem. Fractured supply chains are causing worsening product delivery delays. That, in turn, is wreaking havoc with e-tailers' bookkeeping software As post-pandemic restrictions ease, consumers have been...