November/December 2015
Apps: ResolutionsIFTTH
Interapp automations are easy to accomplish with IFTTH (If This, Then That). Templated “recipes” that run in the background let you create powerful connections with one simple statement—if this, then that. Automate the process of having photos from your New Year’s Eve party uploaded to Facebook, for example. Free (Android, iOS).
ifttt.com
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SafeSlinger
Face-to-face (or over-the-phone) meetings give you the opportunity to exchange keys with others, so e-mails, texts, and other communications can be trusted as to the source. This all happens transparently, as the app “slings” your key to one or more contacts, and vice versa, enabling trusted introductions to others, for example. Free (Android, iOS).
cylab.cmu.edu/safeslinger
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Pushbullet
Push files and links between your devices or to your colleagues. Send and receive SMS messages and mirror mobile phone notifications on your laptop. Free (Android, iOS).
pushbullet.com/apps
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Translator
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Extend the Wi-Fi range in your home or office without cluttering-up the place, with the Sengled Boost, an LED bulb with built-in Wi-Fi repeater. More bulbs means more places to enjoy your content without worrying about slower speeds. US$49.99.
sengled.com
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1. To varying degrees, big data relies on HDFS, otherwise known as _________.
a. Hierarchical database filing structures
b. Haptic data filtering sequences
c. Hadoop Distributed File System
d. Hive data file system
2. To what does the acronym DRY refer?
a. Deeply recursive YAML
b. The “don’t repeat yourself” software principle and design pattern
c. A writing style noted for its lackluster quality
d. Something that is not wet
3. Which of the following is a technique for protecting against buffer overflow attacks?
a. Address space layout randomization
b. Parameter passing
c. Register spillage protection
d. The “return to sender” design pattern
Answers
1. (c) HDFS stands for the Hadoop Distributed File System, the storage mechanism that underlies the processing functions of MapReduce. 2. (b) Favored by Rails gurus, DRY refers to the “don’t repeat yourself” software development pattern, which mandates having a single unambiguous, authoritative representation within a system. The goal is to avoid making sweeping changes throughout a distributed system whenever any one element changes. 3. (a) Address space layout randomization, or ASLR, is a security technique that randomly rearranges address spaces in memory, including positions of the stack, heap, libraries, and the base of the executable, so that attackers cannot exploit the function in memory (protects against buffer overflow attacks).Photography byClem Onojeghuo,Unsplash