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Samsung has announced that its joining up with SK Telecom to develop the world’s first 5G 8K television, in a move that could revolutionize streaming as we know it. 

According to What Hi-Fi?, the 8K TV will be able to “stream images with four times as many pixels as 4K over a super-fast 5G network, thanks to the higher bandwidth capabilities it brings”. 

The two companies have agreed to both “develop and commercialize” the TV, according to a press release from SK Telecom, which means we can expect the pioneering technology to come to consumers at some point in the future, rather than remaining just as a cool concept. 

The race to 5G 8K television

The new 8K TV, with the high bandwidth afforded by 5G connectivity means that streaming your favorite shows from platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video could be faster than ever, with lower latency, and of course, four times the pixels than 4K TVs.

However, it looks as though the TV will only be available in South Korea to start with, as the press release specifically mentions that users will be able to watch 8K shows and films from POOQ and oksusu, which are both South Korean content providers.

If you’ve already bought the Samsung Q900R 8K TV, don’t worry – Samsung says that existing models can be equipped with 5G dongles.

The news of Samsung’s upcoming TV will likely be a blow to Huawei, which is reportedly working on its own 5G 8K TV. Sharp is also working on its own 8K+5G initiative – both companies will need to hurry up if they want to beat Samsung to the punch, though.

Via What Hi-fi?

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Apple’s annual fall iPhone event is mere hours away, but the rumors are still coming in. First, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is predicting that Apple will be dropping the number from the higher-end iPhones, leaving the naming as: iPhone 11, iPhone Pro and iPhone Pro Max. Previous rumors suggested “11” would be included in all three names.

However, the new devices might not be as “pro” as we think. As Macrumors reports, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has some predictions of his own, and is debunking two rumored features we were counting on. Most notably, he says the new devices will not support the Apple Pencil, so you won’t be able to take notes or draw on the screen.

Also seemingly axed from the release is reverse wireless charging, which would allow you to use the back to charge another device, such as another iPhone or an AirPods case. Samsung already offers this feature on the Galaxy S10 and Note 10, but according to Kuo, “the charging efficiency may not meet Apple’s requirements.” Apple canceled AirPower earlier this year for similar reasons.

But while they won’t be able to share their battery, the new phones might be able to charge faster out of the box. According to Kuo, the iPhone Pro models will ship with an 18W USB-C-to-Lightning power adapter to support fast charging without needing to buy extra equipment. However, the cheaper 6.1-inch iPhone will continue to ship with the same 5W adapter, Kuo says.

Kuo also claims that all three iPhones will offer ultra-wideband (UWB) support for better indoor navigation. That will be helpful for mapping purposes and will presumably play a big role in Apple’s rumored Bluetooth trackers that will likely debut at the event. With UWB, Apple could use augmented reality to track lost items that are out of Bluetooth range.

Finally, Gurman says that Apple will announce its long-rumored 10.2-inch iPad today. He describes it as entry-level, so it will presumably replace the existing sixth-generation 9.7-inch model and retain a similar form factor with Touch ID. The current model starts at $329 and hasn’t been updated since March 2018.

Be sure to tune into the event at 11a.m. PT/1p.m. ET,  and check out Macworld after the event for full coverage of everything that’s announced.

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BT is to help its business customers combat the threat of drone intrusions with the launch of a ‘Counter Drone Solution’.

Drones are used for many legitimate purposes, but decreasing prices and wider availability of the technology has resulted in a sharp increase in misuse.

The number of drone-related incidents has risen by 29 per cent in the past year, while Gatwick Airport was forced to shut down after reports of a rogue drone on-site. Drones can pose a security threat and can invade the privacy and confidentiality of business operations.

Drone protections 

BT says it can give organisations the ability to detect, track and identify drones which breach airspace and exterior perimeters, allowing them to take legal countermeasures. These might be a signal blocker or a portable disruptor.

The Counter Drone Solution can detect drones up to 5km away and provides early warnings so security teams can respond. The platform gathers information in real-time, allowing customers to build up their knowledge of unauthorised drone activity and develop best practices.

BT will assume responsibility for the planning, design, installation and ongoing support, and has partnered with DroneShield to deliver the service. DroneShield’s products have been used at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and by the British and American military.

“Unwanted drone activity can have a dramatic effect on an organisation’s ability to function effectively and poses a real risk to safety,” said Simin Wingrove, director of strategy and incubation at BT. “We believe that this partnership between BT and DroneShield will provide our customers with a best-in-class, integrated and secure drone detection solution.

“With BT’s world leading expertise in communications and networked IT services and DroneShield’s expertise in the counter-drone space, we are able to provide organisations with the security they need to detect and respond to unwanted drones before they become an issue.”

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The change to 100G is happening at a rapid pace, and soon it will be the go-to speed for networks. It is, of course, no secret that speed makes a noticeable difference to your network. As a result, 100G is soon going to be a necessity for many organisations going forward.

Before you jump headfirst into changing your business’s networking capabilities though, there are some things your need to consider, because increasing network speed is more than just pushing more bits across a wire. Below are outlined some top tips to make sure the switch is as effortless as possible. 

Decide what you really need

First things first – you need to decide what speed you really need for your future network. A single 100G connection can be broken out into four channels or lanes of 25G each. This is why 100G networking is sometimes called 25G/100G. Normally this will mean that you run 100G connections between your switches, and 25G to your servers. 

If you’re thinking of jumping from 10G to 40G to the server, 25G is probably the better choice. A single 100G port can be broken up into 2x50G links, giving you the option to connect two servers at 50G each. This way, you can connect the same number of servers, get more bandwidth, and use fewer ports. It’s a win-win! This is compared to running 40G to two servers instead. You’d have to consume two switch ports instead of one, and you’d still be getting less bandwidth. 

What you should also be aware of is being able to precisely clock synchronize between systems, which is especially important when moving from 10G to either 40G or 100G. When getting switches from different vendors (which is touched upon in more detail below) having any clocking issues can increase latency and packet loss.

The bottom line: use 25G/100G where you need more bandwidth and more flexibility in the rack. Stick with 10G/40G where you have the capacity to run additional connections without having to buy more switches.

Know your reach

The distances at which you can get 100G don’t differ too much from 10G/40G. But there’s more to keep in mind than just distance. If you need long reach optics, some switches limit you to specific ports. Also, some switches will limit how many 100G ports you can break out into 4x25G or 2x50G connections. These limitations can affect how much density you can realistically achieve. 

The reach of the optics is a big consideration to make, because essentially it could lead to re-wiring of your network depending on what you already have in place. Of course, that would be expensive, and disruptive to your business. Because 100G is a whole new ballgame, you will have a new generation of optics and cables that you will have to deal with. 

Making sure you understand what you need to change, or what you already have in place can make a big difference to not only the time it takes to set up the new network, but also how far you will have to dig in your pockets to get the infrastructure right.

Making sure your switches are compatible

To support your 10G/40G connections, your new leaf switches will need to support your existing QSFP+ (quad (4-channel) small form-factor pluggable) and SFP+  ( small form-factor pluggable transceiver) modules. 

When shopping for new leaf switches  –   which are used in data centers to aggregate traffic from server nodes – look for switches that accept the QSFP28 form factor, which is physically capable of taking existing QSFP+ modules. If you have SFP+ modules you want to use, make sure that your new switches also accept the SFP28 form factor.

You need to make sure your switches have plenty of QSFP28 and SFP48 and can do 10G/40G before you make the change.

The problem with early models

There is a potential bump in the road, and what you need to know is that many 100G switches came out before the current 25G/100G standards were ratified in 2016. Because of this, the switches don’t always work together, and the point above on same vendor switches comes in to play here. This means that for any hardware refresh down the road, you may find that the early models aren’t compatible with newer switches. 

The best advice here is to stay away from switches that were released before the current 25G/100G standards were adopted to save yourself any potential headaches later on. 

Ultimately when you are thinking of changing to 100G make sure you know what you really need before overhauling your whole system. As with any networking changes, there are some pre-checks you need to do: do you have the capability, and what reach to do you have (and what do you need); and finally make sure your switches are compatible with any changes. Following these steps will help you effortlessly switch across to 100G and get your network up to speed – both figuratively and literally.

Pete Lumbis is a Technical Marketing Engineer at Cumulus Networks.

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BT is to help its business customers combat the threat of drone intrusions with the launch of a ‘Counter Drone Solution’.

Drones are used for many legitimate purposes, but decreasing prices and wider availability of the technology has resulted in a sharp increase in misuse.

The number of drone-related incidents has risen by 29 per cent in the past year, while Gatwick Airport was forced to shut down after reports of a rogue drone on-site. Drones can pose a security threat and can invade the privacy and confidentiality of business operations.

Drone protections 

BT says it can give organisations the ability to detect, track and identify drones which breach airspace and exterior perimeters, allowing them to take legal countermeasures. These might be a signal blocker or a portable disruptor.

The Counter Drone Solution can detect drones up to 5km away and provides early warnings so security teams can respond. The platform gathers information in real-time, allowing customers to build up their knowledge of unauthorised drone activity and develop best practices.

BT will assume responsibility for the planning, design, installation and ongoing support, and has partnered with DroneShield to deliver the service. DroneShield’s products have been used at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and by the British and American military.

“Unwanted drone activity can have a dramatic effect on an organisation’s ability to function effectively and poses a real risk to safety,” said Simin Wingrove, director of strategy and incubation at BT. “We believe that this partnership between BT and DroneShield will provide our customers with a best-in-class, integrated and secure drone detection solution.

“With BT’s world leading expertise in communications and networked IT services and DroneShield’s expertise in the counter-drone space, we are able to provide organisations with the security they need to detect and respond to unwanted drones before they become an issue.”

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Google has confirmed that a vulnerability could have left 1.5 billion Google Calendar and Gmail users exposed to a dangerous form of phishing attack.

As Forbes reports, the problem was a result of the close linking between the two services, which allows calendar invitations to be sent by email – even by people you don’t know, and have never spoken to before – and added to your calendar automatically.

If the vulnerability was exploited, it would be possible for a criminal to send a convincing fake calendar invitation to a victim, which they would be likely to click without thinking twice.

These scam invitations could include a malicious link that could not only be used to steal login credentials (like a standard phishing attack), but also to provide other sensitive information, such as how to gain access to a building where the ‘meeting’ is due to take place.

Don’t get caught out

The vulnerability was first exposed in 2017 by security researchers Beau Bullock and Michael Felch of Black Hills Information Security.

This week, Google employee Lesley Pace published a post acknowledging the problem. “We’re aware of the spam occurring in Calendar and are working diligently to resolve this issue,” said Pace. “We’ll post updates to this thread as they become available.”

In the meantime, if you’re concerned Black Hills Information Security has published an extensive guide that you can follow to secure your Gmail and Google Calendar apps from potential attack. As always, though, the most important thing is to always treat unsolicited emails with caution, and not click any links to events that you aren’t expecting.

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