The survey is billed as the industry’s only market tracker that analyzes the attitudinal behavior of shoppers, retail associates and retail executives and examines the retail and technology trends impacting shoppers’ purchasing behavior, both in-store and online.

Consumer and associate confidence can be increased when precautions or safety measures are put into place.

Currently, there is a sizable trust gap between retail decision-makers, shoppers and associates when it comes to health and safety.

While approximately 90% of decision-makers think shoppers and associates trust them to make health and safety a priority, only 65% of shoppers and 77% of associates agree.

The coronavirus pandemic would appear to be on the minds of shoppers and associates. Nearly two-thirds (67%) of shoppers are concerned with surface sanitation or social exposure in stores, and 59% of shoppers prefer stores with contactless payment options.

Seven-in-10 associates say social distancing/contact tracing apps would allow them to provide a better customer experience.

Mobile Ordering

Retail decision-makers and store associates have seen a dramatic increase in the need for convenience and efficiency as the pandemic has catapulted shoppers’ usage and affinity for mobile ordering and smart-checkout solutions.

Mobile ordering — from smartphones and tablets — has experienced tremendous growth and been instrumental in helping maintain social distancing and adherence to local guidelines.

Seventy-two percent of shoppers used mobile ordering and 82% of those shoppers are highly likely to continue using it. Millennials (88%) and Gen X (79%) shoppers were the primary users of mobile ordering but nearly half of Boomers (47%) used it too, and 74% of them are likely to continue using it in the future.

Smart-Checkout

Approximately half (47%) of surveyed shoppers have interacted with self-checkouts in the last six months and more than six-in-10 (63%) shoppers agree self-checkout solutions provide an improved customer experience.

While agreement is highest among Millennials at 73%, 66% of Gen X shoppers and 50% of Boomers have also realized an improved customer experience from self-checkout solutions in the last year.

Related: Honeywell Social Distancing and Mask Enforcement Solutions

Meanwhile, 86% of retail decision-makers and 71% of store associates agree self-checkouts improve the customer experience.

Almost 9-in-10 decision-makers and more than 7-in-10 associates believe self-checkouts freed employees up to do higher priority tasks and better serve customers while helping meet health and safety mandates and protocols.

The complete Zebra Global Shopper Study can be downloaded here.

This post premiered on our sister site, Security Sales & Integration.

The post Social Distancing Apps and Contactless Payment Options Increase Customer Engagment, Study Says appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Speaker test and tuning mobile apps make it easier for you to get the most out of the space with the least amount of work or gear — all you need is your smart device.

A word of warning: for the most accurate results, you need to be using a professional USB mic to take audio measurements with your mobile device.

Be prepared to tune a spectrum of different speakers, monitors, subwoofers and acoustical environments with your smart device.

Helpful hints for using speaker testing apps

When preparing to tune a speaker system, it is important to have the capacity to not only gauge a variety of frequencies, but keep track of readings and guarantee that your readings are accurate.

Mobile speaker tuners and testers can accomplish a handful of different readings and tasks. Some apps are focused on low end frequencies.

Subwoofer testers are great for reading frequencies from 0hz and 440hz. Other audio tools with RTA or FFT features can read SPL and help you tune your speakers according to reflection and sound dispersion.

Tuning a space means taking into account not only what is heard on stage, but how the audience hears the performance or application as well.

Having a mobile option for reading sound levels that is multi-functional and accurate is important to guaranteeing the most of the space.

When dealing with specifics, such as speech intelligibility, it is key to being prepared to deal with any application of sound with ease.

Click here to view slideshow of best speaker testing apps

Another essential feature that mobile speaker test and tuning apps offer is the ability to save, graph and export readings.

While this does not directly enhance or detract from the apps ability to read sound levels, being able to return to previous readings or send readings elsewhere is paramount for consistency within a specific space over a long period of time.

You want the space to sound good all the time, not just once, and having reference to previous levels lets you confidently say that your space sounds great.

This collection of apps showcases a group of speaker testing and tuning apps for your mobile device.

Each app is useful in specific situations — while every app might not be for you, there are guaranteed to be a few that you will find valuable according to your task. Finding the right audio app is completely up to your specific situation.

Additional resources for IT folks testing audio equipment:

• Tips for Buying Audio Technology
• RFP Template: Audio
• Webinar: How to Achieve the Right Audio Quality in Meeting Spaces
• These Are the Audio Visual Acronyms Tech Managers Should Commit to Memory

The post 5 of the Best Speaker Testing Apps appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Productivity has become a major concern for business owners in an age where the mobile, work-from-home workforce is larger than ever before.

How can business owners ensure their daily operations are where they should be?

Chad Halvorson and his team of designers at thisCLICKS, a St. Paul, Minn. based app development company, saw a need to solve this scheduling riddle. So, they created an app called WhenIWork.

The intent of WhenIWork was to help businesses work smarter. By using a blend of Web, mobile, text messaging and social media, Halvorson’s app has helped companies in a wide range of industries — restaurants, retail, health care, and medical device manufacturing — become more efficient, but his team won’t stop there.

Tech Decisions: You obviously understand the importance of mobile in the business world. How has mobile technology made you a more valuable part of your own company?

Chad Halvorson: Mobile is making everyone more valuable and flexible, not just me. Ubiquitous access to software and apps means anyone in any organization can be more productive, accessible and responsive. We’re no longer at the mercy of the telephone or 9 to 5 work day. In my book, this is a major stress reducer and allows me to manage my attention much more effectively, without interruption.

TD: You’re in the business of selling mobile to companies that might not have played in that realm before. Are you seeing push back from companies who might not understand the value of mobile?

CH: We see some. Our focus is on companies that are actively pursuing mobile or cloud-based strategy with employee scheduling. We’re not out to convince people that mobile is the future; we’re out to convince those that already believe in mobile that they should work with us.

Related: Should I Stay or Should I Go? A Cloud Migration Approach

TD: Obviously, mobile is woven into the fabric of your business. What’s the one thing that makes an app work well for someone who needs mobile access?

CH: I find the more ubiquitous an app, the more likely I’ll use it. If I can use an app on my desktop, laptop, tablet and phone, I’m much more likely to use it for daily use.

We’ve been conglomerating a list of business apps we think technology decision makers should consider — either for their own use, or to recommend to higher-level coworkers.

Click here to see our recommended list of business apps that will help with productivity & scheduling

The post 5 Business Apps That Help with Scheduling, Productivity, and More appeared first on My TechDecisions.

This collection of CCTV monitoring and security camera monitor apps features some that interface with different manufacturers cameras and those that are specific to a brand. Most of the options these days are brand-specific.

Both are included to help end users who are shopping for a new system; it might be helpful to see some that have a mobile interface.

The feature sets on these apps range greatly.

Some allow the user to control the pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) through “pinch to zoom,” take snapshots and send via MMS and email, play back video recordings, two-way audio, view live video from multiple cameras, store multiple DVR connections in an address book, instant notification of alarm events, and HTTPS support for secure connectivity are among just a few.

Additional resources for commercial CCTV & Security Camera purchasers:

• 5 Tips for Choosing Campus Security Cameras
• Tips for Buying Campus Safety Technology
• RFP Template for Video Surveillance

The post Highly Rated CCTV & IP Security Camera Monitoring Apps appeared first on My TechDecisions.

So Thompson interviewed a wide swath of software programmers — from Facebook & Google devs, to the people developing Javascript login pages at local banks — for his book, Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World.

Importance of open source

Throughout his work, though, Thompson says he realized how important open source is to the technical and emotional development of coders.

“It gives them an opportunity to learn and to do something in concert with the world. You can see the code others have written and you can tinker with it — all while collaborating and helping others out,” he says.

Working from home: it’s always been a thing among coders

The first person to have a computer in her home was likewise the first to work on software remotely. In the late 50s, Mary Allen Wilkes was hired by MIT with no prior experience and was placed on a team building “The Linc” — a refrigerator-sized data processor.

When that team moved to St. Louis, she refused to move from her home in Baltimore. So MIT sent a Linc to her house. Apparently, the working from home mindset has always been important to many coders.

’10x Coders’ ?

The idea of a ’10x’ coder means is basically that there’s a coder 10 times more capable than their colleagues.

Thompson’s research found a study — not a great one, he says — that revealed there is in fact a minority of software programmers who are far more efficient at debugging, writing code, etc.

Read Next: Open Hybrid Cloud Builds Today, Plans for Future

“A lot of coders like to think of themselves, so this really took off into a mythology that became something managers sought out,” he says. “It started to corrode into a license to tolerate terrible behavior from talented developers.”

He says that became a bane for the programmer culture.

The 1x Coder

The antithesis of a 10x coder: they may or may not be extremely proficient; but they’re all about collaboration.

“It’s a way to mockingly point out the problems of 10x coders for people who pride themselves on doing crucial engineering work,” Thompson says. “They often clean up the frantic weekend-coding project from 10x coders into something that will work for more people down the line.”

Who in your organization is the 1x-er? Beware: you probably don’t want to call them that!

The only commonality

Thompson admits that before he started work on this book, he fell victim to the common stereotype of coders being these anti-social types. While that preconceived notion was proven false many times, he was able to identify one thing that was true for everyone he interviewed.

“The one common thread that I found in all of these software programmers was that they are all really propelled by, passionate about, and even obsessed with efficiency and automation.

“It’s because software is really good at taking things that are boring and slow and automating them so humans don’t have to bother. Many of these developers have a moment early on where they’re able to save somebody time, and it’s this electric moment in their life.

“They can change the world, but they have trouble turning it off.”

The post A 1,000-Foot-View of Coding from Someone Who Studied Hundreds of Software Programmers appeared first on My TechDecisions.

The company says their solution is ideal for companies seeking to rapidly deploy new application scanning capabilities, while evaluating long-term deployments of commercial tools.

ZeroNorth Rapid Application Security features:

• Customers can quickly enact new vulnerability scanning capabilities, while scoping requirements and plans for commercial deployments
• Initiate software and infrastructure scans
• Incorporate scan results into a dashboard view for infrastructure and business application owners, as well as coordinating management and remediation processes

The ZeroNorth solution provides open source options for exploring emerging areas of vulnerability testing—such as container security and cloud management—or augmenting those technologies not yet covered by commercial tools, the company says.

Related: What Decision Makers Need to Know About Faulty Android Antivirus Apps

Specifically, the solution embeds open source products directly within the ZeroNorth platform, providing software composition analysis (SCA), static application security testing (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), container security and cloud management.

Use cases described by the company:

• New or Maturing AppSec Programs– Digital transformation means software is every business’s competitive differentiator; development teams must launch new and updated applications at increasingly faster pace. However, security struggles to keep up. The ZeroNorth solution enables CIOs and CTOs to establish and accelerate security initiatives by leveraging a comprehensive set of scanning capabilities, across both developmental and operational phases of software’s lifecycle.

• Supply Chain Security – Businesses of all sizes rely on third-party software, including SaaS platforms and OSS, to scale, compete and best serve customers. However, third-party software may introduce significant risk if vulnerabilities in those technologies have not been addressed. The ZeroNorth solution provides visibility into supply chain and vendor security, balancing the need to leverage third-party software and providing vulnerability detection to manage risk.
• Product Security – Companies selling software, including the increasing number where software is a key component of their products, have a responsibility to ensure that attackers cannot exploit their product or compromise their customers. The ZeroNorth solution provides product development and product security teams visibility necessary to proactively build security into – and actively manage risk in – deployed products.

To learn more about the ZeroNorth solution for Rapid Application Security or to request a demo, visit https://go.zeronorth.io/RapidAppSec.

The post ZeroNorth Launches Rapid Application Security Solution appeared first on My TechDecisions.

According to a Reuters report, Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, urged the Army to consider the potential risks of using the popular video app for recruiting American teens.

There is also a security concern behind this. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said recently the Army is assessing the app’s security. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Technology Co.

I could understand why security would be a concern, especially if there is a governmental branch representative in the form of a soldier using any app.

But, critically, the U.S. Army Cadet Command that issued this order also oversees the training corp, ROTC, and Junior ROTC programs.

… So, basically, the people who recruit young people for the military.

The report says that cadets will still be able to use the app for personal use. But they can’t use it while in uniform, for recruitment, or for performing official duties.

How to vet these uses? It’s all situational to me

Personally, I agree with the idea that we should not allow recruitment through the use of TikTok. Because TikTok videos are typically seen as humorous riffs on everyday life and situations, I’m worried that young, impressionable teens (and even younger users) will see material designed for recruitment purposes as a romanticized view of what it is like to join the military.

In other words: serving one’s country should be, in my opinion, a well-thought-out, purpose-driven decision, NOT the result of influencer marketing. 

Read Next: A Cyber Force Is More Important Than a Space Force, and We Need It Now

But if U.S. soldiers are intending to communicate their situation, their feelings, their humor, or whatever other appropriate message they wish by using the app casually, I don’t feel every situation involving them wearing their uniform should be banned.

The post Do You Care If Soldiers Use TikTok? What About if it is for Recruiting Purposes? appeared first on My TechDecisions.

However, the technology conglomerate still appears to bow to public pressure, even from foreign governments dealing with a public uprising.

The company removed a smartphone app from the App Store last week that allowed protesters in Hong Kong to track police, but only a day after Chinese state media criticized the company for providing the app.

The app, HKmap.live, lets users report things like police locations, when tear gas is used and other details about protests that are reported in real time on a map.

People’s Daily, China’s state-run media organization, said the app was allowing protesters to track police, resulting in violent clashes as Hong Kong residents fight a proposed law that would allow extradition to mainland China.

Read Next: Apple Releases New Policy Aimed at Preventing Online Web Tracking

“Business is business, and politics is politics,” the paper said, alleging that Apple was conjoining the two.

After China objected, Apple pulled the app from the Apple Store late Wednesday.

In a statement provided to New York Times, the Silicon Valley giant said it verified with Hong Kong law enforcement that the app was used to target and ambush police and victimize residents where they know there is no law enforcement.

According to a copy of a letter sent to employees, CEO Tim Cook defended the decision, citing “credible information” from Hong Kong officials, Reuters reported.

“This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law,” Cook said. “Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our App Store guidelines barring personal harm.”

What Cook didn’t include in his statement was the fact that Apple manufactures most of its products in China, which also happens to be its third largest market, bringing in about $44 billion in sales in the year ended June 30.

China taking aim at U.S. tech companies is a story as old as time. Dozens of other websites or U.S.-based social media platforms are banned in the country, including Google, Facebook, YouTube and Reddit.

The post Apple’s Hong Kong Flub Is Why Silicon Valley Should Avoid Politics appeared first on My TechDecisions.

“As hybrid and multicloud computing helps to transform enterprise IT, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 delivers enhanced consistency and control across cloud infrastructure for IT operations teams while also providing a suite of modern, supported container creation tools for enterprise application developers,” according to a company press release.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 lifecycle

Beyond new capabilities, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 also marks the transition of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Maintenance Phase I within the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10-year lifecycle.

Maintenance Phase I emphasizes maintaining infrastructure stability for production environments and enhancing the reliability of the operating system. Future minor releases of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 will now focus solely on retaining and improving this stability rather than net-new features.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscribers are able to migrate across platform versions as support and feature needs dictate. To help with the process, Red Hat offers tools, including in-place upgrades, which helps to streamline and simplify migrating from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. — Red Hat

New capabilities in Enterprise Linux 7.7

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 adds new features to help operations teams maintain control and consistency of their workloads across environments, including:

• Red Hat Insights, Red Hat’s expertise-as-a-service offering, which helps users proactively detect, analyze and remediate a variety of potential software security and configuration issues before they cause downtime or other problems.
• Full support for image builder, a Red Hat Enterprise Linux utility that enables IT teams to more readily and easily build cloud images for major public cloud infrastructures, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.
• Network performance improvements for Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat OpenStack Platform by offloading virtual switching and network functions virtualization (NFV) to network controller hardware.
• Powering a cloud-native developer experience
• Frequently, modern applications built to run across the hybrid cloud are developed using Linux containers. Building cloud-native apps requires cloud-native development tools, like a container daemon, but these tools can introduce unnecessary risk and complexity into development environments. Red Hat Enterprise
• Linux 7.7 now includes full support for Red Hat’s distributed container toolkit – buildah, podman and skopeo – on Red Hat Enterprise Linux workstation deployments with the Red Hat Universal Base Image, enabling developer teams to build, run and manage containerized applications across the hybrid cloud with a smaller, more manageable tool footprint.
• Live patching for improved OS security.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 is available now for current Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscribers via the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Read Next: Obstacles and Priorities for NetOps Teams (And How to Address Them)

The post Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 Drives Cloud-Native Flexibility & Boosts Security appeared first on My TechDecisions.

MediNav provides a turn-by-turn indoor navigation with popular features like Parking Planner, Find My Car, and Meet Me. MyChart gives users access to lab results, appointment information, current medications, immunization history, and more on their mobile device.

“We are always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the patient experience,” said Sriram Bharadwaj, senior director, applications, UCI Health Information Services. “Connexient’s wayfinding technology enables us to build upon our digital platform while creating a seamless integration with our EMR system.”

“We are thrilled to partner with UCI Health,” said Mark Green, Connexient CEO and co-founder.  “They will be one of Connexient’s first clients to connect MediNav with MyChart.  Sri Bharadwaj and his team are experts at utilizing digital technologies to improve operational efficiencies and patient experience.”

More on UCI Health from the joint release:

UCI Health comprises the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, California.

The 417-bed acute care hospital provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center.

Read Next: Sunshine Coast University Hospital’s Huge Design is Fully Automated with AMX by HARMAN

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