On-Prem

• Containers make life easier for the software vendors you buy from, and that's why they'll win

  Once you can only buy the apps you need as containers, it’s game over
  Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 12:00 UTC

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  Register Debate Welcome to the latest Register Debate in which writers discuss technology topics, and you – the reader – choose the winning argument. The format is simple: we propose a motion, the arguments for the motion will run this Monday and Wednesday, and the arguments against on Tuesday and Thursday.

  During the week you can cast your vote on which side you support using the embedded poll, choosing whether you're in favor or against the motion. The final score will be announced on Friday, revealing whether the for or against argument was most popular. It's up to our writers to convince you to vote for their side.

  This week's motion is: Containers will kill virtual machines

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• Pyjama bottoms crew, listen up: In 2022 we'll still be at home

  Huge shift in working patterns continues into next year, according to the all-seeing eye of... Gartner
  Lindsay Clark Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 11:30 UTC

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  The omniscient overlord of IT forecasting otherwise known as Gartner is predicting around a two-thirds increase in working from home compared with pre-pandemic levels.

  In a study, the analyst group said 47 per cent of knowledge workers would be working remotely come 2022, which is up from 27 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, 31 per cent of all workers will be plying their trade remotely next year, more than doubling from 14 per cent in 2019.

  In its 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey of 10,080 employees across nine countries, Gartner found preference of employees for a "hybrid workplace" meaning around 70 per cent of employees work at least some time remotely, preferring two to four days in different locations outside the main office - which is how Reg readers want to mix up their working week too.

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• Pub landlords on notice as 'Internet of Beer' firm not only pulls pints, but can also clean the lines

  El Reg hacks selflessly volunteer to taste-test before and after
  Gareth Halfacree Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 10:45 UTC

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  Pubbino, the San Francisco biz that believes there simply isn't enough tech involved in pulling pints, is talking up another entry in its "Internet of Beer" range: a line-cleaning system powered, it claims, by AI.

  Founded in 2015 by Can Algul and Necdet Alpmen, Pubbino combined the pair's primary passions: draft beer and technology. "We aim to provide industry stakeholders – from brewers and pub owners to bartenders and consumers – with the smartest solutions," claimed Algul, chief exec.

  The business claims to have inserted AI in some unusual places, and the latest design is aimed at putting its nascent Skynet-alike to work cleaning beer lines.

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• Amazing. Staff count up just 2% and Microsoft adds more than £1bn to its UK financials

  It managed to pay a bit more tax too, which is nice
  Richard Speed Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 10:01 UTC

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  Microsoft's UK tentacle, Microsoft Limited, has continued to generate impressive amounts of cash, according to the company's latest accounts.

  The figures for the year ended 30 June 2020 and filed at the UK's Companies House in recent days showed an impressive increase in turnover from £2.8bn in 2019 to £4.032bn in 2020.

  Gross profit also crested the £1bn mark (up from £876.8m in 2019), which translated to £212.9m profit before tax (up from £167.5m in 2019). The company also paid a bit more tax, sending £43.5m the way of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), compared to £34.6m the previous year.

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• Nominet is back to 'the same old sh*t' says Public Benefit campaign chief as EGM actions grind to halt

  Second public meeting threatened unless dot-UK registry plays ball
  Gareth Corfield Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 09:15 UTC

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  The founder of a campaign to return dot-UK registry Nominet to its public benefit roots has raised the threat of a second EGM if Nominet doesn't “heed the will of [its] members."

  Simon Blackler, founder of the Public Benefit (PB) campaign to overhaul Nominet, was scathing about what he saw as the registry's inaction in the wake of a extraordinary general meeting in March which saw five directors dumped from the 11-strong board. The move was described as "a clear rejection of their efforts to push the company in a more commercial direction."

  “We have been incredibly reasonable,” Blackler, who runs Krystal Hosting, told us. "We've been incredibly patient, we've given them the benefit of the doubt. And we have been saying, look, this isn't acceptable, you need to change. And they've been trying to do the same old shit.”

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• £1bn lawsuit by Google Shopping rival staggers back to feet in London High Court

  Judge rules in Chocolate Factory's favour during prelims of 2015-era case
  Gareth Corfield Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 08:30 UTC

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  Google has won a legal bid to keep its “crown jewel” search ranking algorithms secret in a long-running £1bn competition lawsuit against rival shopping search engine Kelkoo.

  Kelkoo unsuccessfully argued in the High Court of England and Wales that it wanted to expand the number of people entitled to read confidential documents in a case between itself and the Mountain View, US-headquartered adtech biz.

  Squashing the attempt, His Honour Judge Alan Johns QC said in a judgment yesterday: "I will accordingly make a confidentiality order in terms reflecting the agreed provisions and incorporating Google’s suggestion as to redactions but without adopting Kelkoo’s proposed modifications or detailed directions dealing with redactions."

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• Facebook granted patent for 'artificial reality' baseball cap. Repeat, an 'artificial reality' baseball cap

  Yeah, y'know, Google Glass wasn't nearly obnoxious enough
  Thomas Claburn in San Francisco Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 07:32 UTC

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  Facebook has been awarded a US patent titled "Artificial reality hat," which consists of a display screen that hangs from the brim of a cap, as if it were a havelock worn backward.

  And the social ad biz applied for this patent fully aware of the failure of Google Glass, augmented reality eyewear that Google announced rather spectacularly in 2012, only to abandon in 2015 after recognizing its costly, conspicuous specs served no unique useful function in the consumer market, looked foolish, and often alienated people thanks to the behavior of glassholes - a term the Chocolate factory hated but eventually adopted.

  As Facebook sees it – with the benefit of hindsight and making no mention of its $2bn Oculus VR headset acquisition or related investments – eyewear has obvious problems not found in headwear.

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• Oracle introduces frequent clouding points loyalty scheme

  For every buck you spend in the Big Red cloud, Larry gives you 25c to spend on support
  Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 06:57 UTC

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  Oracle has introduced frequent clouding points that can be redeemed for support services.

  The basic rules of the “Oracle Support Rewards” are simple: for every dollar you spend on Oracle Cloud, Big Red gives you a 25-cent credit on your support bill.

  Oracle customers that sign up for an Unlimited License Agreement (ULA) get 33 cents on the dollar.

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• Nutanix is finally happy to mention its name and ‘profit’ in the same sentence

  Give it a year or two, but it will happen, says CEO, as COVID-crushed industries start spending again
  Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 04:58 UTC

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  Nutanix has told investors it has a “clear path to profitability” and predicted it could post black ink in just two years.

  The hyperconverged upstart made that prediction at an investor day on Tuesday at which CEO Rajiv Ramaswami offered investors the slide below.

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• Indian mega-corp Tata unveils surprise 5G networking business

  Local carrier Airtel will adopt it — next comes world domination
  Simon Sharwood, APAC Editor Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 03:15 UTC

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  Indian mega-conglomerate the Tata Group has revealed it’s created a 5G networking kit business.

  The company on Monday announced it has built an “O-RAN-based Radio & NSA/SA Core and has integrated a totally indigenous telecom stack”.

  Indian mobile carrier Airtel, which boasts over 340 million subscribers, will make Tata’s offering a part of its 5G rollout, starting with a pilot in early 2022.

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• Algorithm used to predict sepsis infections in hundreds of US hospitals isn’t as good as maker claims — study

  Developer hits back at researchers’ ‘hypothetical approach’
  Katyanna Quach Wed 23 Jun 2021 // 01:56 UTC

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  An algorithm used by hundreds of US hospitals to predict whether or not patients with infections have contracted sepsis is less accurate than its maker claims, according to a published study.

  Sepsis is a leading cause of death in American hospitals — more than a third of patients have it when they die. So Epic Systems, a major healthcare software provider whose products are used in the majority of US hospitals, developed a tool to identify whether a patient is at risk of sepsis.

  The idea is that if hospitals can foresee cases of sepsis they’ll be able to provide care for patients before their condition gets worse. But not only does the algorithm tend to forecast patients will suffer from sepsis when they don’t, it’s less accurate than its maker claims at correctly identifying people who develop the life-threatening complication, according to peer-reviewed research.

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