Honda's ASIMO Robot Is Now Surprisingly Human

Honda's remarkable humanoid robot, ASIMO, has come a long way since I first saw it stiffly walk across a stage more than a decade ago.

The latest edition can run briskly, climb stairs with ease, dance like Travolta, kick a ball and jump up in down in what can only be described as a robot tantrum.

IT professionals are dissatisfied with file transfer processes, concerned about security

Sixty-three percent of IT professionals are frustrated with current file transfer processes and 40% believe manual file transfer processes are inefficient, according to a survey conducted by business software company Ipswitch.

When asked to relate file transfer processes to activities generally seen as unpleasant, 61% of respondents said manual file transfer was as enjoyable sitting in traffic.

Twenty-two percent of respondents said current file transfer issues prevented them from providing customer assistance more quickly.

"Ipswitch sees the market moving more towards systems with secure, manageable, scalable file transfer, at its core, of course," said said Ken Allen, Product Marketing Director at Ipswitch, via email. "But manual file transfer is more than just file transfer. Around that core, we see the need for tightly integrated transfer automation that allows IT to manage the exchange of any volume of transfers, while efficiently processing files to prepare them for the next step in a business process."

Thirty-five percent cited lost productivity as a significant side effect of file transfer processes, and nearly 32% had concerns over the security and potential for data loss.

"The challenge in getting managed file technology right is balancing the needs of collaborative file sharing versus integrated file-based system-to-system integration," said Allen. "End users demand simple file sharing solutions that are quick to get started while IT demands compliance to corporate and regulatory security standards. It's easy to focus on one end of this while ignoring the other."

To gather data for this report, Ipswitch conducted a survey of more than 100 IT professionals.

• Find out what an Ipswitch survey revealed about IT professionals and their New Year's Resolutions.

Leaked images claim to reveal iOS 8 running on iPhone 5S

With Apple's annual developer conference quickly approaching, we have little doubt that somewhere in Cupertino there are devices already running iOS 8 - and a new report could very well offer our first glimpse at one of them.

PhoneArena today turned up a handful of images allegedly from Apple's forthcoming iOS 8, which will presumably be unleashed in just over six weeks during the iPhone maker's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco.

One low-resolution image (shown below) appears to show iOS 8 running on a current iPhone 5S passed along by a generous reader using the screen name "Omar Sharif," which we're pretty sure is not the star of stage and screen who shares the same moniker.

The tipster followed up with a trio of screenshots - two from iPhone and one from iPad - which reveal a bevy of icons for new apps that have been widely rumored to be included with the mobile OS release this year.

Eight is great

Although the four images don't immediately stand out as obvious fakes, the inclusion of a so called "Watch Utility" app is likely to raise eyebrows, although others for Healthbook, Preview, TextEdit and Tips fall in line with recent rumors.

Also clearly on display is an icon for iTunes Radio, which Apple is reportedly toying with the possibility of turning into a standalone app, rather than part of the existing built-in Music app.

Assuming iOS 8 breaks cover at this year's WWDC which kicks off June 2, it's not surprising to see leaked screenshots making the rounds a month and a half early, even at the same time Apple is said to be readying an iOS 7.1.1 bug fix update.

Meanwhile, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users still lingering on iOS 6 have apparently found themselves in the midst of an extended FaceTime outage since yesterday, and the only resolution for now appears to be upgrading to iOS 7.1.

• Oh, and don't forget to follow the latest on iPhone 6 as well!

'75% Of New Recruits Lack Critical Project Management Skills'

India is projected to need almost 400,000 new project professionals in project-oriented industries every year till 2020, says Raj Kalady, Managing Director, Project Management Institute (PMI) India.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

What are the key features of project management?

The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects. Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals.

Project management knowledge draws on ten areas:

Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Procurement, Human resources, Communications, Risk management and Stakeholder Management Project management, thus, is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. It’s a strategic competency for organizations, enabling them to tie project results to business goals — and thus, better compete in their markets.