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Here’s the good news. Those MSPs who rode the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) boom in the 2009 time frame (as part of the 2009-era Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) and more recently the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) wave, will love this story. It’s about my time at the three-day CannaCon conference in Seattle this past week. And I’ve concluded it’s the next great thing in health care IT.

Mario Farag

Last year, most of the world swooned over new technological evolutions such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things, and automation. Even though these technologies are proving to be catalysts for growth, many small business leaders have decided to concentrate most of their investments on data analytics.

I’ve had this blog written in my mind for months. I’ve just been trying to find the words to articulate my vision of animal behavior as the best way to explain “machine learning.” So what motivated me to type this out? I read an article in the New York Times this week here about artificial intelligence (AI) and how animals are helping with machine learning. 

My study was based on the SMB Nation mascot,

The Version 15.6 beta provides a raft of C++ improvements, as well as enhancements for developer productivity and diagnostics

By Paul Krill
Editor at Large, InfoWorld | January 12, 2018

                                                   ThinkStock

The second beta of the Version 15.6 update to Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2017 IDE is now available.

[ Review: Visual Studio 2017 is the best ever. | Cut to the key news and issues in cutting-edge enterprise technology with the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. ]

UPDATE:

Amazon HQ2 Survey Results. Last newsletter I ran a fun poll asking readers to predict where Amazon HQ2 will land. We had a wide range of responses but the top selections were:

Austin Texas (17.86%)

Atlanta (10.71%)

Pittsburgh (10.71%)

Newark, NJ (10.71%)

Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Nashville all tied at 7.14%

Google Analytics Tools make it a lot easier to use Google Analytics as well as extend its functionality in many ways. Here are 10 Best Free Google Analytics Tools to help you get more things done with Google Analytics in a lot less time. In fact, some of these tools & add-ons can be used with Google Tag Manager (GTM) as well. All of these tools are free browser add-ons that you can simply download & install with a click.

Here are the steps to take to keep your Windows laptop or PC safe from Meltdown and Spectre.

by Matt Elliott

A major security flaw has been discovered in many modern processors that could allow hackers to access data -- passwords, encryption keys and other information you want kept private -- stored in the protected kernel memory of your computer, phone or tablet. Known by the names Spectre and Meltdown, the flaws affect chips from Intel and Arm.

Microsoft's Windows 8.1 has moved out of mainstream support, meaning that users are essentially running a dead OS. But there's still one more way to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

By Mark Hachman

Senior Editor, PCWorld

If you’re still running Windows 8.1, be advised that Microsoft shut down mainstream support a week ago. But there’s still a last-ditch upgrade path to Windows 10: Microsoft’s assistive technology loophole, which closes January 16.

By Pete Johnson

Security” used to mean worrying about HTTPS certificates on your websites. The notion of a “device” was a browser and all you really had to do was to guarantee that traffic between it and your web servers was encrypted.

Then the “bring your own device” (BYOD) phenomenon caused system administrators to worry about things like isolating WiFi traffic for visitors and providing VPN tunneling software of iOS and Android, so that employees could access corporate assets in the palms of their hands. “Device” then meant “smartphone.”

In a recent Tech Pro Research survey, 39 percent of respondents said their 2018 budget would increase between 1-10 percent over 2017. This infographic has more information about how that money will be spent.

By Amy Talbott

In July and August, ZDNet's sister site, Tech Pro Research, surveyed tech workers about the IT budget for the 2018 fiscal or calendar year within their organization. Over half said that in terms of funding, their organization would dedicate more to IT.

After spending so much time and energy creating an amazing prototype that you are excited about, you may be eager to take it to market and to start generating a profit from it. As simple as this sounds, it actually is more complicated than you might think. After all, the prototype should be carefully analyzed and tested before it is mass produced. Furthermore, you have to understand market requirements, competing products and even how your customers may actually use the product. The prototype is only the first step in the full production process. However, you may be able to start marketing your prototype quickly through several different strategies.

Will anything stop this rocket to the Moon?

By James Vincent  @jjvincent

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Bitcoin’s value crossed the $15,000 threshold for the first time today, marking another milestone in its dizzying ascent. In recent months, the cryptocurrency has undergone a staggering increase in value; surging from roughly $3,500 in mid-September to its current price. And at the start of the year, a single Bitcoin was worth less than $800.