How technology is transforming the business of Hollywood

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Ever since T-1000 morphed from liquid metal into human form in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and dinosaurs roamed Isla Nublar in Jurassic Park, computers have played a vital role in Hollywood. But bits and bytes have transformed the industry well beyond special effects— technology has fundamentally impacted the old studio model for creating movies.

Here are several ways that the Internet and cloud computing have changed show business.

Collaboration in the Cloud

Even if you’ve never set foot on a studio lot, you can imagine the difficulty of making a movie. Securing locations, building sets and wrangling temperamental actors are only part of the process. Multiple collaborators across the studio have to approve the content, requiring many video and audio files to be shared on a daily basis.

This presents a challenge as a small army of camera crew and audio engineers produce up to 50 TB of data each day. That’s equivalent to more than 6,000 dual-layer DVD discs.

“A regime shift is occurring that’s more open to the cloud’s game-changing benefits. And along the way studios are realizing there is a once in a lifetime opportunity to expand the business model by putting as much content on the cloud as possible,” Guillaume Aubuchon CTO of DigitalFilm Tree, a cloud-based collaboration service for studios wrote in a recent Rackspace blog post.

Aubuchon realized that technology was causing Hollywood to become decentralized—no longer were writers, producers and editors confined to a particular location.

Realizing this, DigitalFilm Tree provides an easy way to store and share footage using performance cloud infrastructure. Now, movie studios are able to become more nimble in producing films.

“To be frank, if Hollywood doesn’t embrace the new way, it will cease to exist. There will always be an army of new content providers challenging the status quo. If studios want to remain at the top of the stack, then they need cloud workflow solutions,” Aubuchon said.

http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/01/27/technology-transforming-business-hollywood/#!tAai7

The Best Way to Prevent Virus Infection

There are several measures that should be taken to ensure the safety of your computer systems.  One way to do so is to not open email attachment without scanning them through a third party app.  Apps that scan for spyware and viruses are easy to come by, all you have to do is download and use them.  Email attachments are the easiest way a virus can get into your system.

For more tips visit this IT services company in Los Angeles's blog:


http://www.tvgconsulting.com/an-it-services-company-exposes-how-to-avoid-viruses-and-spyware/

Target Breach Not Just a Technology Failure

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The security breach at U.S. retailer Target in December has been the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation over the course of the last month.

Few details were made public when Target first admitted to the security breach on Dec. 19, 2013. This month, little by little, scraps of information have emerged, including the disclosure that some form of point-of-sale (POS) malware, identified as a RAM scraper, was involved.

http://www.internetnews.com/security/target-breach-not-just-a-technology-failure.html

An IT Consulting Company in Los Angeles Reveals How to Choose the Best Technology for Your Business

The NSA Can Remotely Break Into Computers Not Even Connected To The Internet

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency has put software in almost 100,000 computers around the world allowing it to carry out surveillance on those devices and could provide a digital highway for cyberattacks, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The NSA has planted most of the software through getting access to computer networks, but has also used a secret technology that allows it entry even to computers not connected to the Internet, the Times said, citing U.S. officials, computer experts and documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The Times said the technology had been in use since at least 2008 and relied on a covert channel of radio waves transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards secretly inserted in the computers.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nsa-radio-software-2014-1#ixzz2qUbL4zSI

Tips for Choosing the Right Technology

Many businesses already accept technology in the work place.  Business owners use technology to get a competitive edge  but it is still a hard decision when researching the perfect technology for a company.  But how do you know when its the right technology? After all, the wrong decision can cost your company thousands. TVG Consulting, a computer support company in Los Angeles, gives five guidelines any businesses should follow when sourcing out for new technology in their new blog:

http://www.tvgconsulting.com/a-computer-support-team-gives-5-tips-for-choosing-the-right-technology-solutions-for-your-business/

Scam Alert -- Scams pop up in wake of Target data breach

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Scammers are taking advantage of the data breach that compromised Target customers' credit and debit card information. Watch for con artists using this highly public event to fool consumers into sharing their credit card and/or personal information.

How the Scam Works: You receive a text message, which claims to be from your credit card company. It says your card has been blocked in response to fraudulent activity following the recent data breach. The message asks you to call a phone number to verify your account information. Of course, the text message is just a con to get you to share your card number and other info.  As usual, this scam has many forms. Scammers have been contacting people through email, text messages and phone calls. In another version, scammers call and claim to represent Target. They ask consumers to "verify" their name, address, social security and other information to supposedly check whether it was comprised in the breach. Whatever the guise, the scammers are always after your credit card number or other personal information.  How to Spot This Scam: The best way to protect yourself is to identify the warning signs:  Check Target's website: Given the number of scams surrounding the data breach, Target has posted all their official communications at Target.com/paymentcardresponse. Check any emails or texts you receive claiming to be from Target against the official list. Don't believe what you see. Scammers use technology to make emails and phone calls appear to come from a reputable source. Just because it looks credible does not mean it's safe.  Be wary of unexpected emails that contain links or attachments. As always, do not click on links or open the files in unfamiliar emails.  Watch for bad grammar: Typo-filled text messages and emails are usually a dead giveaway that it's from a scammer, not a corporation.  http://www.bbb.org/council/news-events/bbb-scam-alerts/2014/01/target-data-breach/

Five Business Intelligence Predictions For 2014

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The dust is finally beginning to clear from the big data explosion, which is a good thing. One of the problems with big data is that it’s been led by technology, not business requirements. And business requirements will be the focus in the 2014 business intelligence (BI) ecosphere—to enable enterprises to achieve results with data mining and analytics and to prove those results. All the BI vendors will sit in the hot seat, forced to explain what they actually do to solve customer problems, which is healthy.

read more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2014/01/02/five-business-intelligence-predictions-for-2014/

2014 Trends in Business Technology

At the beginning of every year, business owners should check new trends that can help grow their business. An excellent example is technology trends.  Business owners can look at indicators like economic growth, key personnel movement and innovations.  2013 was a year of changes with business intelligence, and we are expecting that 2014 won't be much different.  Check TVG Consulting, an IT consulting firm in Los Angeles's, blog post to read predictions of the 2014 business technology trends:

http://www.tvgconsulting.com/an-it-consulting-company-reveals-2014-business-technology-trends/