helpdesk
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IBM Watson offers tech support that never sleeps
If your company uses IBM's helpdesk services, don't be surprised if you find yourself talking to Watson next time you contact the IT department. IBM has added a Watson-powered concierge-like service to its helpdesk, and it can quickly solve your IT issues around the clock, wherever you are in the world and whatever device you're using. Unlike automated bots, you can talk to Watson about your issues like you're talking to another person. It can then customize its responses -- for instance, it can use layman's terms if you're not that tech-savvy or use jargons if you are.
ISIS help desk tells jihadis how to hide from authorities
The encrypted messaging service Telegram blocked 78 ISIS channels in 2015, but new ones just keep popping up. As detailed in a report provided to The Hill, the group has evolved an expanded technical "help desk" that can provide instructions to jihadists on how to escape the surveillance of Western authorities. It's operated by a group of ISIS members collectively called the Electronic Horizon Foundation (EHF), which was launched on January 30th. As of the beginning of this week, its Telegram channel had 2,200 members, although it hasn't posted much yet.
ISIS' online presence reportedly includes a 24-hour 'help desk'
The terrorist group known as ISIS has ramped up its online outreach efforts in a big way over the past year, including establishing a 24-hour help desk that teaches members how to use encryption and other secure communications tactics, NBC News reports. News of the help desk comes from Dr. Aaron Brantly, a cyber fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center with the US Military Academy at West Point. According to Brantly, ISIS has "developed a series of different platforms in which they can train one another on digital security to avoid intelligence and law enforcement agencies for the explicit purpose of recruitment, propaganda and operational planning."
Talkcast tonight, 10 pm ET: The help desk is open
You've got questions, we've got answers (or at least plausible facsimiles of answers). Tonight, as the tech world's heavy hitters are congregated in Austin for SxSW, we'll have our own version of a tech panel right here on the Talkcast -- but this one's dedicated to your computing challenges. Got a Mac, iOS or other general technology puzzler that needs some attention? Call in, comment or tweet to let us know and we'll see if we can't get you some satisfaction, tonight at 10 pm ET. To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
Netflix beefing up service center in preparation for global launch
It's no secret that Netflix has grand plans to expand its global footprint that now feeds media to some 20 million North American subscribers. Hell, the company was boasting of the "significant dollars" allocated to its 2011 international expansion plans just four months ago. While nothing's official yet, we've unearthed a few tantalizing openings posted to the Netflix job site over the last few days that could point to an imminent launch. Notably, Netflix's customer service call center in Hillsboro Oregon is gearing up to expand its scope of operations beyond North America. Two new job postings for a Training Supervisor and Quality Assurance Analyst both mention the need to prepare for "rapid" international expansion and "will support a specific country / region outside of North America." The Training Supervisor is being hired specifically to educate customer service reps in preparation for that future international growth. Neflix is looking for fluency in English in addition to Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), and Spanish (Latin American and European), leaving things pretty wide open with regard to the countries targeted for initial launch. We do know that Netflix had plans to launch in the UK way back in 2004 -- plans that were ultimately scrapped in order to focus on its core US business (and later Canada). But if not the UK then we should at least expect to see Netflix target the European continent first if a statement attributed to CEO Reed Hastings from way back in January of 2010 still rings true: "the big market for Hollywood content (after the U.S.) is Europe...Third is Asia. Fourth is the rest of the world." Can't let Amazon have the market to itself now can we Reed? [Thanks, Chico]
