"The industry will continue to focus on refining systems, applications, software, security and network infrastructure to meet their needs. Machine learning is the megatrend: its application and influence, particularly on our mobiles, will be improving all parts of our lives in 2017," he said. So begins Deloitte's annual global TMT (Technology, Media, and Telecommunications) report, that since its inception in 2001 has reached an 87% prediction accuracy rate. The report is long but makes for interesting reading. Deloitte Australia forecasts a year that will see further significant breakthroughs in machine learning, indoor GPS navigation, safer travel in motor cars, more cyber mischief and a growing use of biometric security.

But DevOps, which refers to the increased communication and collaboration between development and IT operations, is an ever-changing, sometimes complicated term. While "dev" and "ops" used to be siloed into separate philosophies, practices, tools, and work flows, they're merging into one. Though the basics aren't exactly new, the DevOps world is still trying to figure out how it will evolve and integrate into already established infrastructures. Whether you head a company that relies heavily on DevOps or you're just now dipping your toes into the DevOps pond, there's plenty to learn--because this movement and culture are anything but set in stone. To get a better feel for what's in store for DevOps in 2017, we reached out to the pros. Read on for challenges and changes you may encounter in the coming year. How has DevOps changed the IT landscape in the last few years? There are increasing signs of improved collaboration between Dev and Ops teams to work on a shared goal, which is the continuous delivery of high-quality applications to customers, employees, and partners.

If you're the type of traveler that can never remember which pocket you put your passport in when asked to produce it by airport officials, then Australia's plan for a major overhaul of its checking systems is likely to appeal. The nation's Department of Immigration and Border Protection is aiming to do away with the need for passports at its international airports by introducing systems for biometric recognition of the face, iris and/or fingerprints, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported. International arrivals could speed through airside without ever interacting with a human official as the new technology -- part of the government's high-tech Seamless Traveler initiative aimed at transforming the border experience -- will eradicate the need for passport checks and passenger cards. Besides making the arrival experience more efficient, officials also believe the system will be better at identifying passengers on watch lists. While a number of airports have for several years been using so-called smart gates that prompt travelers to scan their passports upon arrival, the new system, which the government wants in place within the next three years, goes much further.

But first up are the things you may have missed, like a massive update for Google Voice, the name of the new Star Wars movie and why cassette sales are way, way up. Fitbit's recent acquisitions hint at a device we'd actually want to buy. It hasn't been a great year for wearables, with sluggish sales and underwhelming products dominating the space. Several smartwatches have disappeared over the last twelve months, and for Dan Cooper, devices from Apple, Samsung and Google that try to recreate the smartphone experience on the wrist just aren't compelling. However, those companies are increasingly the only games in town after the demise of low-power wearable companies like Pebble, Vector and Basis.

Dr Dyer is one of Australia's leading bee experts and his latest research shows that honeybees can learn to recognise human faces even when seen from different viewpoints. Dr Dyer said the research could be applied in the areas of new technology, particularly the development of imaging systems. "What we have shown is that the bee brain, which contains less than 1 million neurons, is actually very good at learning to master complex tasks. Computer and imaging technology programmers who are working on solving complex visual recognition tasks using minimal hardware resources will find this research useful," Dr Dyer said. "Most current artificial intelligence (AI) recognition systems perform poorly at reliably recognising faces from different viewpoints. However the bees have shown they can recognise novel views of rotated faces using a mechanism of interpolating or image averaging previously learnt views."

Australia has started implementing biometric facial, iris and fingerprint recognition in airports, allowing passengers to go through without showing a passport or even talking to anyone. The "Seamless Traveler" project is aimed at creating a "fast, seamless self-processing experience for up to 90 percent of travelers," so that border control can focus on high-risk passengers. The handy, but invasive-sounding plan would allow international travelers to "literally just walk out like at a domestic airport," security analyst John Coyne told Australia's Sidney Morning Herald. The system would replace passport-scanning SmartGates, which were implemented in the nation just ten years ago. The government's plan to implement biometrics might be a touch ambitious, however.

The best view is always from the top. This holds true for the constellation of satellites hurling millions of pixels in images down to earth every day. In this age of breathtaking photography advancements, from drones and action cameras to submersible mobile phones, what has changed for an almost 60-year-old technology? It turns out that deep learning, i.e. an advanced machine learning technique that develops multilayered mathematical structures to classify images, is changing the way computers interpret large sets of satellite data. DigitalGlobe, a Colorado-based satellite imagery provider that supplies to such clients as Google Maps, is using a cloud-based, geospatial big data (GBD) platform to intelligently extract relevant images and points of interest from a vast compendium of above-earth photos.

You do not have to model your time series forecast problem as-is. There are many ways to reframe your forecast problem that can both simplify the prediction problem and potentially expose more or different information to be modeled. A reframing can ultimately result in better and/or more robust forecasts. In this tutorial, you will discover how to reframe your time series forecast problem with Python. How to Reframe Your Time Series Forecasting Problem Photo by Sean MacEntee, some rights reserved.

From location beacons to artificial intelligence here is a comprehensive guide to what I predict will be the biggest marketing trends for the New Year. Pokémon Go brought augmented reality to the forefront for many marketers and we expect advertisers outside of the gaming realm to dive deep into this space in 2017. AR and VR technologies remain largely uncharted territory with literally endless creative possibilities. With this technology, the viewer becomes an integral part of the brand experience as opposed to a mere observer. Instead of a call to action, they are the action.

That's the premise of Nugit, a Singapore-based startup focused on marketing that raised $5.2 million in fresh funding from Sequoia Capital's India fund this week. Nugit landed undisclosed seed funding from 500 Startups and The Hub Singapore last year. Founded by Australia-born marketing executive David Sanderson, Nugit sits between its customers and their data platforms -- it supports 15 right now, including Facebook Ad Manager, Google AdWords and DoubleClick -- to help make sense of realms of information. The idea is to make a digital marketer's job easier by cutting down on noise and producing "decision-ready reports," such as PowerPoint presentations, graphics and other visualizations. The company started out automating many of the processes that marketers are faced with when dealing with data, such as cleaning information and aligning it, until Sanderson -- formerly of GroupM and other ad agencies -- realized that computers could go beyond that and deliver insight that is difficult or seriously time-consuming for humans.