How Cloud Computing is Influencing Our Social System

July 18, 2012 By Guest Author 1 Comment

When the term “cloud” first hit the scene, it seemed like it would float away as just another technological fad. But the cloud is here to stay: by saving individuals and companies’ money, the cloud is ensuring its survival in the future. As technology changes, so to do best practices, small and large businesses alike are finding a future in the cloud.

The Hype is Waning

When the cloud first came to be, there was a great deal of hype about this new “server in the sky” technology. Not a lot of people were behind the idea of the cloud, and it seemed that there was a limit to its advantages. That has all changed. According to David Linthicum at Info World, both web designers and businesses have come to realize what the cloud means to their bottom line—and they like what they see. For example, the cloud saves businesses money by reducing the need for purchasing huge operating systems for a short period of use, such as store websites needing substantially more bandwidth on Black Friday. Web designers can save a lot of time and energy purchasing and updating software using the cloud. It’s now easy to find the best 10 web hosting companies for your needs. As more cloud services emerge, the value of comparing services with common factors also increases.

IT Departments Floating Up, Up and Away

Mike Vizard at IT Business Edge explores the fact that the cloud has revolutionized the IT departments in businesses. Instead of having an inner office department that handles computer issues, corporations now have the option of outsourcing this work to cloud computing. Companies like Amazon Web Services are already on the scene. Users can use AWS for computer power, storage, and remote IT staffers. Since users only have to shell out for what services they use, they can cut their IT costs significantly.

The Money Market

According to David Weidner of The Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, the cloud has found its way onto the stock market among the best 10 web hosting companies. In July 2012, Ariba Inc., which manages online purchasing networks, was bid on by SAP AG SAP for $4.3 billion. Following that bid, a day later Oracle Corp. announced it was purchasing Vitrue, Inc., which is a company that is focused on designing software for cloud-based social marketing. The social network provider Yammer Inc. was soon purchased by Microsoft Corp. a few weeks afterward. It is clear that the cloud is a highly desirable commodity that is quickly racking up points in the financial sector. Furthermore, “according to Salesforce.com, demand for cloud services is expected to rise 20% to 25% annually through 2016, which makes it a clear opportunity for established players looking for growth.”

Use of the cloud in the Web grants users nearly unlimited storage capabilities. Internet operations ranging from saving family photo albums online to providing speedy access to websites on their busiest days have been revolutionized by the cloud. Everyone from the aging grandmother creating digital scrapbooks using the cloud to the scrappy young gent on Wall Street looking for the next big thing in technology are directly influenced by the cloud. Expect to see the cloud in all its glory in the near future on the Web and beyond. What do you think will come of the cloud in the years ahead? Have you had experiences using the cloud that aren’t described here? We’d love to hear from you!

Blisscontrol lets you control all your social network at one place

March 22, 2012 By Abhishek Prakash 1 Comment

What if you have a place from where you can control all of your Social Networks settings? Sounds good, eh? Blisscontrol is the one stop where you can change settings for most of the popular social networks.

It is a simple site where at left you can select the setting for e.g. Profile Picture, Username, Password change etc, you want to change and on the right you can select the social network for which you want to change the settings.

Its a wonderful idea. Definitely worth a try.

Ten Uncommon Social Networks You Should Know About

February 11, 2012 By EJ Parfitt 2 Comments

Beyond all the regular faces on the social networking scene that we’ve all grown far too familiar with, there is a whole of slew of entrepreneurial and uncommon social networks that are worth mentioning. Each of these has something new, different, and valuable to offer the world of social networking. Here are ten uncommon social networks sites other than Facebook and Twitter you should know something about.

43 Things:

43 Things is a social networking site that focuses on connecting people with similar hopes, dreams, and goals. Users must list their top life’s goals or hopes, and they are then connected to other users with similar hopes and goals in order to find plenty of common ground.

Academia.edu:

Academia.edu is a social networking site directed at researchers and academics who wish to collaborate with other professionals in their fields of expertise. A massive amount of academic fields are represented, and Academia.edu is known to users as the Facebook for geniuses.

Audimated:

Audimated is a social networking site for lovers of music. Both musicians themselves and their fans are welcomed with open arms into Audimated, which sees itself as a platform of promotion for independent artists. The rights to all creative content made public via Audimated are kept by the artists themselves.

Buzznet is a gossipy, trendy social networking and celebrity news site. Combining social networking with paparazzi feeds and a wealth of celebrity information, Buzznet unites fans from all corners of the globe. There are special corners for music aficionados, fashion addicts, and pop culture junkies.

Geni:

Geni is a networking site that focuses on creating genealogies and family trees. If you’re interested in your family’s roots and where you came from, Geni can help you sort out your past. Its plan is to eventually create a family tree that represents the entire population of the world.

:

MouthShut is a site that combines social networking elements with consumer review services. Users can join MouthShut either to simply be influenced by other movers and shakers or to become a reviewer themselves and influence others.

MyYearBook:

MyYearbook is a simple social networking site that incorporates Flash-based games, instant messaging, media sharing, virtual currency, and a real time information feed to bring users together. With integration with Facebook, this social network is a must for college goers and Gen-Y.

Raptr:

Raptr is a social networking site for gamers. Featuring instant messaging, user-created game reviews, game/achievements tracking, game statistics signatures, and a gaming accomplishments feed, Raptr is known by its users for being on the cutting-edge of the gaming industry. Users describe it as a place where bragging rights are established and where gaming giants rise and fall.

SocialVibe:

SocialVibe is one of the Internet’s largest marketing-focused social networks. Although it began as a place where users could collaborate with advertisers to raise funds for charities, it soon grew into a massive arena where advertisers could connect with consumers on a personal level in ways that both the consumers and the advertisers were most comfortable with.

Zoopa:

Zooppa is a social networking and crowd-sourcing site that brings together creative talent from all around the world. Ads or creative productions are solicited by companies and then compiled and submitted for review by users. Cash prizes along with plenty of recognition are given to the best entries. Advertising formats include radio, video, and print as well as concepts and banners.

You can find the best network to surf these sites on through the mobile broadband comparison site Broadband Expert. The comparison site Broadband Expert is your key to finding the best network that will, together with these uncommon social networks, open up for you a whole new world of experiences.

How to install the free version of Spotify on Linux

December 30, 2011 By Abhishek Prakash 1 Comment

Spotify is on Linux again and this time its free as well. Well that should sounds music to the ears of Linux users who love music but were not willing to pay for the premium account of Spotify. So here is what Sptify is calling “Linux Preview”, which is nothing but sort of beta version.

Features:

If you are not familiar with Spotify, I’ll list some salient features that make Spotify my favorite music streaming application: [Read more…]

Tulalip: Microsoft’s “Secret” Social Networking Project?

July 20, 2011 By Abhishek Prakash 7 Comments

Few days back Microsoft “accidently” published a secret project named “Tulalip” which by it’s looks seems to be somekind of social networking site. FYI the word Tulalip is referred to a group of Native American peoples from western Washington state in the United States. Strange enough, Tulalip gives Facebook and Twitter log-in option and the tagline suggests it to be incorporated with Bing search (sounds like Google +1?). Here take a look at the pic:

The Tulalip project WAS accessible on socl.com, but now the website reads this:

Thanks for stopping by.

Socl.com is an internal design project from a team in Microsoft Research which was mistakenly published to the web.

We didn’t mean to, honest.

With the buzz generated by Google+ it is quite likely that Microsoft too wants a pie (bigger than what it has in Facebook :P) out of the Social Networking. Do express your views on the latest war on social networking and in the near future which one has the potential to take over the cyber world.

Making Your Computer Experience Better