Half of us think 'the cloud' actually involves clouds

Or at least that weather can interfere with it. And that's understandable, because we spend a lot of time talking about 'the cloud,' but not a lot of time explaining to people what it actually is. It's not difficult to explain, and in this class you will be learning in both a general sense and in a very specific sense what the cloud is and why it's referred to as such. Since everything is moving towards cloud-based infrastructure, it's very important to understand not only what it is, but what the issues and concerns are that go along with it because they are, and will continue to be, significant.

I was equally amazed that so many faked knowing what the cloud is! I wonder why someone would need to fake that? Job interview, maybe? Very curious.

One bigger, one smaller

Over on Engadget there is an editorial discussing the encroachment of Google devices into Apple territory, and vice versa. As the author points out, Apple long eschewed the idea of smaller devices, and what were once small devices continually get larger and larger. Prices for these new tablets are still unknown.

I use my iPad a lot, for some relatively involved tasks such as remote log-in to my machines at home. Even on the current screen it is occasionally diffficult to navigate something like that, although the app I use is very well designed and very useable (LogMeIn, if you're interested).

I have a 7-inch Android tablet, the HTC Flyer which is sadly no longer made, and the iPad, with its retina display and 10 inch screen. Both of them are great devices, and I find the screen size on both to be appropriate for how I use them. LogMeIn, however, would never work on a 7 inch screen.

So my question is two fold, however both parts ask the same thing but about different devices; whether you have a smartphone or a feature phone, do you feel the screen size is adequate for how you use it, and if you have a tablet, do you feel the screen size is adequate for how you use it?

Do you think it's wise for Apple to introduce the smaller tablet? Do you plan on getting one?

Macs!

I don't normally post things like this, but it popped up during regular browsing and in light of what we talked about on Friday, I thought I would just throw it out there.

Dr. Evil endorses Macs!

Unbelievable

Although I have been following this ongoing litigation, I never expected this outcome.

Some background; Apple and Samsung have been suing each other over patent infringement primarily dealing with use of the phone (utility patents), although there were visual, or user-interface patents brought into the fray as well.

Well, the smoke has settled, and Apple has been awarded $1 BILLION. That sounds like a lot, and it is, however apple originally sought $2.75 billion in damages.

This trial, however, has also ignited debate about patents, and whether or not the whole patent process and idea of what can be patented is valid at all. For example, should Apple be able to patent rounded corners on a handheld tablet device which is a patent they claim? Many people feel certain things just simply shouldn't be patentable (which isn't a word).

Samsung phones are actually very nice phones. I wonder how much of this verdict explains why.

Luckily, we all use strong passwords...

...right? You should. Certain passwords are easier to crack than others, but any password can be cracked. So if you think yours is safe (and we'll test that later in the semester) or if it's ok to use the same one for all your password needs, here is an Ars Technica discussion about passwords, and how it's not so hard after all. One thing criminals count on is that you don't take passwords seriously, but you might after this.

Moral of the story: Don't commit crimes.

As if you needed another reason not to choose crime as a career path, this article from InformationWeek discusses a collaboration between Microsoft and the NYPD that  has resulted in the development of what is known as a Domain Awareness System (DAS).

This system unifies many, sometimes disparate, data sources into a single attack tool to fight crime in the city. According to the post, these data sources include CCTVs, Radiation detectors and license plate scanners, which can - for example - check scanned plates (on moving cars, mind you) against a database of plates of wanted cars, then locate and track them. It can even determine where that car has been, and whether it is part of a larger group of related cars. As a side note, that kind of extrapolation and relationship determination is a data mining process known as Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness (NORA).

So remember, crime doesn't pay! Unless you don't get caught, which you will with this new system. And it's expanding to other cities.

A (not so) brief history of computer adoption

It used to be, back in the stone ages, we used PC's such as the Apple IIe, IBM PC/AT, and Commodore PET. As technology has advanced, uptake rates in technology has significantly increased and spread across platforms and applications.

We talk a lot about technology in this class including its evolution and its impact, so this article on Ars Technica is a good place to start. It is an interesting examination of how technology has been adopted and adapted over time, starting all the way back with the Altair which, incidentally, gave Microsoft the foot in the door it needed to become the company it has grown into today.

The article is long, but it really gives a solid explanation of where we are in terms of technology and how we got there, and that's important to understand since we use so much of it so often today.

Welcome!

This blog has been created to post additional topics of interest, relevant and interesting stories, and useful other concepts in support of IS 301 at Nevada State College. I encourage all students in the class to comment on the stories as well as make suggestions as to what they would like to see posted. This will let us have a more close-up opportunity to see how technology impacts us all at the organizational, the personal, the social, and the technological levels.