Analysis Post Week 7

Link to us: http://sn.im/analysispoll7

The poll question for this week is "Does economy crisis promotes the use of Cloud Computing?". Above is a pie chart that shows the overall results of the poll. The total number of votes for this week's poll is 30 votes. Now, let's see whether most users agree or disagree with the statement.

Below is a summary of the choices for the poll and the results for each choice :

A) Agree 63% (19 votes)

This choice has received the highest number of votes which is 19 votes out of 30 votes. Most of the voters agreed that economy crisis can promote the use of Cloud Computing. This is because they are aware of the emerging technology that is soon becoming the next cutting-edge technology. Cloud Computing has became so common that always every Internet user has experienced cloud computing intentionally or unintentionally. For example, social networking websites which has been popular recently like Facebook, Myspace and others allows users to upload photos and videos to the "cloud" to share with other users. Moreover, economy crisis easily promotes the use of Cloud Computing because during economy crisis, such as recession, most companies want to save costs and reduce on spendings. Cloud Computing is one of the best solutions to their problems because they can keep their data all in the "cloud" or use cloud services like Google Docs for business applications. This benefits the company because they can save both hardware and software costs which are relative costly. Small organizations would also gladly use cloud computing to save both costs and space. Everything has been made simple and less costly with cloud computing.

B) Disagree 7% (2 votes)

There are a minority of voters which disagree to this statement. This may be because, even though cloud computing is constantly improving as time passes; however, it is very slow to being adopt by users. This is also proven in an article which reports that Spain is ready to accept Cloud Computing, but it is slow to adopt the technology. As mentioned in the article, it says that small and medium-sized business are shaken by the economy crisis, whereas the public are fighting against unemployment issues. For original article, visit this link -> Link . Thus, economy crisis might also be the factor that prevents Cloud Computing from growing fast.

C) Maybe 23% (7 votes)

23% of the total voters vote that maybe economy crisis helps promote Cloud Computing. This is because there is a possibility for either situation to happen. The voters might have thought that economy crisis most likely will help promote the use of Cloud Computing, but they are not very sure about the fact due to the concern of the setbacks that may cause the slow adoption of Cloud Computing. This hesitation caused the voters to be uncertain about the statement.

D) No Idea 7% (2 votes)

This group of voters might be unfamiliar with the Cloud Computing technology and thus have no clue about how economy crisis can relate to Cloud Computing. Perhaps, they understand Cloud Computing only on the surface but not in what are the advantages and disadvantages Cloud Computing can bring.

Different users have different opinions. Therefore, from the above analysis, most voters agreed that economy crisis promotes the use of Cloud Computing. Even though there is no definite answer to this question, the fact that economy crisis has influence over the growth of Cloud Computing does not change, regardless on how big the influence is. After reading this analysis, what are your thoughts? Which option will you choose? Is there a reason for your choice?


Reference:


Online reference:


The New York Times, Spain is ripe for Cloud Computing but Slow to Adopt. Retrieved on September 2010.
URL : http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/technology/20iht-spaincloud20.html?_r=1

How Cloud Computing Can Help Educational Institutions????

Link us to: http://sn.im/cloud-education
 
As the Internet is evolving tremendously, it makes it easier to communicate and collaborate with other nowadays. This evolution has also contributed to the world of IT by providing low-cost and free technology services for publishing, collaborating, social interaction, editing, content creation and computing. Hence, this is an advantage to all students as they are able to use this internet technology in their learning process.

The Cloud Computing is able to provide services such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which allows user to use computer application without having to purchase, install, or run software’s on their local computers or server. This means the software is being hosted remotely and the data is stored remotely. Moreover, users pay according to how much and how regularly they use the services.

Therefore, by implementing Cloud Computing in educational institutions, they can provide schools, colleges and universities with good education technology at a affordable price because they don’t have to purchase software only for single user, invest on a technology that possible will be outdated in time to come, or spend money on technical support . Furthermore, cloud computing service is flexible as it is scalable this is because Cloud computing allows you to extent as demands come and go or increase. Lastly, students and teachers are able to easily access and store data or any applications easily from anywhere as in cloud computing services are made publicly available.

Below is a short video on Cloud Computing for Education:

Hence do you thing Cloud Computing should be implemented in educational institution???

Reference:

Internet reference:

Cloud Computing for Education,[Online],Retrieved on 28 September 2010.

URL: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/279233/techtutor-2-cloud-computing-education

How Cloud Computing will Change Business?

Link to us:  http://sn.im/cloud-business

In 1990, in a keynote speech at the Comdex computer conference, Microsoft's (MSFT) then-chief executive, Bill Gates said, the world needed three things:

1. a more "personal" personal computer

2. more powerful communications networks

3. easy access to a broad range of information

Now, Bill Gates grand vision has finally become a reality only for businesses. While what pieces Bill Gates had in mind have been available for years, just they were expensive and hard to set up and use. Now more personal PC is here in the smart-phones form and mini-laptops form, and wireless networks make people possible to be connected almost anytime and anywhere their want. At the same time, we knowing and seeing the rise of cloud computing, the vast array of interconnected machines managing the data and software that used to run on PCs. Combine of mobile and cloud technologies is shaping up to be one of most significant advances computing universe in decades.

For IBM(International Business Machines), the change begins with encouraging its 400,000 employees to use tools that it has created based on consumer social-networking sites. After IBM tests new consumer-like cloud computing capabilities internally, it launches them as services for customers.


One of the most promising aspects of cloud computing is it enables the creation of so-called virtual personal assistants. These software confections know people's interests and needs and go off and do useful things for them on the Internet, like suggesting a restaurant for a client meeting or offering reminders of where you have taken the client before. With GPS(Global Positioning System) in smart-phones, computing systems know where we are. And with artificial intelligence software, computers can be taught what we expect of them and how to anticipate our needs.

Reference:

Internet reference:

 URL:http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_24/b4135042942270.htm

Video Post :Cloud Computing in the Near Future

Link to us: http://sn.im/videocc



Reference:


Internet Reference:


Pew Research Center Publications: The Future of Cloud Computing. Retrieved on September 2010.
URL: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1623/future-cloud-computing-technology-experts


Cloud Computing Info: 3 Cloud Operating Systems You Can Use Right Now. 
Retrieved on September 2010.
URL: http://clouddb.info/2009/02/01/3-cloud-operating-systems-you-can-use-right-now/


Eye OS Official Website: Eye OS.Retrieved on September 2010.
URL: http://eyeos.org/


i Cloud Official Website: i Cloud.Retrieved on September 2010.
URL: http://icloud.com/en


Ghost.cc Official Website: g.ho.st.Retrieved on September 2010.
URL: http://ghost.cc/main.jsp?language=en

ポドキャスト：第ニ週分析結果 (Podcast 3)

Link to us: http://sn.im/podcast3jap



Title: Week 2 Analysis Post
Podcast Transript


みんなさん、おはよございます、こにちわ、こんばんわ。今日私は第二週に質問した問題のぶんせきけっかについてお話たいと思います。これから、私の友達がもっとくらしくして説明します。


その問題は「誰がクラウドコンピューティング(Cloud Computing)をせいふくするか」です。今、私がその投票結果を発表します。投票した数わ１１。


マイクロソフト(Microsoft)は２票、グーグル(Google)は５票、アマゾン(Amazon)１票、オラクルは(Oracle)０票、そして、IBMは３票でした。その結果について、グーグルの票数は一番高い。IBMは第二位でした。普通はマイクロソフトにていて、使用者はみんなたぶんマイクロソフトのアプリケーションソフト(Application Software)とシステムソフトウェア(System Software)に気ずいている。たとえば、マイクロソフトオフィス（Microsoft Office)。


そして、アマゾンにたいして、投票した人はたぶん、将来人々はただイーブクス(e-books)を買うためにでわなくて、ほかの物品をかう可能性もあると思います。


おどるいたのわ、オラクルはひとつの票数ももらってないということです。これはたぶんオラクルはマレーシャ(Malaysia)で人気がないかもしれません。


じゃあ、なぜグーグルの票数が一番高いですか？これは、エンドユーザ(end user)がもっとも知っていたのはグーグーるのサチエンジン(search engine)だ。それで、分析の結果を聞いたあとで、皆様はだれが未来にクラウドコンピューティングを征服するか？マイクロソフトか？グーグルか？アマゾンか？オラクルか？それとも、IBMですか？


Please refer Analysis Post Week 2 for original analysis in english.

云端运算的缺点 (Podcast 2)

Link to us: http://sn.im/podcast2man

Title: The Disadvantages of Cloud Computing
Podcast Transcript

云端运算的缺点

大家好，我姓曾，名叫繁源，是苏邦再也INTI学院DICT课程的学生。

今天，我将会提论有关云端运算的缺点。

第一，    云端运算需要互联网（INTERNET）连接成功后方才能应用其中的程序或文件。尚若讯号很弱的话，那么云端运算也不能起任何作用。

第二，    它只限制于高速互联网连接，例如宽平服务。如果是用拨号连接服务，我们就无法使用云端运算服务了。

第三，    在云端运算所提供的程序功能里，很有可能受到限制。这是为了让使用者容易上手，省了不必要的麻烦。所以，它不得不把程序给简化。

最后的缺点，就是云端运算的安全设施与私隐的问题。因为我们不能确定储存在云端运算里的个人资料是否很容易让其他使用者侵入、应用或更改。虽然，云端运算的供应商否认其中的问题，并声称这程序的安全设施指标是很有保障的。

所以说，在应用云端运算之前，我们是否需要考虑到这些缺点呢？

我的言论到此为止，谢谢。


Please refer post" What to consider before leaping into Cloud Computing????" for original post in english.

Apa itu Cloud Komputing???? (Podcast1)

Link to us : http://sn.im/cloudkomputing

Tekan ikon main di atas klik sini untuk mendengar podcast. -> Podcast
Click the play button above or click this link to hear the podcast. -> Podcast


Title: What is Cloud Computing????
Podcast Transcript

Selamat Sejahtera!!!

Saya Tharmini, pelajar Diploma dalam Networking & Security dari INTI Subang Jaya. Tujuan blog ini dicipta adalah untuk membawa kesedaran tentang teknologi Cloud Komputing kepada anda.

Hari Ini saya akan berbicara sedikit informasi tentang Cloud Komputing. Cloud Komputing merupakan salah satu teknologi terkini dalam bidang IT. Teknologi ini akan mengubah cara komputer dan internet sedang di gunakan dan meningkat kecekapan pengunaan komputer. Antara perubahan yang dibawa oleh teknologi ini adalah cara kami melayari program dan menyimpan maklumat dalam komputer.

Teknologi ini di panggil “Cloud” kerana program – program dijalankan dari server atau komputer melalui Internet. Oleh kerana itu, pengguna dapat menjalankan aplikasi di komputer lain asalkan mereka mempunyai sambungan internet.

Namun hingga ke hari ini, Cloud Komputing belum ditakrifkan dengan betul. Hal ini kerana perbezaan pendapat atas teknologi ini. Ada yang mengatakan cloud komputing sebagai pelayan virtual yang tersedia di Internet dan ada yang mengatakan cloud komputing merupakan network. Oleh itu, apakah pendapat anda tentang definisi cloud komputing?




Please refer to Post "What is Cloud Computing????" for original english post.

Rujukan:

Rujukan yang dicetak:
Kapil Bakshi.2009.Cisco Cloud Computing - Data Center Strategy, Architecture, and Soultions. Cisco, United States.

Analysis Post Week 4

Link to us: http://sn.im/analysis4

This week’s poll question is about “Which Cloud Computing service do you prefer?” We have received total votes of 7. Whereby, 4 votes in favour of Windows Live Sky Drive and 3 vote in favour of Google Doc. A simplified version of this poll result is as below in a pie chart diagram.

Each percentage of votes is shown below:

A) Windows Live Sky Drive (4Votes – 57%)

B) Google Doc (3 Votes – 43%)

C) Show Document (0 Votes – 0%)

D) Opera Unite (0 Votes – 0%)

Based on the pie chart above the number of vote for Windows Live Sky Drive was the highest. Perhaps, this is because Windows live Sky Drive is popular among users due to its features compared to the other 3 options given. With Windows Live Sky Drive you are able to store and share photos, videos and documents online. You are also able to choose with who you would like to share and also access the photos and documents from any web browser as long as you have an Internet connection. Furthermore, the Windows Live Sky Drive has free office web application whereby you are able to create and work with others on the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents online.

On the other hand, the Google doc web application allows you to share, create, and access your work on Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Drawings and Forms from any web browser which is similar to the Windows Live Sky Drive office web application. However, unlike Windows Live Sky Drive, Google doc is not able to support features like sharing photos and videos. This maybe the reason to why it is not so popular compared to the Windows Live Sky Drive.

The Show Document web application that allows web meeting and document sharing. This web application allows you to upload, share and view documents, web pages and images stored in your computer. It has a shared whiteboard that allows you to share ideas and information with others using a real time interactive whiteboard. You can also can simultaneously write and edit text or word files with others. However, this is a new web application many users don’t know about as it is new. This application will be useful tool for office workers and students to discuss their work.

The Opera Unite is a new web application that allows you to share content with friends without having to upload anything to the website. This web application is able to support features such as music streaming, photo galleries, share files and also host your own website directly from your browser from anywhere and anytime. Since it is new, users may not be aware of this Opera Unite we application.

Lastly, on behalf of the iCloud9 team I would like to thank all those who participated on the poll. We hope that you will continue to participate in our upcoming polls. Hence, what other web application do you prefer besides the 4 option that was given?

Google in The "Clouds"

Link to us: http://sn.im/googlecc

Being one of the major leading organizations in the field of cloud computing, Google offers cloud services through Google Apps. Google Apps is a general term referring to Google’s web-based applications. Certain Google Apps requires users to pay an amount of fees before users can user the function, whereas some are available for free. Until now, Google and Microsoft are leading cloud computing service providers that are competing to monopolize the cloud computing market. Thus, the applications’ overall features are somewhat similar to one another but with different names. Here is the list of Google Apps, their functions and the equivalent application in Microsoft:

Gmail - Gmail is an e-mail service that has a storage capacity of 25GB with spam filter and enhanced e-mail security features. Works just like Windows Live Hotmail.

Google Calendar - Allows users to mark, and manage eventful dates through an online calendar.

Google Docs - Allows users to create documents, spreadsheets, drawings and presentations online. It is the Google version of Microsoft Office.

Google Groups – Allows users to categorize contacts into groups for mailing lists, easy content sharing and for easy searching. Users can manage contacts according to different categories such as Family, Friends, Colleagues and others.

Google Sites – Allows users to create secured and coding-free web pages for intranets and team manageable sites. This eases most users because users don’t have to learn coding.

Google Video - Provides private and secured video sharing functions. Users can share videos online

Here are some of the other Google Apps applications: http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/#utm_medium=et&utm_source=catch_all

There are also different editions of Google Apps, which are for premier, education, standard and others. The standard version of Google Apps is available for the public for free. Many features are not available in this edition. The applications available for this edition includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sites, and Google Docs. The user accounts allowed per organization is also limited to maximum 50 users. The setbacks makes it unsuitable for bigger organizations.

Google Apps for Business also known as the Premier Edition offers better, powerful, office tools to ease business uses. It maximizes in business tools and is suitable for business of any sizes including big organizations The business edition requires a monthly payment before companies can use the applications. However, it enables many functions that are limited in the standard edition. Other than the full package of Google Apps, it also includes customer support services.

Next, Google Apps for Education provides email and collaboration tools to help students and lecturers. It focuses mainly on collaboration and communication applications such as email, integrated video chat, shared document, and easy customization to fit in the school's systems. It is provided for free and also is advertisement free (ad-free).

All these applications are run on the service provider’s servers, the ‘cloud’. Users can just run these applications in web browsers without downloading any files.Most of us have heard or used these services before. There are also other less popular cloud services provided by smaller organizations. However, the services might have as much features as cloud services provided by major cloud service providers. Are you a Google cloud service user or a Microsoft cloud service user or both?

Reference:

Internet Reference:

Google Apps: Google Apps,

Retrieved on September 2010.

URL: http://www.google.com/apps/

Google Apps for Business: Google Apps,

Retrieved on September 2010.

URL: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en-sg/business/

Google Apps Standard Edition: Google Apps, Retrieved on September 2010.

URL:http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en-sg/group/index.html

Microsoft in Cloud Computing

Link to us: http://sn.im/microsoftcc

Microsoft is one of the major cloud computing service providers of today. Just like Amazon, Google and other organizations that provide cloud computing services, Microsoft provides both free and paid cloud services, each for different target users. The products of Microsoft that are cloud-based are Windows Live and Microsoft Cloud Services. Windows Live is a collection of Microsoft softwares which majority of the softwares are web-based applications. The applications consists of both types of applications whereby some run directly on browsers while others have to be downloaded and run on the users' computer. Windows Live consists of Hotmail, Messenger, Essentials, SkyDrive, and Mobile. On the other hand, Microsoft Cloud Services consists of the cloud services that Microsoft offers. The cloud services provided are Window Azure Platform, Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) and Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA).

We are not going to go very deep into each and every cloud services that Microsoft offers, because it might be very confusing for the general public to understand. In short, here is a list of brief descriptions that describes the functions mentioned earlier:

Windows Live

• Hotmail : Provides e-mail services for users to compose mail, attach files, categorize contacts and others.
• Essentials : A downloadable package of free programs for users to manage photos and videos, chat online, e-mail, blog and also control Internet activity. Examples of programs included is Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Live Photo Gallery and others.
• SkyDrive :Provides online storage for users to store files and also share the stored files all for free. It currently provides 25GB of storage capacity.
• Mobile :Compressed version of Windows Live for mobile phones. Users can use Windows Live services through mobile phones.

Microsoft Cloud Computing

As mentioned above, the components of Windows Azure Platform are Windows Azure, SQL Azure Database and Windows Azure Platform AppFabric. The function of Windows Azure Platform is that it acts as a server appliance for complete outsourcing and private/on-premise cloud. Each component has its own task, which are:

• Windows Azure: Provides a Windows-based environment for data store and running applications on servers in Microsoft data centers.
• SQL Azure Database: Provides cloud based database services on SQL Server.
• Windows Azure Platform AppFabric: Provides cloud services for connecting applications running in the cloud or on premises.

Next, Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) Standard Suite includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting, Office Communications Online and Dynamics CRM Online. Each of this application has its own specialist that is:

• Exchange Online: For Enterprise standard email services.
• SharePoint Online: For file sharing.
• Office Live Meeting: For conducting real-time meetings online.
• Office Communications Online: Provides communication for big organizations or business uses.
• Dynamics CRM Online: Mainly for Customer Relationship Management.

All these application services can only be accessed online as Microsoft is the sole service provider.

Lastly, Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA), is defined from Splaindia as:

A simple pay-as-you-go subscription model to all service providers and Independent Software Vendors (ISV) who offers Software as a Service (SaaS)... billed on a per user per month basis.

( http://www.splaindia.com/website/BenefitsSPLA.aspx, Sep 2010)

The SPLA model decreases customers’ acquisition and operating costs, while improving the accessibility and productivity of the service. We will explain more on Saas services and other types of services in later posts.

All this services are contributions of Microsoft to in the Cloud Computing field. As for Microsoft users why not try it as the application can lead and guide users step by step to understand and use Cloud Computing better. Have you tried any of these services? What are your reviews of these services? Have you ever come across any other better cloud computing services?

Reference:

Internet Reference:

The Citrix Blog: What is Microsoft Cloud Computing,

Retrieved on August 2010.

URL: http://community.citrix.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=143917889

Windows Azure Platform: Products,

Retrieved on August 2010.

URL: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/products/

Microsoft Cloud Services: Cloud Services,

Retrieved on August 2010.

URL: http://www.microsoft.com/cloud/default.aspx

Windows Live: Windows Live,

Retrieved on August 2010.

URL: http://explore.live.com/home

Kryptos: Microsoft SPLA, Retrieved on August 2010.

URL: http://www.splaindia.com/website/BenefitsSPLA.aspx

Analysis Post Week 3

Link to us:http://sn.im/pollanalysis3

This will be our third poll question analysis result, which is “What is the difference between cloud computing and "regular" hosting?’. We have received 5 votes from our guests. To ease the view of the results we have simplified the result into a pie chart as below:

Each percentage of votes is shown below:

A) Is it fully virtualised (0 votes – 0%)

B) Allows self-personalising (1 votes – 20%)

C) Price depends on the utilised resources (3 votes – 60%)

D) No Difference (1 votes – 20%)

From the pie chart, we can clearly see that “Price depends on the utilised resources” as the choice has highest percentage in the votes which cover 60% of the total. As most people know cloud computing system mainly is free of charge and most “regular” hosting is not free of charge as an example, to host standard website the provider has given limited disc space. The second highest vote is “Allows self-personalising” and “No Difference” which both have cover 20% each of total. From my view those who chose this two choice is because they might not be familiar about cloud computing or “regular” hosting. Majority of people already know cloud computing and “regular” hosting sure have difference from the name and even both systems have similar features. Lastly, the option of “Is it fully virtualised”  had not been voted by anyone which covers 0% of the total. Everyone knows that there is no system that let users fully virtualise it because of its security for other user and developer.

Finally, we appreciate and would like to thank all of you who participated in the last poll. We sincerely hope that you will continue to participate in our future polls. For those who did not participate in the previous poll, you still have choice in our next poll. Come see our blog frequently you may give us some suggestion to improve our blog.