The five big myths of cloud computing

June 13, 2012, 8:48 AM PDT | By  Thoran Rodrigues

Takeaway: Thoran Rodrigues deconstructs the five biggest myths about cloud computing, driven by the cloud “hype” wave.

We are living through a wave of cloud computing hype. It seems like there is a new cloud featureor product being launched by big technology companies almost every day - and sometimes concurrently - and the cloud is at the center of all the important tech industry discussions today, from job creation and destruction to the growth and decline of companies. This hype generates a number of false expectations and concerns that may lead companies into making bad decisions about the technology.

The simple possibility of helping people avoid bad decisions would be reason enough to look into these “myths” that surround the cloud, but other advantages may also come from this exploration: a better understanding of fundamental concepts that can help in the dialogue between vendors, early adopters and those who are still holding back.

The Myth of the Green Cloud

For a few years before the 2008 crisis hit the world’s economy, being green was even more fashionable for tech companies than being in the cloud is today. Green IT movements were in full force, and some cloud vendors have been once again raising this banner claiming that moving to the cloud is the greenest decision a company can make. The logic behind this myth is that cloud data centers can optimize the use of computing resources, making them more efficient than any privately-owned data center around.

This, however, is only partly true. What most companies forget is to look for the source of that energy for their data centers. If you operate your own servers in a country where most energy comes from renewable sources (such as Brazil, with a large percentage of hydroelectric power), and you move them to a cloud based in a country whose energy matrix is dominated by thermoelectric power (coal and oil), the net effect may be an increase in your company’s carbon footprint. Any cloud is only as green as its power sources.

Full article here 

Apple announces 2012 Design Award winners.

A NICE WAY TO 'CATCH' POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES!

What were some of the best looking apps made in the past year? Apple's published the winners of its annual Design Awards show.

(Credit: Apple)

What were the prettiest, or otherwise design-centric apps made on Apple's platforms this year?

The results are in.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference continues through the rest of this week, though the annual Apple Design Awards show is in the can. This is the event where the company recognizes the achievements of developers who created particularly well-designed software, be it in looks or overall functionality.

Among some of the winners are popular games like Halfbrick's Jetpack Joyride and Playdead's Limbo, alongside creation apps like Bohemian Coding's Sketch for the Mac, and Paper for theiPad by FiftyThree.

Apple began its annual design awards program in 1997 under the moniker the "Human Interface Design Excellence," changing to its current name just a year later. Those who win get promotion on Apple's developer site, as well as a cube-shaped award that glows when picked up. The design for that cube, which has been made by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Sparkfactor Design since 2003, was once put through a CT scanner by an award winner to see how it worked.

A full list of winners from this year's show is below. All links lead to those apps in their respective App Stores.

iPhone Winners

DM1 - The Drum Machine

Company: Fingerlab

App: Jetpack Joyride

Company: Halfbrick Studios

App: National Parks by National Geographic

Company: National Geographic Society / Rally Interactive

iPad winners

App: Paper 

Company: FiftyThree Inc

App: Bobo Explores Light 

Company: GameCollage

App: DM1 - The Drum Machine

Company: Fingerlab

Student winners

App: DaWindci (iPad)

Company: Reality Twist GmbH, Mimimi Productions, Mediadesign Highschool of Applied Sciences

App: Little Star (iPad)

Company: BiBoBox Studio, Dalian Nationalities University

Mac winners

App: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Ultimate Edition

Company: Feral Interactive Ltd

App: Limbo

Company: Playdead ApS

App: Sketch

Company: Bohemian Coding

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UK technology sector gets (US) financial support

A US hi-tech investment bank with $20bn in assets has opened its first UK branch offering banking and loan services to the technology industry.  

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a subsidiary of SVB Financial Group, is looking for UK customers in the technology, life science, private equity and venture capital sectors, according to theBBC.

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) counts Cisco Systems, Mozilla and Pinterest among its US clients. Itt has lent hundreds of millions in the UK already and plans to increase this to billions very quickly by making loans of £300,000 to £30m to established firms looking to expand.

SVB claims over half of all venture capital-backed technology and life science companies bank with the group. In the US, it has made $7bn in loans.

The bank's move is regarded as an endorsement of the UK technology sector. Chancellor George Osborne said it proves the UK is fast becoming the technology centre of Europe.

Phil Cox, SVB's head of UK, Israel and India, told the BBC that existing retail banks are failing to serve smaller technology companies who may not have three years' worth of accounts yet or even any sales.

UK bank Cambridge & Counties estimates that 60,000 loan and overdraft applications worth £3bn were rejected by banks in the second half of 2011.

The bank, established to service small and medium-sized businesses, is owned jointly by Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Fund and Cambridge University college, Trinity Hall.

Original report here :

EC sets Google July deadline to answer competition concerns

The European Commission (EC) has given Google until July to submit proposals to address antitrust allegations about it abusing its dominant position in its online search rankings, or face regulatory action.

An investigation into complaints about Google, led by Europe's competition head Jaoquin Almunia, identified four areas of concern.

In May, Almunia said he would give Google an opportunity to offer remedies to address the concerns that he outlined in a letter toGoogle executive chairman, Eric Schmidt.

But Eric Schmidt said Google disagreed that the firm had done anything to breach EU antitrust law, at the company's Big Tent conference in Hertfordshire last month.

Schmidt said Google did not understand how the EC believes it has broken anti-trust laws and insisted the search giant had done nothing wrong.

In his letter to Google, Almunia identified four areas of concern:

• The manner in which Google displays its own vertical search services differently from other, competing products;
• How Google copies content from other websites – such as restaurant reviews – to include in its own services;
• The exclusivity Google has to sell advertising around search terms people use;
• Restrictions surrounding portability of advertising content which prevents seamless transfer to other non-Google platforms.

But Schmidt said this is still insufficient information for the company to respond.

Now Almunia has set Google a deadline of early July for the company to negotiate remedies to protect competition or face potentially heavy fines, according to the Telegraph.

If Google fails to respond, European regulators will issue a formal statement of objections in response to complaints that it abuses its dominant position to promote its own secondary services.

Almunia has also warned that, if negotiations and proposals to address the EC's concerns are unsatisfactory, formal proceedings will continue through the adoption of a statement of objections.

Once adopted, the EC could impose fines of up to 10% of Google global revenues, reported at $37.9bn in 2011.

original full report 

Google told by EC to play ball or face a trial.

The European Commission is warning Google to change its search methods or the company will be forced into court over antitrust issues

The search giant has been under the microscope of the EC over complaints that it has stifled competition in the search market by favoring its own businesses. Several companies have alleged that Google purposely tweaks its search results so that its own sites appear before those of potential rivals.

Until now, the EC been in no rush to launch formal chargesagainst Google. But now the war of words has been ramped up a few notches.

Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission's head of competition, has given Google a deadline of July 2 to change its search results and ad rules or face a trial and the possibility of a hefty fine, according to the Guardian. The deadline and threats were spelled out in a letter sent to Google in light of concerns over the company's dominant position in Europe.

A spokesman for Google told CNET simply that "we continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission."

But the company was a bit more detailed in a statement to the Guardian:

"We operate in over 100 countries around the world, and the Internet is disruptive by its nature. It's understandable that our business should attract scrutiny and sometimes complaints in a few of those countries. We're always happy to answer questions authorities may have about our business."

A Google spokesman also suggested that "we've been co-operating with [the EC's] investigation and that issues can be solved through conversation," the Guardian added.

Almunia has indicated a willingness to settle with Google to avoid a courtroom showdown, but his patience may be wearing thin.

Google has been given an ultimatum by the European Commission: straighten up or we'll take you to court.

The search giant has been under the microscope of the EC over complaints that it has stifled competition in the search market by favoring its own businesses. Several companies have alleged that Google purposely tweaks its search results so that its own sites appear before those of potential rivals.

Until now, the EC been in no rush to launch formal chargesagainst Google. But now the war of words has been ramped up a few notches.

Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission's head of competition, has given Google a deadline of July 2 to change its search results and ad rules or face a trial and the possibility of a hefty fine, according to the Guardian. The deadline and threats were spelled out in a letter sent to Google in light of concerns over the company's dominant position in Europe.

A spokesman for Google told CNET simply that "we continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission."

But the company was a bit more detailed in a statement to the Guardian:

"We operate in over 100 countries around the world, and the Internet is disruptive by its nature. It's understandable that our business should attract scrutiny and sometimes complaints in a few of those countries. We're always happy to answer questions authorities may have about our business."

A Google spokesman also suggested that "we've been co-operating with [the EC's] investigation and that issues can be solved through conversation," the Guardian added.

Almunia has indicated a willingness to settle with Google to avoid a courtroom showdown, but his patience may be wearing thin.Google is also facing similar antitrust woes in other countries.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission hired high-profile attorney Beth Wilkinson to determine whether the company has violated antitrust laws in the United States.

Some experts believe the FTC is using Wilkinson's reputation as a tough litigator to force Google to settle or wind up in court.

Original 

Google holding 'next dimension' of Maps event next week

(Credit: CNET)

Google is holding an invitation-only event next week in San Francisco, where it says it will show off the "next dimension" of its Maps product.

Vice President of Google Maps and Google Earth Brian McClendon will be on hand to demo what the company says is a "behind-the-scenes look" at Google Maps, as well as a demo of some new technology and a "sneak peek" at upcoming features.

The event comes a week ahead of when Apple is expected to replace Google as the mapping provider in iOS at its annual developers conference, which starts June 11. That's already happened on iPhoto for iOS, and that appears to be a wider decision in iOS 6, according to screenshots that leaked out earlier this week. It also comes several weeks ahead of Google's annual I/O conference, which is developer-focused, but also typically brings updates to the company's consumer services too.

The briefing kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Pacific on June 6, and CNET will be there to bring you the news. Here's the full text from the invitation for you to chew on in the meantime:

ORIGINAL 

who owns Facebook, after the IPO?

Facebook goes public

Reuters / Valentin Flauraud

Facebook has debuted in share trading on the US platform for IT companies Nasdaq, to find out how much status updates and billions of likes are worth on Wall Street.

Facebook sells 82 million shares in the first 30 seconds of trading, with the stock opening at $43 per share, Reuters reports. The pricing was above even the high end of the settled price range of $38 per share, with analysts saying Facebook shares could gain up to 50% from its opening price during the first trading day. A $38 price tag valued the world’s most popular social network at $104 billion. With 421 million shares on sale, the Initial Public Offering (IPO) was expected to raise up to $18 billion. Experts say it's a big windfall for a company that began just 8 years ago with no obvious way of making money.

Many analysts however advise potential new shareholders to hold off buying into Facebook, saying so far there’s not enough understanding of how successful the business is.

Full report :

Chrome 19 Launches, Now Features Built-In Tab Syncing.

Google today launched version 19 of its Chrome browser for Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome Frame to its mainstream stable release channel. Besides the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, the highlight of today’s release is the addition of tab syncing to Chrome. With this, Chrome users can now have their open tabs synced across all of their devices, including tablets and phones that run the Ice Cream Sandwich-only Chrome for Android beta.

This feature will allow you to just pick up your browsing sessions on any other computer or device you log in to. One nifty aspect of this is that Chrome will also sync your browsing history, so even your back and forward buttons will work.

Adding tab syncing is just the latest syncing feature Google is adding to Chrome. The browser can already sync your bookmarks, apps, history, themes, extensions and other settings between machines as well (assuming you signed in to Chrome with your Google account, of course).

It’s worth noting that while Chrome 19 is out now, Google plans to roll out the tab syncing feature “gradually over the coming weeks.”

As part of this release, Google also announced that it paid out around $14,500 as part of its security bug bounty program this time around.

Original report

How Yahoo Killed Flickr and Lost the Internet.

EXCLUSIVE

Web startups are made out of two things: people and code. The people make the code, and the code makes the people rich. Code is like a poem; it has to follow certain structural requirements, and yet out of that structure can come art. But code is art that does something. It is the assembly of something brand new from nothing but an idea.

This is the story of a wonderful idea. Something that had never been done before, a moment of change that shaped the Internet we know today. This is the story of Flickr. And how Yahoo bought it and murdered it and screwed itself out of relevance along the way.

Do you remember Flickr's tag line? It reads "almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world." It was an epic humble brag, a momentously tongue in cheek understatement.

Because until three years ago, of courseFlickr was the best photo sharing service in the world. Nothing else could touch it. If you cared about digital photography, or wanted to share photos with friends, you were on Flickr.