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November 19, 2012



5 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed

Courtesy : Mashable Social Media 


Computer ScreensThe holidays are just around the corner, and for many, the next month-and-a-half will be the busiest and most stressful time of the year.
Here at Mashable, we’re not looking to add to your stress; rather, we’re trying to reduce it. So, for your convenience, we’ve rounded up all of our digital features into one post.
This week’s roundup contains essential resources for holiday shoppers, including our Gift of the Day series and a gallery of 50 holiday gifts for video-game fans.
In addition to gifts and gadgets, you’ll find helpful social media and digital business advice, as well as some killer software apps. So dig in, and help yourself to a holiday-feast-sized portion of digital media resources.

Editor’s Picks

Gift of the Day

For more tech gift suggestions, visit Mashable’s Gift of the Day topic page.

Social Media

For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Business & Marketing

For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Tech & Mobile

For more tech news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s tech channel on Twitter and become a fan onFacebook.

Lifestyle

For more digital lifestyle news and resources, you can follow Mashable‘s lifestyle channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Image courtesy of Flickr, nouQraz
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November 18, 2012

Sam Pitroda Speaks

Sam Pitroda Speaks
In the above video link, Dr Pitroda is talking about, Cloud Computing for Emerging Markets. He spoke on explanation of the Indian approach to Cloud Computing. 
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November 17, 2012

Free software alternatives | SouthCoastToday.com

Free software alternatives | SouthCoastToday.com


I'd like to revisit a column from four years ago about free software that I find to be very useful that may not be widely known to the average user.
In that column I recommended Firefox for web browsing, OpenOffice for documents and spreadsheets, Audacity for audio editing, Skype for video conferencing, Pidgin for instant messaging, Gimp for image editing, WinAmp for playing music, Picassa for photo management, Thunderbird for email, and Linux for those interested in alternatives to Microsoft Windows or Apple's MacOS. Surprisingly, four years later I wouldn't really back too far off of those choices - all of the them are worth a look - but time has moved on and there are some new kids on the block. The last four years has seen rise to the cloud.
The cloud
What the heck is the cloud? To keep it simple — it means that you can store documents on the Internet and access them from any computer. It can also mean that the programs you use to create documents, play music, play games, etc are also on the Internet and generally run in your web browser. Some of my choices for free software alternatives are cloud based. There's more to the cloud but that explanation will suffice for the purposes of this column.
Operating Systems
There is a new operating system in town — Google's Chromium OS. When I say "operating system" or OS — it simply means the thing that makes your device work — whether that device is a traditional PC, laptop, phone, or even TV. You won't put Chromium on your PC — it generally comes on small cheap laptops called Chromebooks. I like these devices and have one myself. A Chromebook can do 90 percent of things most people do with their computers such as web browsing, email, and stream music/video. You can read more about Chromebooks in this column: http://bit.ly/PD7G9z. As things move more and more into the cloud, appliance computing devices like Chromebooks and tablets become more and more viable.
Office productivity
Microsoft Office is still the bloated, complicated, insecure, and overpriced 800-pound gorilla eating its own feces while occasionally throwing them at people on non-Windows operating systems. I don't use it because it does not run on my OS(Linux), it is expensive, and it offers me nothing that I can't get for free elsewhere. To be fair, there are some power users who would have trouble surviving without Microsoft Office. Myself and probably 99 percent of computer users would be fine with free alternatives. OpenOffice and its cousin LibreOffice are still a great choice. In the four years since I wrote my "software" column the cloud has brought another option. Google Docs is a web based office suite that allows you to create and shared documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with your web browser. I use Google Docs more and more and am currently writing this column using it .... sort of. Actually I write my columns with a super-geeky programming text editor called Emacs, then copy the text into Google Docs for final formatting. I also use LibreOffice pretty often.
Web browser
I still use Firefox as my primary web browser though sometimes I also use Google's Chrome browser. Apple's Safari browser is now available for Windows but I won't use it because it is not available for Linux. Opera is another choice.
Music
I moved my entire music collection of 500 albums and 6,000 songs into the cloud to Google Music. I can listen to them from any computer or smartphone, download local copies, create playlists, etc. I regularly use Pandora — a web based streaming music service — that is great for discovering new music. It rocks. I also use Spotify. This amazing software gives you streaming access to a catalog of 18 million songs. The free version has some ads and a lower quality than the pay version. If I had to recommend a music application for managing your library, I would recommend NOT ITUNES. Clementine, WinAmp, and Amarok are all good choices but I am mostly using cloud based services these days.
Video/Audio conferencing
I'm still partial to Skype but in recent years Google has added video conferencing to its offerings. It works well and is integrated into Gmail and Google+. We gave up our home phone years ago and use the computer almost exclusively for long distance calling — particularly to Europe.
E-book management
One piece of software I use every day is Calibre. It manages your collection of E-books and allows you to manage your Nook, Kindle, or other E-reader. One of the coolest things Calibre can do is download newspapers for free off the Internet, convert them to e-books, and put them on your device. I download several newspapers every day — it works great.
Folks, there are a ton of choices out there these days and my short list are suggestions that work for me. Twenty other geeks would give you 20 different suggestions but all would probably agree that you should always be on the lookout for ways to do things better and cheaper. With the rise of tablets and other appliance computing devices, there is real advantage to software that will run on multiple platforms.
mark.j.belanger@gmail.com
http://nemasket.net
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The top concerns with cloud storage services | ZDNet

The top concerns with cloud storage services | ZDNet
A new survey released by technical support firm FixYa suggests that the top concerns of cloud storage users are the security of a service, storage limitations, file syncing and missing files.
Asking the website's users for commentary on popular cloud storage services iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, SugarSync and Box, FixYa received several thousand responses, although a spokesperson was unable to confirm the exact amount, according to Computer World.

Cloud Storage - FixYa Report sugarsync google drive dropbox icloud box
Credit: FixYa

"Cloud-based file storage is becoming the expected method for file sharing these days, both on personal devices and in the workplace," FixYa CEO Yaniv Bensadon told the publication. "We hope the FixYa Cloud Storage Report shines a light on these differences so consumers can make an educated decision on which will be best suited for their needs."
The report documents the major issues users face, and what potential fixes are on offer to streamline storage and knock the kinks out of using cloud services.
Dropbox
Popular cloud storage service Dropbox claims over 100 million users worldwide. It is one of the top competitors in the cloud storage market, and its service is compatible with a number of different devices and operating systems.
A force to be reckoned with due to ease of use, 2GB of storage space is offered to individual users for free -- more than enough for casual storage users. However, other cloud storage services including Box and Google Drive offer 5GB of free space; something 25 percent of respondents found irritating.
40 percent of survey respondents stated that security concerns were the top issue when using Dropbox. The firm has experienced some small but not insignificant hacks and breaches in the past, including a situation in 2011 where accounts could be accessed without a password, and a hack this year where spam emails were sent to Dropbox users.
These issues were fixed, but user trust remains strained.
In addition, 15 percent experienced continual file syncing issues, and "laggy" response times annoyed ten percent of the survey participants.
Google Drive
Google Drive, relatively new due to its official launch in 2012, was the next phase in the tech giant's development of its Google Docs platform.
When using Google Drive, the top complaint was missing files, reported by 30 percent of respondents. In addition, 20 percent experienced synchronization issues. 20 percent found that Google Drive's automatic conversion to Google Docs irritating, and 20 percent cited "unknown" errors. The remaining ten percent referred to "other" problems with the cloud service.
"Although security concerns are not as prominent amongst FixYa users compared to other cloud devices, Drive still experiences some general usability issues that need to be addressed," FixYa says. "For the most part, however, these issues can be solved quickly."
SugarSync
SugarSync without Quickbooks support topped the priority list for 30 percent of users. The popular accounting software is a must-have for those in finance, and so immediately a market is lost due to this service flaw. A quarter of respondents disliked storage restrictions, which are based on a 30-day trial or "a five gigabyte free plan buried at the bottom of their sign-up page." According to FixYa, "pricing is higher than other cloud services (iCloud notwithstanding)."
30 percent stated that file synchonization issues -- including a distinct problem with iTunes files -- was their main gripe with SugarSync. FixYa says that iTunes files are "notoriously dodgy", as SugarSync has problems sharing between different mobile devices. 15 percent chose "other".
iCloud
With the rollout of the Mountain Lion operating system, Apple's iCloud storage took a beating. 35 percent are reporting synchronization issues, whether it is trying to sign up for the service, back up files or syncing apps like the Notes feature between devices.
Many Apple customers are heavy users of iCloud, as it allows easy transition and synchnization between Apple devices. However, 15 percent also reported problems synching non-Apple devices to the cloud. In addition, 15 percent were dissatisfied with the amount of storage available. 10 percent said that "other" issues irritated them.
Box
Box, launched in 2005, found itself in the firing line over security issues. 25 percent chose security concerns as the main problem with the service -- popular with SMBs -- whereas another 25 percent experienced file upload issues.
"While security issues do not appear to be a problem for large-scale business accounts, FixYa users have reported concerns with security for their free personal accounts," the firm said.
Box is a little different than other cloud storage providers, as it is working towards a native, collaborative management platform rather than acting simply as a file locker. However, as Google moves towards the same principle, Box's popularity may soon be in jeopardy.
Problems with backup files were also reported by 20 percent of respondents, as was "laggy response" times. Ten percent chose "other."
Topics: Cloud, Apple, Data Management, Google, Mobility

About 

London-based medical anthropologist Charlie Osborne is a journalist, graphic designer and former teacher.
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Courtesy : ZdNet
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October 27, 2012

Gartner's Top 10 Tech Trends for 2013 CIO.com

Gartner's Top 10 Tech Trends for 2013 CIO.com
Courtesy : CIO News


Gartner's Top 10 Tech Trends for 2013

The rise of mobile devices becomes the No. 1 trend as Microsoft joins the fight and seeks to retain a strong share of client platforms.

By Patrick Thibodeau
Tue, October 23, 2012
Computerworld — ORLANDO -First came the heavy adoption of Apple's mobile platform by consumers whose heavy use of the devices for business tasks forced the IT operations at their companies to support them.
Android was the next mobile platform pushed onto IT and now comes Windows 8, Microsoft's latest effort keep its PC empire intact and gain market share in mobile devices.
For Gartner, the arrival of Windows 8 makes the "mobile device battles" its top technology trend for 2013.
Gartner announced its list of Top 10 tech trends at its annual IT/expo here this week.
The battle among mobile device vendors for the attention of consumers is forcing IT managers into increasing heterogeneity.
Tom Minifie, CTO at a software vendor he asked not to be named, said developers at his company have built Apple and Android mobile apps for employees, including a smartphone tool that can separate workplace and personal communications.
Minifie said the company has no immediate plans to support Windows-based mobile devices. Officials will first watch to see how adoption goes.
He noted, when asked, that the decision isn't a chicken and egg problem. A lack of apps shouldn't deter users from adopting Windows-based devices if they want.
He referred the past history of employees at the company who bought Apple and Android devices before they were supported by IT. "They still went out and got them because there were compelling devices for personal use," he said.
Gartner also predicts that on legacy devices "90% of enterprises will bypass broadscale deployment of Windows 8 through at least 2014," said Peter Sondergaard, who heads up Gartner's research operation.
David Cappuccio, an analyst at Gartner, said that the Windows 8 forecast is not a ding against Microsoft.
"Every group of employees has different needs," said Cappuccio.
Salespeople or some executives may want a tablet, other workers may only need a smartphone, and in some cases they may be using their personal device. "We can either force standardization," said Cappuccio, "or you can open things up and let people let people do what they want within reason."
David Cearley, an analyst at Gartner, unveiled the researcher's 2012 Top 10 list, which represents strategic trends the company believes will impact IT over the next several years, on Tuesday.
The list follows:
One: Mobile devices.
By next year, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide. Does this mean mobile devices will replace PCs? Yes and no, says Gartner. Some IT departments may only need to support mobile devices for specific workers whose jobs require them while the rest continue to use PCs. But, Gartner adds, the rise of mobile devices does signal the end of Windows as the single corporate platform.
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Forget Bring Your Own Device - Try Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled

Forget Bring Your Own Device - Try Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled

Courtesy : readwrite enterprise

As consumer devices and services increasingly outstrip their corporate competitors in power, productivity and cachet, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has become the latest so-hot-you'll-melt trend in the world of corporate IT. But plenty of IT departments see it as a demon to be exorcised from the cubicle farms - or an opportunity to dump the responsibility for hardware upkeep on their internal customers. Rather than struggle with BYOD, some companies are turning the whole concept of BYOD on its head in favor of Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE) policies.
The idea behind BYOD is to let end users choose the devices, programs and services that best meet their personal and business needs, with access, support and security supplied by the company IT department - often with subsidies for device purchases.
But BYOD places new burdens on IT as it tries to deal with an infinite variety of platforms and profiles. COPE takes the opposite approach - instead of making corporate functions work on personal devices, it sets up a framework to support and allow personal uses of company devices. 
COPE essentially works like this: the organization buys the device and still owns it, but the employee is allowed, within reason, to install the applications they want on the device, be it smartphone or traditional computer.
For BYOD, the question for IT is "How do I secure information on a device that I don't own?" With COPE, the question becomes, "How can I loosen my grip for my employees to use their devices for personal use?"
That's how Philippe Winthrop, VP of Strategy at VeliQ, framed the questions for me. He's passionate about COPE, even though his work at VeliQ, the mobility Platform-as-a-Service company he recently joined, isn't even centered on it.

COPE vs. BYOD

According to Winthrop, COPE offers big cost benefits. Under BYOD, employees buy and expense the devices and services they need, while the employer may reimburse all or a portion of these costs, based on preset policies.
But that can leave companies paying retail prices. COPE lets IT departments keep their sweet corporate discounts.  With BYOD, Winthrop said, "CFOs see a way to save a couple hundred bucks on CapEx [capital expenditures]. They're missing an opportunity to save far more on OpEx [operational expenditures]."
Keeping data where it belongs is the other big problem within BYOD. Worries about misplaced and insecure devices or malware-infected machines keeps the IT folks reaching for the antacid.
Not only are employee-owned devices at greater risk, but sometime laws can hamper what a company can do to help itself. In the European Union and South Korea, for instance, laws specifically forbid a company from wiping data from equipment it doesn't own. So, if a smartphone gets left in the airliner's seat pocket, any data on that phone is out in the wild.
COPE neatly circumvents challenges like this. If the company owns the device, it can yank data back regardless of regulations. And, since they can preconfigure the device before handing it to employee, IT can easily insert security and application-management protocols.
"With COPE, it's all about balance," Winthrop explained. "When I said 'loosen my grip,' I didn't say 'let go.'"
COPE also eases support issues by deploying the same hardware to every employee. In the BYOD scenario, IT might not even be able to repair all the possible devices, and vendor or third-party support services may not be completely secure.
To be fair, there are ways of mitigating the BYOD issues. Many companies that support BYOD maintain lists of approved devices, and let employees choose only from lists of approved devices and engage trusted third-party service and support vendors. Others keep all secure company data and access in a cloud-based virtual desktop or profile, reducing the risk if the device is compromised. 

What's Keeping COPE Back?

Still, COPE has many benefits compared to BYOD, at least from the IT perspective. So why aren't more IT shops adopting the COPE model? It's those darn users. 
Winthrop attributes the fixation on BYOD to the GenY-ers, staffers who insist on wanting to do everything their way and their way only.
"You could call it the Frank Sinatra Syndrome," Winthrop joked. (Clearly not a Sex Pistolsfan, then.) Faced with these attitudes, many IT departments seem to think their only options are caving entirely or completely stonewalling user requests.
It doesn't have to be that way. By embracing COPE, IT can reassert the control it must have to keep data and work processes secure, while still giving employees the shiny toys they so desperately want.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Android malware exploding, says Trend Micro

Android malware exploding, says Trend Micro


The amount of mobile Android malware has surged this year, from a count of 30,000 malware specimens in June to almost 175,000 last month, according to Trend Micro's SecurityRoundup report for the third quarter of this year.
"When we predicted earlier there would be 125,000 by the end of the year, Google called us charlatans," says Raimund Genes, Trend Micro's chief technology officer, who says the security firm is counting Android malware variants as it does with Windows-based malware specimens. The Trend Micro report notes the fake versions of legitimate Android apps are the most prevalent type of Android malware, counted at 29,309. Others have names like Boxer, Kmin, Opfake, Trojsms, Ginmaster and Droidkungfu.
Ironically, since the Google Android operating system has undergone a kind of fracture due to so many variations of it being used by different manufacturers on Android mobile devices, this has probably actually slowed down hackers trying to attack the Android OS, Genes notes. And despite the surge in mobile malware, it's still far below the many millions of MicrosoftWindows-based malware variants.
With directness, the Trend Micro report also takes aim at an area of growing concern, Android adware, devising a "Top 10 Most Aggressive Android Adware" list of adware that may send an excessive, undeclared amount of personal information captured off a device to ad networks.
A lot of this adware has come though the legitimate Google Play app store, and sometimes has been yanked when objections were voiced, but in Trend's view, this marketing adware has to be considered insidious if only because it's grabbing user personal data off Android devices outside of the adware's declared purpose by the developer, including licensing agreements.
This might be anything from geolocation data to unique ID of the phone and phone numbers you call and your contacts, among other things, Genes says. Often, "there's no way to opt in or opt out," he notes. "In Europe, it's illegal to grab that information."
Trend says it's analyzed adware for what it considers clear privacy violations, and some of these adware suppliers are not pleased to be named as "aggressive Android adware" and their lawyers are sending threatening letters to Trend Micro.
But Genes says Trend feels confident in its position and will continue to voice its concerns about ad networks that fail to alert users of adware's data-gathering behavior. The mobile adware issue evokes similar circumstances of years ago when what then came to be known as "spyware" targeting Windows desktops for marketing purposes became a battle in the security industry, too.
On Trend Micro's "Top 10 Most Aggressive Android Adware" list is:
Airpush with 26,321
Leadbolt with 20,502
Touchnet with 8,541
Gappusin with 6,978
Adwizp with 4,254
Plankton with 4,137
Adswo with 3,342
Wooboo with 2,032
Wapsx with 515
|Mobiletx with 100
Trend Micro bases much of its report findings on data collected across its cloud-based Smart Protection Network for global threat intelligence. There's also an update on the top spam-sending countries where email spam originates (though it's often thought to be controlled through botnets whose masters may reside in an entirely different country). Currently, the surprise is that Saudi Arabia has suddenly come from nowhere to become the top spam-sending country.
"This is really new," comment Genes, and it's probably because spam filtering has improved in other countries, such as the U.S, India and Turkey, and spammers are currently turning to Saudi Arabia as a new place to exploit compromised computers and networks to blast spam across the world.
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