The Flipside: Multiple Personalities of Cloud Computing

"So the question is, how do we support those individuals, knowing that there could be hundreds of cloud services being used? There could be a different cloud service for each person or multiple cloud services for each person." Woo

"I don't think I'm a cloud fanatic, but I do think that the parameters are shifting and that, at some point, the burden of proof is going to shift as well. Whereas now an organization might need to justify moving a service to the cloud, I think in the future the burden of proof is going to be to justify why a service is being kept in house." Dieckmann 

The Multiple Personalities of Cloud Computing (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE

Cloud.com your own private cloud

Ok so you don't want to publish sensitive information on the public cloud? Start your own private cloud server. That should create a reasonably seamless link between your public and private worlds. Steve

• http://cloud.com/learn/videos  
• http://cloud.com/learn/downloads  
• http://cloud.com/learn/faq/#cloud.com  
• http://cloud.com/community/support  

Thank you Nicolas

10 reasons why Microsoft Office 365 rocks

It looks like Microsoft is preparing for cloud computing big time. Funny, up until now cloud computing was  limited to secure corporate Intranets, platforms and VPNs, now it is available over the whole Internet, if we can just get the security right.

Federated sign-in looks promising, but a lot of corporate profits are at stake and so I expect we will continue to suffer from a long bout of login-itis. Oh well, I have a single (e.g.: very rare) username, the password is 8 characters and numbers. I use a seed password to make all account passwords different. I'm all set to hold my breath for five years, by then the dust will have settled and I should have a unique sign-on. Steve

"Microsoft has released a beta of its new and improved online productivity suite, Office 365. It comes in two editions, small business and enterprise, and makes it easy and cost effective to go “into the cloud” without giving up the familiar Microsoft server and client applications. Expected to be released in final form in 2011, Office 365 will include email, collaboration, presence/communications (IM and audio/video calls and conferencing), and both Office Web Apps and (in the enterprise edition) Office 2010 Professional Plus. Here are a few reasons that industry commentators such as Paul Thurrott are saying Microsoft got it right this time." 10 reasons why Microsoft Office 365 rocks | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com:

Where do you save money using cloud computing?

 Source: ftp://.ibm.com.PDF

1.1 Hardware 

• o Number of existing physical servers
• o Average total purchase price per server
• o Average Hardware % utilization

1.2 Software 

• o Number of existing non-Free OS (e.g. Windows Server) licenses
• o Number of existing virtualization software licenses
• o Annual virtualization software license cost per physical server
• o Cost of non-free OS license (one time cost) per physical server
• o Cost of non-free OS annual license maintenance per physical server

1.3 Provisioning 

• o Number of images installed per year (provisioning requests)
• o FTE hours required per provisioning without automation software
• o FTE hours required per provisioning with automation software
• o Costs for provisioning automation software (Tivoli Service Automation Manager)

1.4 Productivity 

• o Total number of projects per year
• o Average idle time caused by provisioning per project without automation
• o Average idle time caused by provisioning per project with automation

1.5 System Administration 

• o Number of existing physical servers
• o Number of actively managed OS instances
• o How many system administrators are managing the environment (excluding network and storage administration)
• o Administration productivity gain due to cloud transformation
• o Ratio of system administrators to support staff
• o Annual labor cost per system administrator

Feeling Ignored?

• Why Your Boss Doesn't Always Listen to You | The Corner Office | BNET

Notes on Cloud computing:

• This is Eucalyptus cloud server not Google Apps: 10 things to consider before deploying a cloud
• 10 really dumb mistakes to avoid in the field

Multiple Clouds may provide added security

...would-be web visionaries have floated the idea of a meta-cloud - a cloud-of-clouds, if you will. With this extended metaphor, you could access multiple clouds from a single web interface, seamlessly moving tasks from one to the other. If one disappears, another is there. ...

As our customers need more transcoding, we just spin up more machines, and when they need less transcoding, we just tear those machines down."...

Source: The Meta Cloud - Flying data centers enter fourth dimension • The Register

• US gov opens Cloud shop to combat runaway IT costs • The Register

• Cloud Myths Dispelled | Eucalyptus

• cloudkick | blog Cloud inteoperability

VMware Support

With Eucalyptus EE VMware support, turn your VMware-based virtualized environment into an Amazon AWS compatible on-premise cloud. You can also run your Amazon Machine Image (AMI) instances on your VMware-based hypervisors on-premise (Includes an image converter that helps users develop VMware-enabled Eucalyptus applications that are compatible with Amazon EC2). This means that one can now seamlessly manage environments with multiple hypervisors (Xen, KVM, vSphere, ESX, ESXi) under one management console. Source: Feature Tour | Eucalyptus

Review: Four Free Online Office Suites

1. ThinkFree Office Online The winner. I use it instead of MS-Office.
   ThinkFree Website bring your Java
2. Zoho Office Suite Distant second
3. Google Docs & Spreadsheets Also ran (google is negociating with ThinkFree) cool new function: =GoogleLookup("Paraguay", "internet users")
   Functions : Function list - Google Docs Help
4. Ajax13

Source: Online Office Suites: The Winner Is Clear

Thanks Ron

New Tools for Complete Cloud Computing Databases

Zoho has only Table, Query, Report. No forms: Zoho Reports - HelpRequests

Zoho Reports - Explorer

Zoho Creator - data capture test has forms but no calendar in form.

Not free, source: Amazon launches relational database service: Think MySQL in the cloud

Google forms have no DATE / TIME entry, no buttons, no macros.

Cloud Pivot table with mapping come in handy for reporting : Google Fusion Tables | Australian dams data

Google's AppEngine Datastore The App Engine datastore is a schemaless object datastore, with a query engine and atomic transactions. This new kind of database management system is commonly called a key/value store.The Python Datastore API

BigTable What Is Google App Engine? Verify Your Account by SMS
For example, a domain (Datastore term for Table) may contain customer items and order items. This means that data are commonly duplicated between items in a domain. This is accepted practice because disk space is relatively cheap. But this model allows a single item to contain all relevant data, which improves scalability by eliminating the need to join data from multiple tables.

What is wrong with Relational Databases?

1. Introduction Is the Relational Database Doomed? - ReadWriteEnterprise 1
2. What is a Datastore? Is the Relational Database Doomed? - ReadWriteEnterprise 2
3. Cloud (and other) Database service providers Is the Relational Database Doomed? - ReadWriteEnterprise 2.

Resource	Free Default Quota		Billing Enabled Quota
	Daily Limit	Maximum Rate	Daily Limit	Maximum Rate
Requests	1,300,000 requests	7,400 requests/minute	43,000,000 requests	30,000 requests/minute
Outgoing Bandwidth (billable, includes HTTPS)	1 gigabyte	56 megabytes/minute	1 gigabyte free; 1,046 gigabytes maximum	740 megabytes/minute
Incoming Bandwidth (billable, includes HTTPS)	1 gigabyte	56 megabytes/minute	1 gigabyte free; 1,046 gigabytes maximum	740 megabytes/minute
CPU Time (billable)	6.5 CPU-hours	15 CPU-minutes/minute	6.5 CPU-hours free; 1,729 CPU-hours maximum	72 CPU-minutes/minute

source: Quotas

Microsoft: SQL Data Services

OK HERE IS PLAIN OLD MySQL with Free Hosting:

The list: free web hosting with free MySQL database

My choice: IsMyWebsite Free PHP MySQL CPanel Web Hosting Space

Until cloud computing becomes reality

10 things you still have to worry about until cloud computing becomes reality

• De-duping and backup;
• Server power consumption;
• Little iron vs. big iron;
• MIPs;
• Bandwidth costs;
• Load balancing;
• Hardware monitoring;
• Creating redundant data center;
• Configuring complex software;
• Engineering time spent on keeping the lights on.

A new cloud concept (not free)

A new cloud (not free) puts only the desktop on your PC, the rest is in the cloud. More to come.

I like the Brochure.

The iland approach is to put both the server and the desktop in the cloud. ... local video processing makes more sense for a high-quality experience.... source: Cloud-based desktops a reality | Network Administrator | TechRepublic.com

• Workforce Cloud - iland

Cloud computing is Hot

1. Dark clouds may hurt growth efforts | Videos
2. News: Future of Web Apps: London | Videos
3. LinuxWorld: Merrill Lynch on going stateless | Videos
4. RSA Conference: Taking security to the cloud | Videos

Nothing But Net - For Free

This is the closest thing to the real cloud computing, are you ready to take the plunge?

Box.net launches and stores documents to "any" application in the cloud.

• Box.net | Simple Online Collaboration: Online File Storage, FTP Replacement, Team Workspaces ~ Free Version..
• OpenBox Service: Zoho - Access, store, and share files with Box.net
  nothing but net

Zoho offers a wide range of applications and is federated with Google so "one login for both". The applications appear better than those in Docs.Google.com

• Zoho Suite vs Google Docs - Google - Lifehacker
• Email Hosting, CRM, Project Management, Office Suite, Document Management, Remote Support

thanks Ron

Social Cloud

Cloud computing is not so easy to deploy (enforce?):

• Teams in the (Troubled) Cloud
• Organizational social anxiety
• Global Collaboration Competitive Success: Old Dogs, New Tricks & The Shift Index

Another look at cloud computing

10 Must Have Online Office Apps - ReadWriteWeb

Getting the most out of Skype Conference calls

I'm very happy with the latest setup. We bought a pair of Microsoft Lifecam VT 7000 units and the performance is stunning. I can stand 30 feet away from the computer in the kitchen while listening to my mom on large speakers in the living room. The sound is clear, no problems,  no cutting. The video is great too, although the 2 mega pixels are oversold a bit since anything past 1024 is hardly noticeable on my 19 inch screen. 

1. We now have 10-way conference calls on new Intel processors - Skype Blogs
   
2. Make a conference call
   Free conference calls for business or personal use with Skype
3. Skype 3.8 for Windows - Download the latest version of Skype and get free computer calls
4. Advanced conference calling features for Skype users - Skype for Business
5. 30 day trial of Hi-Definition Conferencing by Vapps

Skype Blogs: Skype Beta and new releases Archives

Collaboration tools: Skype Journal: Unyte with Skype  

1. The most powerful collaboration tool is GOOGLE DOCS and Skype, where any number of users can view a document at the same time, and EDIT IT AT THE SAME MOMENT! 
2. FREE 100-users, website desktop-sharing meeting / 2.0 Skype Extras
   start_meeting_tips.pdf
   demo: Created by Camtasia Studio 4
3. Lotus Sametime Unyte :: Download Unyte Share
   one on one collaboration is free
4. TalkAndWrite Tutoring tool / 4.0 Collaboration - Tutoring - Skype Extras
   BASIC version provides all TalkAndWrite features for sessions with one partner, for 10 minutes.
   
5. Yugma Team Collaboration - FREE - Windows / 2.0.3.2 Skype Extras  
   Screensharing, whiteboard, virtual workspace, & more
   

Acrobat's version of cloud computing for meetings

Acrobat's offering is very smooth and beautiful. https://acrobat.com/#/connectnow/ConnectNowBegin

1. my meeting room: https://connectnow.acrobat.com/sitivi 
   
2. Adobe - Adobe ConnectNow forum
   
3. The story Adobe offers cloud computing services - heise online UK
   

Does it compare to VIA used by RECIT, this installs instantly, without questions. but may not have the depth.

1. Flex, RIA | Adobe Labs - Cocomo 
   

For reference purposes

1. Google Docs Tour
   
2. Google Docs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   

Windows XP Security Tips

I think they really should just go to cloud computing and be done with keeping any data on the PC; hey, maybe that's the new paradigm!

This list is not for the faint hearted. This list is culled from documents published by the richest of the paranoid the US government. Non-technical readers need go no further.

Source: The short title is "Government Lockdown Guide", full title is "A New Boundary Technologies Security Configuration Guide Based on OMB Memorandum M-07-11 and NIST Special Publication 800-68". Sept 2007

1. Use NTFS on all your hard drive partitions. 

2. Disable Simple File Sharing. 

3. Use passwords on all user accounts. 

4. Use the Administrator Group with care. 

5. Disable the Guest Account. 

6. Use a firewall if you have a full time internet connection. 

7. Use a router instead of ICS (remote users). 

8. Use software restriction policies. 

9. Limit the number of unnecessary accounts. 

10. Rename the Administrator account.
11. Consider creating a dummy Administrator account. 

12. Replace the "Everyone" group with "Authenticated Users" on file shares. 

13. Prevent the last logged-in user name from being displayed. 

15. Make sure that Remote Desktop is disabled. 

16. Enable EFS (Encrypting File System). 

17. If you use offline folders, encrypt the local cache. 

18. Encrypt the Temp folder. 

19. Clear the page file at shutdown. 

20. Enable auditing on your workstations. 

21. Disable default shares. 

22. Disable dump file creation. 

23. Disable the ability to boot from a floppy or CD-ROM on physically unsecured systems. 

24. Disable AutoRun for the CD-ROM. 

25. Consider implementing IPSec.

Time to get our head into the clouds

Some of the top names in Cloud computing today

1. Amazon_Web_Services
   
2. Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform: A guide for the perplexed 
   
3. Google docs
   
4. Zoho_Office_Suite *not free