Week 20 - Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing

What is cloud computing?

In cloud computing, one can have secure access to all applications and data from any device such as tablet, smartphone, laptop, desktop and other resources with web browser. There are three types of cloud services which are the following:

• SaaS (Software as as Service) - The service provider build the software, and the end users can configure it depending on their needs but cannot change or modify the software.
• Paas (Platform as a Service) - Platform will be offered to clients for different purposes. In PaaS, the storage space for user data may increase or decrease depending on the requirement of the applications.
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) - It offers infrastructure on demand which can be storage servers, applications and operating systems. When using IaaS, space, expenses and personnel required can be saved.

Here's a video to show an overview of what cloud computing is:

Advantages of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing has a lot of advantages which are the following:

• Remote Accessibility - With cloud computing, services can be accessed from everywhere simply using your ID and password. Therefore it is not restricted to a particular location.
• Security - Clouds are more secure than other models although people are uncertain. If something occurs, cloud offers backup and therefore less data will be lost. Also clouds are less prone to hacks and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks because people will not know where the data is.
• Easy Expansion - If one needs to expand, one can quickly access more resources.
• Environmentally Friendly - It also reduces electricity expenses because you do not need to buy equipment to cool off computers and other components.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Although cloud computing has advantages it also has some disadvantages:

• Reliant on network connections - Cloud computing relies on network connections, that is, if the network will be running slow, the work will be running slow as well. Also if the network goes down, you have to wait until it will run again.
• Expense - Although cloud computing will benefit from financial expenses, it will not be cheap if you will be using it on a smaller scale.
• Legal Ownership of Data - As regards ownership of data, most providers have different terms and conditions. If the provider disappears, one has to check what happens when the data is lost and also check distribution rights.

Conclusion

Right now, people are still scared of cloud computing since everything is online and you can access it from anywhere. I think that in the future, people will start understanding what cloud computing really is and the majority of people will start using it.

References

http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-computing/articles/10026.aspx
http://ezinearticles.com/?Disadvantages-of-Cloud-Computing&id=6151901

Week 19 - Social Networks

Time line of social networking

• 1971 - The first email is sent, where the two computers where sitting next to each-other
• 1978 - BBS (Bulletin Board Systems) started to be used where the exchanging of data was done over phone lines with other users
• 1994 - One of the web's first social networking sites, Geocities, was founded.
• 1995 - theglobe.com gave users the freedom to publish their own content and interact with users that have similar interests.
• 1997 - sixdegrees.com was launched allowing the creation of profile and listing friends.
• 2002 - Friendster was launched, where users could contact with other members and maintain those contacts. Also online content and media could be shared with those contacts.
• 2003 - Myspace was launched
• 2003 - a business-related social networking site named Linked-in was founded.
• 2003 - hi5 has been launched
• 2004 - Facebook was first launched at Harvard College, used to connect US college students launched, originally as a was of connecting US college students. More than half of the 19500 students signed up within the first month.
  
• 2006 - Twitter was launched
• 2008 - Facebook overtakes myspace as the leading social networking site.
• 2011 - Google+ will be launched

Here's an interesting video on Social Media Revolution:

Google+

Google+ is a social networking service launched on the 28th of june 2011, where right now it is and invite-only testing phase. The following are features added in google+:

• Circles - are used so that users can organize contacts into groups where other users can not view what the names of the circles are. Circles are ideal because u can share something only to that circle; therefore there will be more privacy.
• Hangouts - are group video chat, where the maximum amount of people participating in a single Hangout is 10.
• Huddle - is a feature available to SMS devices so that one can communicate through instant messaging within circles.
• Instant Upload - will store photos and videos in a private album so that it will be shared later.
• Sparks - is used to enable user to identify topics they might be interested in sharing with others.

Here's a quick look on Google+:

Conclusion

In my opinion, social networking is one of the best creation that one have ever made. Through social networking, you can connect with people you have not seen for a long time. Although google+ is still in the testing stage, during the lesson the majority of the class had the opportunity to join.