Cloud Storage

Cloud Storage published on 1 Comment on Cloud Storage

Kiss your IT geeks goodbye.

If you read tech news regularly, you will know that “The Cloud” is the next great destination for all of your treasured computer files.
If you are unsure what it is I will put it in simple terms here.

Basically, you put your files into a network of computers, rather than one single location, so that the data and applications can then be accessed remotely when you need it. When you here the term “The Cloud”, it actually refers to the internet.

This provides an immense amount of benefits, especially to businesses, as it means their data is securely held offsite from their physical offices. All the data is on a convenient, on-demand network, with access to a shared pool of computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released.
And soon, nearly anyone will be able to handle the uploads and downloads with infinite ease!
This is awesome and shows that we are living on the edge of a marvelous new future.

But I think we should stop and ask ourselves one question:
“What is to become of our Sys Admins and IT Managers?”

In the future, when we are all cloud computing and loving our lives, where will these people be?
If you don’t need them to help maintain server storage, find archived data files and make recommendations on what new hardware you need for the office, then what happens to them?

If these hardworking individuals are not needed to defrag a drive or resurrect a server, where will they fit in modern society?

Well, I will tell you – They will form roaming mobile LAN parties and create confusion on the streets by speaking l33t or Klingon to innocent pedestrians.

But we have a chance to stop this horrific vision of the future from coming true.
And it is such a very simple solution.
(No, it does not involve boycotting cloud computing or storage, because that stuff is going to be f#@king fantastic!)

The solution is this :
Tomorrow, when you see someone who works in IT, just walk up and give them a hug.
Keep in mind that you will need to hold on, so they know it is for real. About 15 seconds will be enough.

Sure, they may flinch now, but if we don’t start to heal the rift BEFORE it begins, then all is lost……..

He has never facebooked

He has never facebooked published on 11 Comments on He has never facebooked

Do you also find it amazing that some people still do not use facebook?

Isn’t there a law or something, that says everyone should be using some form of social media by now?

I am from an age group that watched the internet get born & flourish. I had no twitter, facebook, identica, myspace, bebo, etc when I was younger.

My triple screen was way more awesome that these double screen games that everyone else had.
My triple screen was way more awesome that these double screen games that everyone else had.

Heck, I even remember playing computer games on a black & green screen that were run from data on a cassette tape!

I recall showing my friends “PONG” and they were astounded.

There was even the time that I was king of the school for about a month, when I got a handheld Donkey Kong Jr game that had 3 – count ’em3 screens!

Now, even after growing up through all of the electronics progresses of the 80’s to now, I am sometimes very surprised to learn that someone is NOT using twitter, facebook, etc.

I am not alone in this. The younger generation just expect that people are using the same online tools as themselves.

People who don’t, get shunned in the same way that when I was young, you got shunned for still playing Pacman on a tabletop machine rather than a handheld device.

It is amazing how quickly we are accepting of new services & technology, and just think of them as “the norm”.

I wonder how long it will be now, until we laugh at people for using twitter or emial, rather than Google Wave??

No-one likes Clippy

No-one likes Clippy published on 6 Comments on No-one likes Clippy

Is Microsoft’s clippy the most hated animated avatar of all time?

I think he just may be. I don’t know of any other avatar characters that seem to have united computer users in the bonds of hate like Clippy has managed to do.

Originally intended to be a helpful assistant to guide you through using Microsoft Office, he instead became a target of hatred.
I blame this on his arrogant manner. It always felt like he thought he was better than you and was putting you down. (Maybe that was just me?)

He is (mostly) gone now, but I know how much time microsoft put into creating him, so I truly expect him back sometime in the future. Until then – let’s enjoy the silence….

Leave a comment and let me know who your most hated avatar character is, and why.

Before you go – please take a minute to visit this excellent little animation done by Shaun Moriarty.
I just had to share this with you, as I think the animation he has done for this song is just perfect.

>> Click here to enjoy “a social network for two

Facebook Research Department

Facebook Research Department published on 5 Comments on Facebook Research Department

The secret to facebook’s product development research revealed!

Lately, facebook has been implementing new features, which look suspiciously like functions that already appear in a very popular micro-blogging platform.
And the response to these implementations have not been received with the overly positive response that was perhaps expected.

Twitter users were outraged.

Facebook users were outraged.

Many people have blogged and suggested that Facebook has merely copied popular elements of other popular sites in an effort to make sure that current FB users remain with the site, as well as attracting users from the other sites to fall back in love with Facebook again.

Whatever the reasons – the main question that I think needs to be asked is this:

“Are Facebook making changes because it will enhance their user experience, or is it just a case of jealousy?”

Change for change sake is never good.
Time will have to tell with this one.