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Warid Introduces Shared LTE Plans and MiFi Devices with 105GBs of Free Data

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Warid Telecom has announced the launch of the industry’s first shared plans with its LTE MiFi today.</div>
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<b><i>MiFi Devices</i></b><br />
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The MiFi device functions as a portable wireless router that can connect up to 10 smartphones, tablets or laptops, whereby users will have access to LTE speed internet on the go in all major cities around Pakistan.</div>
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Warid has said that MiFi devices are secure as no other device can access the network without authentication by the MiFi owner.</div>
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Not just that, the battery life of MiFi devices goes up to six hours adding to the customer’s convenience.<br />
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<b><i>Mifi Plans</i></b></div>
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An initial cost of Rs. 9,999 acquires the MiFi device with an LTE enabled SIM as well as an entitlement to 35GB worth of free internet every month for three months consecutively.</div>
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A further option of three plans is given in the range of 15-35GB priced between Rs. 1,500 and 3,000.</div>
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Mifi Smart: Rs. 1,500 — 15GB Monthly Limit</div>
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Mifi Extra: Rs. 2,000 — 20GB Monthly Limit</div>
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Mifi Smart: Rs. 3,000 — 35GB Monthly Limit</div>
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This offer available is for all Warid customers and can be opted for by using Warid’s online portal and logging in with your mobile number.</div>
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<b><i>Shared LTE Plans</i></b></div>
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Warid has become the first operator in Pakistan to introduce shared LTE plans, with which customers — both prepaid and postpaid — can choose up to two additional Warid numbers to share an internet plan and a common bill whenever and wherever they are.</div>
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Shared plans are applicable to both LTE device as well as MiFi device users.</div>
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As an example, if there’s is a customer and he has 35GB of monthly data limit then he can go to Warid’s online portal to add up to two additional numbers to share this quota of 35GBs and those two shared numbers won’t be charged anything for the internet.</div>
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Mr. Asim Ali, Director Pricing, Segments & VAS at Warid Telecom, while commenting on this industry-first said,</div>
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“We are committed to delivering the state-of-the-art technology that empowers our customers and makes their lives easier.Warid MiFi is designed to connect users to the mobile Internet with their own portable hotspot, so they can stay connected to the people and information important to them.”</div>
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Here are some images at the TVC shoot of Fowad Khan, the new brand ambassador of Warid LTE, following Shahid Afradi in their first TV commercial.</div>
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<b><i>Mifi Terms And Conditions:</i></b></div>
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As per Fair Usage Policy, only 35GB/month can be used.</div>
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MiFi operates on Warid’s LTE network only.</div>
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Internet usage can be monitored through the web self-service portal</div>
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Mifi device broadcasts WiFi connectivity for a distance of up to 30 ft.</div>
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You will continue to access GPRS/EDGE services in areas where LTE coverage is not available.</div>
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For Prepaid Customers: Package change option is available on web self-service portal</div>
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For Postpaid Customers: Please call 321 or nearest Franchise/Business Center for further assistance.</div>
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Shared internet plans will be available on MiFi by default. Secondary connections can be managed through the web self-service portal</div>
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There can be a maximum of two secondary connections with a MiFi shared internet plan.</div>
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Shared devices can be added/modified/deleted from the web self-service portal</div>
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If you do not have a LTE compatible handset you can still share the data on a 2G secondary device as well as long as primary device is MiFi or a mobile with an activated LTE shared internet plan.</div>
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If your Primary internet data allowance is consumed, overage charging will apply to the MiFi device. A Secondary device will be switched to individual plan selected or default charging.</div>
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MiFi comes with built-in security features that ensure optimum security for your device. There is a unique Wifi key affixed to each device; used as the network connectivity key, compulsory for network authentication. No devices/users can access the device without proper network authentication.</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">SSID and Network/Wifi key can be found at the back of the device and can be read by removing the back cover of the Mifi device</li>
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Warid Introduces Shared LTE Plans and MiFi Devices with 105GBs of Free Data

Warid Telecom has announced the launch of the industry’s first shared plans with its LTE MiFi today. MiFi Devices The MiFi device functions as a portable wireless router that can connect up to 10 smartphones, tablets or laptops, whereby users will have access to LTE speed internet on the go in all …

12Feb2015

The high-tech secret hiding in New York City pay phones

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NEW YORK — Few New Yorkers, if any, would admit to liking pay phones. They're largely invisible, a ubiquitous background image on a street filled with distractions. Like any public resource in a city of 8.4 million, the phones carry connotations of filth, unreliability and inconvenience.
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"Most people don’t even notice these phones," Pete Izzo, Jr., one of the city's last pay-phone technicians tellsMashable as he repairs a phone at 13th Street and 4th Avenue late one Thursday evening.

But what most New Yorkers don't know is that these low-tech phones have something useful hidden inside: free Wi-Fi.

The city fitted 10 phones with free Wi-Fi in 2012 as part of a pilot program. Since then, the number of Wi-Fi-enabled phones has grown modestly. New Yorkers can now find free hotspots in 35 phones operated by Izzo's employer, CBS Outdoor. However, the company says it's poised to deploy as many as 5,000 hotspots.

CBS Outdoor is one of only a handful of private entities still operating pay phones in the city, and the industry is in dire straits with plummeting revenues. There were 25,000 phones a decade ago. Today, there are less than 12,000.

Operators have plastered the remaining phones with advertising, which produced the hoped-for financial results. But it left the larger question of what to do with the phones unanswered.

Enter the Internet, or at least some part of it.

"We see this primarily as a Wi-Fi franchise," says Peter Izzo Sr., a service operations executive at CBS Outdoor. "Every new structure will have Wi-Fi capability," he added, side-stepping the term "phone."

Through sponsorship, advertising and co-location with other Wi-Fi providers, Izzo hopes to monetize wireless Internet and rescue his industry. It's a fresh take on the antiquated pay phone, filled with obvious possibilities — and less-apparent perils.

Last month, BuzzFeed revealed that phones operated by Titan were potentially tracking users through the use of Bluetooth devices called "beacons."

Following the report, Titan agreed to pull its beacons at the request of City Hall, even though some feel that the threat to privacy may have been overblown.

But even if these companies operate under better security practices, they may be unlikely to solve one major issue of free public Wi-Fi. It’s notoriously attractive to identity thieves, which could become more of a threat as the number of free Wi-Fi networks increases.

Despite the obstacles, both Izzo and his son Pete Izzo, Jr. say they are optimistic about the future of their field, whether it includes phones or not. Izzo Jr.'s repair duties now include installing and maintaing Wi-Fi modems and routers hidden in the housing of old pay phone units.

"I don't see any other infrastructure in the world that could accommodate such a connective atmosphere," Izzo says, looking at a pile of discarded phones in his company's shop.

"To bring free Wi-Fi to millions of people is gonna really change the city."<br />
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Source: <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/11/06/new-york-city-pay-phones-wifi/" target="_blank">Mashable</a>

The high-tech secret hiding in New York City pay phones

Powered by Dailymotion NEW YORK — Few New Yorkers, if any, would admit to liking pay phones. They're largely invisible, a ubiquitous background image on a street filled with distractions. Like any public resource in a city of 8.4 million, the phones carry connotations of filth, unreliability and i…

29Jan2015

TAITRA Throws the Spotlight on Taiwan's ICT Products at CES 2015

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The prestigious Computex d&i awards, executed by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in cooperation with the International Forum Design (iF), revisited Las Vegas, the United States for International CES. Las Vegas is the third stop on the d&i awards world tour following their unveiling at Computex Taipei. The award-winning products on display include designs from Qualcomm, Philips, HTC, and others.</div>
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Another TAITRA event at CES is the “Taiwan in Focus” press conference, promoting Taiwan’s ICT industry and the upcoming 2015 Computex. Held on the first day of the show, the press conference featured addresses from Director Moses Yen of the Taiwan Trade Center in Los Angeles and Director Jaime Chen from the Economic Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles.</div>
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Also present were 11 Computex exhibitors and d&i award winners. The press conference drew scores of members of the media from Russia, Germany, Italy, Thailand, the United States, Japan, India, China, and Taiwan.</div>
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International CES opened this year on January 6<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> and ran until the 9<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span>. With wearables, smart homes and cars, the Internet of Things, and display technology as the focus, the show is expected to draw over 160,000 visitors. Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, has called this year’s CES a “record-breaking event”.</div>
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The Consumer Electronics Association is the organizer of CES. Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Board, Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung both gave preshow keynote speeches on Sunday. Dr. Zetsche discussed the development of autonomous driving. Yoon explored using the Internet of Things to create a fully connected world.</div>
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Taiwanese ICT companies generated a lot of buzz with the market release of new products. HTC released the HTC Desire 826, the newest in its HTC Desire flagship line. The HTC Desire 826 features its exclusive UltraPixel technology with both the front- and rear-facing camera, allowing users to up their selfie game even in dim lighting.</div>
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ASUS also launched three new products in one swoop, the ASUS Transformer Book Chi, the ZenFone 2, and the ZenFone Zoom. The ZenFone 2 is the first smartphone equipped with a 4GB RAM and will be available in March for $199. An ultrathin tablet with a detachable keyboard, the ASUS Transformer Book Chi challenges the established Macbook Air as the ultrabook of choice among consumers.</div>
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Following CES, the Computex d&i awards will advance to its next destination at Barcelona, Spain for Mobile World Congress. The world tour of major ICT trade shows is part of TAITRA’s efforts to offer maximum international exposure of the winners of the award, in turn generating greater global business opportunities.</div>

TAITRA Throws the Spotlight on Taiwan's ICT Products at CES 2015

The prestigious Computex d&i awards, executed by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in cooperation with the International Forum Design (iF), revisited Las Vegas, the United States for International CES. Las Vegas is the third stop on the d&i awards world tour following their unv…

11Jan2015

Facebook Is Taking Steps To Becoming a Video Empire

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg</div>
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As online video heats up, Facebook is doubling down on its effort to capture a bigger share of viewers’ attention.</div>
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On Thursday, the company announced it had acquired <a href="http://www.quickfire.tv/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(203, 238, 250); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-shadow: rgb(203, 238, 250) 0px -4px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">QuickFire Networks</a>, a video startup that uses proprietary technology to support high-quality videos without eating up users’ bandwidth. Some of the team from the San Diego-based company will join Facebook as part of the terms of the acquisition, and QuickFire will eventually shutter its operations.</div>
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The news comes just a day after Facebook <a href="http://media.fb.com/2015/01/07/what-the-shift-to-video-means-for-creators/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(203, 238, 250); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-shadow: rgb(203, 238, 250) 0px -4px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">published</a> new data on its explosive growth in video. According to its <a href="http://media.fb.com/2015/01/07/what-the-shift-to-video-means-for-creators/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(203, 238, 250); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-shadow: rgb(203, 238, 250) 0px -4px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">press release</a>, the number of video posts per person are up 75 percent globally. In the U.S. more than half of daily Facebook users are watching at least one video per day. Since June 2014, the company says, Facebook has delivered more than 1 billion video views to users every day.</div>
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So why bother with QuickFire? It’s just another piece of the puzzle that fits in with Facebook’s grander video strategy. As the social network’s video ambitions continue to swell, it is getting serious about building out the necessary infrastructure that will allow video to scale.</div>
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<u><i>Battling for Your Hours</i></u></h3>
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                                 According to a cached version of QuickFire’s website, the company is a video transcoding service—in other words, a way to quickly encode videos for posting on the Web without compromising quality. For Facebook, this sort of technology appeals because it allows content creators to throw more things up on the site by shrinking upload times. When creators are happy, they tend to create a lot more for the platform, which is precisely what Facebook wants.</div>
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People are already sharing tons of videos on Facebook. But that may not be enough for the social network. According to a recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/business/media/facebook-offers-life-raft-but-publishers-are-wary.html?_r=0" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(203, 238, 250); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-shadow: rgb(203, 238, 250) 0px -4px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Exchange SSm 4i', Georgia, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Times</span> report</a>, the company is constantly looking for ways to coax publishers into having their content live inside Facebook, instead of linking to it. The company likely wants to do the same thing for video, where the competition for people’s attention in that space is fierce.</div>
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YouTube delivers more than 6 billion hours’ worth of content every month to viewers worldwide and is <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/10/keep-stars-happy-youtube-may-let-pay-skip-ads/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(203, 238, 250); border-bottom-style: solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-shadow: rgb(203, 238, 250) 0px -4px 0px inset; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">working to promote its talent pool even more</a>. A host of other players—from IAC’s Vimeo to former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s Vessel—are gearing up to launch subscription video services. Add in all the hours users are spending on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video, and that’s a lot of online time not spent on Facebook. The more Facebook can make itself a native video platform, the more of those hours it can get for itself.</div>

Facebook Is Taking Steps To Becoming a Video Empire

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg As online video heats up, Facebook is doubling down on its effort to capture a bigger share of viewers’ attention. On Thursday, the company announced it had acquired QuickFire Networks, a video startup that uses proprietary technology to support high-quality videos with…

10Jan2015

What Does The Future Hold For Cloud Computing?

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0X9fqwY8hwWUlrnlh31pjy5tyyyW0fndUT1RmTXLXqQAl1IHtY0g4cm6JeJIocAKUFVtem2ICYv_tQydyokom5DW3viG8igBD0pCukgVHYUi0EskDH223-__V9JYJeMUZFFAeEMC8UvE/s1600/cloud-blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0X9fqwY8hwWUlrnlh31pjy5tyyyW0fndUT1RmTXLXqQAl1IHtY0g4cm6JeJIocAKUFVtem2ICYv_tQydyokom5DW3viG8igBD0pCukgVHYUi0EskDH223-__V9JYJeMUZFFAeEMC8UvE/s1600/cloud-blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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Cloud computing has been called the future of not only hosting, but also the way we compute. It has transformed the way many businesses operate since it makes applications and technology more accessible. Most importantly, cloud computing helped many businesses with all the great tools and technology that were only available to enterprises that had a ton of money. Even if you don't know <a href="http://www.futurist.com/2011/10/28/information-technology-spending-make-way-for-the-cloud/" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">what cloud computing is</a>, chances are that you could be using it without your knowledge on a day-to-day basis. Do you use Gmail, or Dropbox, or Google Drive, or <a href="http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">iCloud</a>, or any of the millions of websites that run on a cloud server? You are just enjoying all the benefits of cloud computing without your conscience. There had been a lot of advances in cloud computing in the past several years that, one needs to think about the capabilities of this technology. Here we speculate how cloud computing is going to evolve and how it is going to affect the future.</div>
<ul style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hosting</strong></li>
</ul>
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Businesses and individuals are moving their websites and online applications and services to the cloud for a number of reasons. Cloud hosting is extremely cost effective, reduces capital cost for startups, is easily scalable, improves accessibility, quickly deployed, etc. Traditional shared hosting is still the reigning champion of websites for individuals and small businesses. However, things are changing really fast. 81% of the 60% of the enterprises that are already utilizing cloud have reportedly saved money by migrating to the cloud. It is estimated that end-users will spend more than 180 billion U.S. dollars on cloud services before the end of 2015. Cloud hosting is not only attracting large businesses, casual bloggers and small business owners are turning to cloud. Traditional shared hosting providers are also providing cloud hosting services nowadays. Quite recently, the popular Australian web hosting,<a href="http://www.ezihosting.com/" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">EZI hosting</a> started providing cloud hosting service. Some of the top players in the U.S. like, HostGator and JustHost also jumped on the bandwagon only recently. There is a stiff competition among, U.S., European and Australian website hosting companies and we can expect the prices to go down. If the trend continues, cloud hosting will soon completely replace traditional shared hosting.</div>
<ul style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Public Cloud</strong></li>
</ul>
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Private cloud is preferred for enterprise applications and to run apps like, CRMs, and ERPs. HCRM, etc., but public cloud is going to grow really fast compared to private cloud. Private cloud although has a lot of advantages and perks of cloud technology, they are still more like using traditional services. With public cloud, people and companies don't have to sign contracts, use shared hardware to reduce cost (utility model), yet don't have to trade-off reliability. Large corporates and enterprises will use private cloud for compliance requirements and security, but as more and more individuals and small businesses migrate to the cloud, we speculate public cloud to grow leaps and bounds compared to private.</div>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hard Drive</strong></li>
</ul>
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If you are using some of the top e-mail providers, or social networking services, you could already have a lot of your data on the cloud. You probably have more data on the cloud compared to the hard drive on your computer. This raises an interesting question. Can the cloud actually replace the hard drive? The answer is yes and no. To start with, you can't run a computer with a storage device – one needs an hard disk to store the operating system and other supporting files to run a computer. However, since most of the tasks one performs on the computer is accomplished using a web browser, most of the data could be easily moved to cloud and accessed with the Internet since our mobile devices and computers are tethered to the world wide web 24x7. Furthermore, keeping all you data on the cloud makes it easy for you to access it from different devices, and keep it safe. Or at least one needs to have a copy of all the most important files on the cloud since data loss is just a hard disk crash away. The closest thing we can get to using a computer without relying a lot on a hard drive for storage is the <a href="http://blog.laptopmag.com/best-chromebooks" style="color: #006699; text-decoration: none;">Chromebook</a>. It is a personal computer by Google In., that runs on the Chrome OS. Most of the applications run on the browser with the power of the Internet and all the data is stored safely in the cloud. Most of the models not only come with a physical hard drive, but also a cloud storage of 100 GB to 1 TB of Google Drive.</div>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hardware revolution</strong></li>
</ul>
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With the advancement in cloud computing, the cost of hardware will fall. Low power and low cost processors are expected to be used in data centers to cut cost without affecting the quality of service. Low power ARM chips can be quite economical and also be eco-friendly. Some experts also predict that these low cost hardware for servers might look like sleds that could be swapped out and swapped in with ease.</div>
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<br /></div>

What Does The Future Hold For Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing has been called the future of not only hosting, but also the way we compute. It has transformed the way many businesses operate since it makes applications and technology more accessible. Most importantly, cloud computing helped many businesses with all the great tools and technolog…

08Jan2015

Candy Crush dev prepares to fight The Banner Saga over trademark

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5dbNlSL7S9wxqDGKtmS5UJgpyKS3Y1VULcmkE8GMb5Bs4dG4Cub-mSkDpRNDZPzFDe9S-1fyjqgy8mRExGrZ8qZ9CqjqD50kgmDV751I3ssJvDQRga9W6efwW1-27So5jxhfofP_chM/s1600/candy-crush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5dbNlSL7S9wxqDGKtmS5UJgpyKS3Y1VULcmkE8GMb5Bs4dG4Cub-mSkDpRNDZPzFDe9S-1fyjqgy8mRExGrZ8qZ9CqjqD50kgmDV751I3ssJvDQRga9W6efwW1-27So5jxhfofP_chM/s1600/candy-crush.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="adAvoidedButFlowable" style="clear: right;">
King, developers of the phenomenally successful game <em>Candy
Crush Saga</em>, is attempting to <a href="http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91214235-OPP-1.pdf">oppose <em>
The Banner Saga</em>'s use of the word "saga'</a> claiming it is
"confusingly and deceptively similar" to game titles previously
used by King.</div>
<div class="adAvoidedButFlowable" style="clear: right;">
Looking at King's gaming portfolio you will find (deep breath
and prepare for sagas):</div>
<em>Candy Crush Saga</em>, <em>Pepper Panic Saga</em>, <em>Pet
Rescue Saga</em>, <em>Papa Pear Saga</em>, <em>Pyramid Solitaire
Saga</em>, <em>Bubble Witch Saga</em>, <em>Farm Heroes Saga</em>,
<em>Bubble Saga</em>, <em>Hoop de Loop Saga</em>, <em>Mahjong
Saga</em>, and <em>Puzzle Saga</em>.<br />
<em>Candy Crush Saga</em> is the big hitter here and a recent
report suggested it was bringing in <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-01/20/free-to-play-profits">£2.1 million per day for King</a>.<br />
Where <em>Candy Crush</em> is a match three
microtransaction-a-thon, <em>The Banner Saga</em> is a tactical RPG
set in a Viking-esque fantasy world -- so far, so different. But
this is a dispute over trademark rather than type of content.<br />
<em>The Banner Saga</em> seeks to register its name and thus
guarantee a certain level of legal protection for its business
against anyone seeking to capitalise on its success by using
similarly named games to piggyback off developer Stoic's
success.<br />
For King, the fact that its repeated use of the word "saga" in
game titles predates the first use of <em>The Banner Saga</em> as
detailed in the registration request, along with the fact that both
King and Stoic's products are within the gaming industry, is enough
to warrant opposing <em>The Banner Saga</em>'s mark.<br />
Business-wise, it makes sense. There is, however, the issue of
goodwill. King recently had its filing to trademark the word
"Candy" <a href="http://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=85842584&caseType=SERIAL_NO&searchType=statusSearch">approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office</a> in relation to
things like gaming and clothing and began issuing developers with
challenges where the company felt an app or game name infringed on
its property. <em>All Candy Casino Slots -- Jewel Craze Connect:
Big Blast Mania Land</em> was one such title.<br />
Enforcement of King's rights as they relate to the word Candy
will depend on the individual cases, but since Candy is a generic
term the reaction to King claiming ownership of it (regardless of
the limitations) has been hugely critical.<br />
Looking at the Saga scenario, King's biggest game is a casual
gaming microtransaction-focused behemoth. <em>The Banner Saga</em>
is a beautiful fantasy world steeped in choice and buoyed up by
goodwill evidenced through <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stoic/the-banner-saga">crowdfunding</a>.
Win or lose, it will be hard for King to escape this trademark
challenge looking like the good guys.

Candy Crush dev prepares to fight The Banner Saga over trademark

King, developers of the phenomenally successful game Candy Crush Saga, is attempting to oppose The Banner Saga's use of the word "saga' claiming it is "confusingly and deceptively similar" to game titles previously used by King. Looking at King's gaming portfolio you will find (deep breath and pre…

23Jan2014

Lego is launching a Curiosity rover set

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhc7cpbdXa5RZcmeQR_KzjU74hnEjRNTDiO6v66vCs_Um_nunM4LB1tppXxnP3x3GBn1xcYLmqBYLuR_riBrNxWUYkFvQajPPXtqDdTYGsEgp4lOGMyaMHvXEKyvqGk3kvIH2wm7dbRY4/s1600/rover_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhc7cpbdXa5RZcmeQR_KzjU74hnEjRNTDiO6v66vCs_Um_nunM4LB1tppXxnP3x3GBn1xcYLmqBYLuR_riBrNxWUYkFvQajPPXtqDdTYGsEgp4lOGMyaMHvXEKyvqGk3kvIH2wm7dbRY4/s1600/rover_2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Danish blocksmith Lego <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57616139-76/mars-curiosity-rover-transforms-into-an-official-lego-model/">will
be releasing</a> a Curiosity rover set on 1 January 2014, following a campaign
by fans.<br />
The 1:20 scale Lego set will have an articulated robotic arm, multiple
cameras, six-wheel rocket suspension and little Lego mars rocks for you to roll
over.<br />
In fact, it's remarkably similar in many ways to the real-life Curiosity
rover rolling around Mars, and that's no coincidence -- it was designed by
mechanical engineer Stephen Pakbaz, who worked on the real-life Curiosity.<br />
He <a href="http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/3431">submitted the design</a>
in 2011 to Lego's <a href="http://lego.cuusoo.com/">Cuusoo platform</a>, which
allows members of the public to suggest new sets they'd like to see. After more
than 10,000 people voted for it, Lego reviewed the project and accepted it.<br />
"For me, the building experience was similar to what I felt when the
real Curiosity rover successfully landed on Mars," Pakbaz <a href="http://blog.lego.cuusoo.com/2013/12/18/lego-nasa-mars-curiosity-rover/">said</a>.<br />
"It can be used to explore the unknown regions of your house or office.
After climbing the outer walls of Carpet Crater and descending into Couch
Canyon you will finally be able to determine if your living room was ever
capable of supporting microbial life."<br />
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07Jan2014

Android becomes the new Linux

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yGMNvuWP0lVyTPJFCfeuhBDKDQGtgUvObH1_Dnr3xZCXHV8OCTBl0wGiWw0X1RdGbV2HOjIqRsrhC1NeUjptfRSQPuxUJqbVEE7SCdLuk9ZrtrOGEqHyEPOYYc_rLwIwprGJvT_WRtw/s1600/wired+world+07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yGMNvuWP0lVyTPJFCfeuhBDKDQGtgUvObH1_Dnr3xZCXHV8OCTBl0wGiWw0X1RdGbV2HOjIqRsrhC1NeUjptfRSQPuxUJqbVEE7SCdLuk9ZrtrOGEqHyEPOYYc_rLwIwprGJvT_WRtw/s1600/wired+world+07.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<em>Each year, Wired publishes a 132-page standalone magazine (and app) in
which our expert writers forecast the year ahead. Here's a sneak preview of
the </em><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/id730948705?mt=8"><i>Wired
World in 2014</i></a><em> -- from bitcoin fraud to the men's lib
movement. </em> Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before
they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content
by <a href="https://www.circules.com/subscribe/wired-uk/60606"><em><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">subscribing
online</span></em></a>.<br />
Google's open-source OS has come from nowhere to global mobile dominance.
Gaming and the internet of things are next in its sights for 2014.<br />
lan Cohen, former director of systems engineering at Logic PD, which makes
miniature medical devices, has decades of experience working with
operating systems such as Windows Embedded or Linux. But these days he
prefers a different blend of software: Android.<br />
"It's a great choice for sophisticated purpose-built devices with
rich human interfaces," says Cohen. "[It's] a platform that nicely
handles many of the issues developers encounter when building sophisticated
embedded systems."<br />
He's not alone in his point of view. Normally associated with phones
and tablets -- Android powers 80 per cent of the world's smartphones and
features in about 900 million devices worldwide -- Google's mobile operating
system is powering an ever-widening array of devices. It's now being used in
connected watches such as the Sony SmartWatch, fitness devices such as
Motorola's MOTOACTV, Samsung's Wi-Fi-enabled fridges, Saab's iQon in car
entertainment system and the Polaroid SC1630 smart camera. And the ease in
which it can be customised means that in 2014 it will become the developers'
open-source platform of choice.<br />
In June 2013, Julie Uhrman, former vice president, digital at GameFly, based
in Los Angeles, launched a potentially groundbreaking games console on
Kickstarter. The diminutive OUYA games box raised more than $8.5 million (£5.4
million) on the site, making it one of the most successful crowdsourcing
campaigns ever. The hardware was styled by celebrity designer Yves Behar, but
-- thanks to Android -- it was made from cheap, off-the-shelf parts, which
allowed Uhrman to keep the price below £65 per unit.<br />
According to Uhrman, her Android console is democratising the world of
gaming, opening it up to indies and not just the big publishers on the Xbox and
PlayStation. Dubbed the "people's console", OUYA already claims that
more than 12,000 developers, including Final Fantasy creator Square Enix, have
signed up to work with them.<br />
As more and more devices get connected to the internet of things, Android
will become the operating system that powers everything. And it might be
Google's most important leg-up in its fight with Apple.<br />
Android was first conceived as a system for building networked cameras, but
it rapidly diversified. It's now backed by the Open Handset Alliance, a
powerful consortium of 84 hardware and software vendors that includes giants
such as Samsung Electronics and HTC. Android has become the foundation for some
of the most popular devices in the consumer electronics world, including
smash-hit bestsellers such as Samsung's Galaxy S4, which sold a record ten
million units in the first month, and Amazon's Kindle range.<br />
The open and customisable nature of Android allows it to be used on a wide
range of electronics. It's as easy to use as Windows CE, but, because it is
free and open source, developers don't have to pay any licensing fees, which
can add up with high-volume devices. And they're able to adapt and modify the
code base as they see fit -- something Microsoft would never allow.<br />
It's also well suited to today's advanced devices, which are smarter and
better connected than previous models. Off the shelf, Android handles a range
of complex functions, such as graphics, communications and database support.
"There's tremendous built-in functionality out of the box that must be
cobbled together -- usually with significant pain -- when using other platforms
and operating systems," says Cohen.<br />
Android is not always ideal, however. It is overkill for dumber devices such
as sensors or actuators that don't need a rich human interface. It is a good
fit for a hospital monitor, say, that responds to touchscreen commands from hospital
staff, but is overpowered for a wearable heart sensor that just beams
information to a smartphone.

Android becomes the new Linux

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07Jan2014

Hundreds of academics protest against mass surveillance

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Hundreds of academics from around the world have signed a declaration that
highlights that the world is under "an unprecedented level of
surveillance" and that "this has to stop" in order to protect people's
privacy.<br />
<a href="http://www.academicsagainstsurveillance.net/">Academics Against
Mass Surveillance</a> was conceived of by four colleagues -- Nico van Eijk,
Beate Roessler, Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius and Manon Oostveen -- at the
Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam after all of <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/10/edward-snowden">Edward
Snowden's</a> revelations about large-scale surveillance by governments.<br />
"We were discussing that academics had been a tad quiet in the
media," explains the Institute's Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius.<br />
The law professors drafted a declaration and then asked friends (mainly
human rights professors) for feedback before they agreed on a text. The text
was then shared internationally with colleagues, and almost 300 other academics
-- from countries including the US, UK, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Japan, Germany
and Austria -- have put their name against the declaration. "It was a
snowball effect," he adds.<br />
The declaration points out that intelligence agencies "monitor people's
internet use, obtain their phone calls, email messages, Facebook entries,
financial details, and much more".<br />
It adds: "Agencies have also gathered personal information by accessing
the internal data flows of firms such as Google and Yahoo. Skype calls are
'readily available' for interception...This has to stop."<br />
The declaration points out that the right to privacy is a fundamental one,
protected by a range of international treaties including the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx">International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Convention_on_Human_Rights">European
Convention on Human Rights</a>.<br />
"Without privacy people cannot freely express their opinions or seek
and receive information. Moreover, mass surveillance turns the presumption of
innocence into a presumption of guilt. Nobody denies the importance of
protecting national security, public safety, or the detection of crime. But
current secret and unfettered surveillance practices violate fundamental rights
and the rule of law, and undermine democracy."<br />
Those who have signed the declaration call for action and urge these spy
agencies to be more transparent and accountable. "States must effectively
protect everyone's fundamental rights and freedoms, and particularly everyone's
privacy," it says.<br />
When asked which organisation represented the <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-11/22/web-index-2013">biggest
threat</a> to digital rights, Zuiderveen Borgesius told Wired.co.uk:
"Phew, hard question. It seems to be a draw between the NSA and GCHQ, as
far as the Western countries are concerned. But it wouldn't surprise me if more
scandals will be disclosed about other European intelligence agencies
soon."<br />
He added that the declaration wasn't so much a political message, but
"a scientific consensus that this unfettered and secretive surveillance
has to stop".

Hundreds of academics protest against mass surveillance

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06Jan2014

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