Not quite ready to live in the cloud
Google’s impressive Chromebook Pixel is just the latest in a series of devices which are trying to entice users to compute in a different way. With (almost) ubiquitous connectivity, and an increasing reliance upon web-based services for mail, calendars, document creation and more, might we be reaching a point at which the browser really can...
Dropbox, Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Microsoft SkyDrive; maybe they’re not apples after all?
Cloud storage product Dropbox is one of those tools that users tend to rave about. It’s deceptively simple. It’s pretty reliable. The value proposition is immediately apparent. It has paid tiers of usage that bring additional storage but (like other freemium beacons such as Evernote) the free offering is rich enough to be compelling, engaging,...
Google’s Knowledge Graph bringing semantics to the masses
With Facebook’s IPO just around the corner, the timing of Google’s latest press blitz should probably be regarded with a healthy dose of suspicion, but the unveiling of the Knowledge Graph is an important step in Google’s journey — and a reaffirmation of values diluted by recent dalliances in social networking. Writing for The Atlantic, Alexis...
Surely the computer should do that?
We have become accustomed to the simple yet all-powerful search box. ‘Advanced’ search options and arcane query syntaxes have largely been replaced by the learned behaviour of throwing some words at Google*, ignoring the sponsored links, and (usually) finding what we want somewhere in the first 5-10 proper results. A Google search is certainly impressive...
TOSCA may prove a prescient name for new cloud standards effort
Last week, open standards body OASIS unveiled yet another shiny new standards effort. The OASIS Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA) Technical Committee hopes to make it “easier to deploy cloud applications without vendor lock-in,” and to support moving from one cloud to another. The usual suspects — the likes of IBM, CA, and Cisco...
Keep your Executive Assistant happy if moving to the Cloud
Google held a small event in London late last month, at which senior executives from a wide range of organisations gathered to discuss the impact of the Cloud. Presenters included luminaries such as Marc Benioff, Werner Vogels, Geoffrey Moore and Nick Carr, as well as CIOs at the coalface in adopting various Cloud (mainly SaaS)...
When I search online for pizza, what do I really want ?
Odd as it may seem, this question arose during my preparation for yesterday’s conversation with True Knowledge CEO, William Tunstall-Pedoe. You see, one of the demonstrations of True Knowledge’s capabilities takes the form of a local product search that looks – superficially – a lot like Google’s better known Local offering. Searching for pizza in Google...
May’s Semantic Web Gang talks Wolfram Alpha and Google
I mentioned the Semantic Web Gang podcast last week, in the context of our upcoming Live appearance at the Semantic Technology Conference in San Jose next month. This month’s show was recorded yesterday, and is now available. During the conversation, Gang members dig into the two hot stories of the moment; the launch of Wolfram...
Talking with Reuven Cohen about the Open Cloud Manifesto
Image via CrunchBase Everyone who wants to do so should have had their chance to read the Open Cloud Manifesto by now, and to see the list of companies putting their names to it. As expected, Microsoft, Google and Amazon are not there. Reuven Cohen of Enomaly is one of those involved in bringing the...
My podcast conversation about Cloud Computing with Nick Carr
Nick Carr’s most recent book, The Big Switch [UK, US], was published in January of 2008. Whether by luck or judgement, he caught the meme of the moment and became closely associated with growing interest in the notion of ‘Cloud Computing‘ throughout last year. The paperback edition of Nick’s book has just been published, and...
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