Femodizzy's Blog

Mobile Computing December 10, 2009

Mobile technologies are steadily gaining grounds in a host of organisational settings. As a result of the significant role mobile technologies play in remote control of activities, they are of topmost important to individuals carrying them. Mobile technologies enable access to information in diverse surroundings thereby exposing and expanding business opportunities because of the ability to work anywhere and anytime. Mobile computing has changed the way we work and play because it is now so developed that you can be in the most remote area you can think of and still enjoy comforts of computing.  For example, people can now compute from their homes and doing two things at the same time is now relatively easy for people because they can be downloading MP3’s, downloading pictures and checking their email all at the same time in an efficient and effortless way.  This is the solution to the countless number of difficulties business people on the move have encountered in previous times. Time and resources can now be effectively utilised thereby saving a ton of money and resources in transportation and improved intercommunication within the business organisation. The importance of mobile computing can never be overlooked because it cuts across many sectors. Emergency services such as the fire service and the police depend on efficient mobile technology for speedy access to information such as name, address and any other useful information.  This kind of information can be accessed in a flash, through a CDPD (Cellular Digital Packet Data) system using mobile computers to the closest units so they can work effectively. The use of mobile technologies is now so popular that defence lawyers sometimes carry mobile computers to court rooms for real-time access to online legal databases.  This will enable them to quickly search and reference cases they are not familiar with.   Mobile computers are also used for credit card verification at (POS) point of Service terminals in supermarkets and stores for quick verification of credit cards during daily transactions.  Managers of big organisations also make use of mobile technologies for speedy access to the latest market information when making important presentations to clients. These managers take advantage of mobile computers because of competition. With light speed advancements in computer processor speeds and artificial intelligence, the future of mobile computing is very bright and the sky is the limit.

Mobile Computing: Past, Present and Future,  ByVasilis Koudounas and Omar Iqbal http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_96/journal/vol4/vk5/report.html

The next evolution of mobile computing: By mc http://pcassistguide.wordpress.com/2008/02/24/the-next-evolution-of-mobile-computing/

Green Computing “A fresh approach” December 9, 2009

Green computing is a term simply used for efficient use of energy in computing with minimal impact on the environment and at the same time reducing cost as low as possible.  The main objective of green house computing is reducing environmental hazards to the minimum by promoting the use of renewable energy. This is where Iceland comes into the picture.  Iceland is a small island country that is blazing the trail in the green computing initiative with tremendous amounts of green energy from hydro-electric and geothermal sources.  Here, you are rest assured of the prices for electricity in the world with the country’s unique location halfway between North America and Europe.  It is the ideal location for massive data centres, server farms and delivering cloud computing services, thereby keeping electricity bills in check for cloud computing firms. Some companies such as Google are already seeing the potential and benefits of moving their data centres to this tiny island. Iceland has such a huge prospective for server farms because the country sits on top of volcanoes that have geothermal energy and also glaciers that produce waterfalls thereby powering electricity generating turbines. This distinctive location puts Iceland at the forefront of geothermal technology which makes this tiny island be in huge demand for the information technology industry. You could kill two birds with one stone by reducing the cost of operation to a considerable amount and also reducing environmental hazards.  This is because the information technology industry is only second to the aviation industry in carbon emission (Green House gases) which could have an adverse effect on our future as a people because of the enormous energy consumption. Google is now beginning to see Iceland as the ideal option to cut down operational cost and at the same time play a huge role in our climate change.  I believe it’s just a matter of time for other information technology giants to grab the gigantic opportunity this small island country presents.

Iceland’s Green Man Newsweek: By  Daniel Gross 05-05-08                                                               http://www.newsweek.com/id/134260

Iceland could become a global hub for green computing: 29-03-09 By Tom Foremski: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Foremski/?p=420

Cloud Computing December 8, 2009

Cloud computing is a term for computing done over the internet with servers and services hosted outside of the business. It has been around for a while even though a lot of companies don’t know much about this new trend. The services are divided into three categories: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Cloud computing makes businesses and consumers make use of applications without necessarily installing them and enable them access personal files using any computer as long as it has internet connection. It basically increases efficiency because of a central storage, memory and processing system. This requires a lot of maintenance and management task away from business because it requires virtual servers and each server can host an OS. Cloud computing definately has issues that must be addressed constantly for it to be effective. These issues vary from cost, security, availability and workload. Cost is a major issue in cloud computing but certainly not the primary issue. Cloud computing presents numerous security challenges when applications reside in the cloud. Google is already a major player in this emerging technology as it is based on owning a massive cloud computing infrastructure. It is now partnering with IBM to promote and revolutionise  cloud computing because it is exactly what IT needs. It is an opportunity to both increase capacity and add capabilities without setting up totally new infrastructures, licensing software or training new personnel. Cloud computing saves companies massive cost and many other companies like Amazon and eBay are following this new trend because they both rely on cloud computing. Many educational institutions like the University of Salford and University of Manchester are also making use of this promising technology. Cloud computing helps bring greater productivity to business because it helps them focus more on business aspect and bother less about the IT aspect of business. It is a rising technology that is very profitable to companies because it offers a service that is springing up at a fast pace. In addition, it is good news for clients looking to adopt cloud computing because competition will only reduce the cost of service even more.

What Cloud Computing really means: By Eric Knorr, Galen Gruman.  http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031

Times Online “Cloud Computing”: By Jonathan Webber.  http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3874599.ece

Cloud Computing: By wikiinvest.com [Date accessed 08-12-09]                      http://www.wikiinvest.com/concept/cloud_computing

RFID Tags December 7, 2009

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a very powerful and efficient promising technology that is becoming very popular because it enables companies to achieve total business visibility. It is helping a lot of businesses cut down the operational cost of running these businesses by knowing the identity, condition and also the location of assets. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is also used in many other ways to make the conducting of businesses much easier.  Many shops and businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands make full use of this evolving technology today, even though it has been a common feature in most shops and businesses in Japan for a little while. Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a microchip combined with an antenna in a compact package which can be attached to an object and be tracked.  This is possible because the tag’s antenna will pick signals from an RFID reader.  Although, the radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is a wonderful invention, there are still a few ethical issues surrounding the use of (RFID) tags by some consumer groups.  These consumer groups feel that the (RFID) tags can be used by shoppers even after they have left the shops.  This could potentially result in an infringement of privacy. On the other hand, it is also a breakthrough for security operatives because (RFID) tags can also be used to monitor criminals, if the tags are placed in them.  This fast and emerging technology is surely going to play an important role in the coming years, but it still has to overcome the ethical issues surrounding its adoption by numerous businesses and shops for it to pass the test of time.

Welcome to RFID journal: By Mark Roberti [Date accessed 07-12-09]                                                             http://www.rfidjournal.com

Consumer concerns over RFID tags: By BBC news [Date accessed 07-12-09]        http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4247275.stm

Social Networking December 7, 2009

Social networking is now an integral part of the internet that has opened up a whole new way of staying in touch with loved ones and also exposing businesses to a wide audience like never imagined before. The social networking trend has almost completely replaced emails as a means of staying in touch with friends and family because of the flexibility that comes with it.  Profiles are created in minutes and both photos and videos make it very interesting to use these numerous social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Hi5, Flickr e.t.c . It is great for business and it provides a huge platform for small and large scale businesses to reach out to a huge market and also establish direct contact with people.  This is a smart business strategy because with a social networking site like Facebook that has over 350 million users, it is very ideal for business and conducting surveys. Not only businesses have capitalised on the enormous opportunities these social networking sites present but also, politicians have made full use of them

for running campaigns.  This is because the youths are the bedrock of these social networking sites and once you can win their trust, it is a big advantage to the politicians. Although, these social networking sites have disadvantages an

d users need to be very cautious of what they do and upload on their profiles.  This is because once it’s been uploaded the users never know where it will end up.  However, overall, social networking sites are now part of our lives and users

can hardly go a day without them.  These sites serve as important channels for information,     business and entertainment without having the users pay for them. These days, I rarely email friends and colleagues, I just get on my Facebook or Twitter profile and send them message. The phenomenon of social net working sites is just a tip of the iceberg because there is more to come and we are eagerly waiting for the next big thing.

Social networking ” A qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours and use”: By Ofcom.org  http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/socialnetworking

Virtual Office December 2, 2009

A virtual office is the new trend many businesses are adopting now to reduce cost that comes with a physical office building and at the same time maintaining your business professionally through a combination of off-site live communication and address service. The emergence of virtual offices is not only a major lifeline for many businesses struggling with the rising cost of office spacesbut at the same time it creates many avenues for expanding your business and making your presence felt in other parts of the world like never imagined before. Virtual offices enables up and coming entrepreneurs  keep up with the demands of staying relevant in a highly competitive business atmosphere because of the flexibility and freedom it has made possible and you can now actually start up your own business with no staff and still meet up with customer demands. You can reside in Manchester and still be able to work with a project team of up to 5 or 8 members in different locations in the world and may never get to even meet each other in person and still communicate perfectly or better still meet your intended target in due time. The emergence of  the “Virtual Office” has forever changed the structure of business because with considerably less capital businesses can start-up and thereby creating some form of livelihood for up and coming entrepreneurs  to get involved in business, this is the beauty of emerging technologies because they keep creating opportunities in business that were just figments of imaginations just a couple of years  ago and in my own opinion the sky is just the beginning and there are no limitations to what can be achieved through the help of emerging technologies.

By The Virtual Office Group .[Date accessed 02-12-09]

http://www.virtual-office.co.uk/

Web 3.0 “The next big thing” November 30, 2009

The web as we know it has indeed come a long way from the 80′s which it was referred to as Web 1.0 which eventually became Web 2.0 as we know it today even though its just a marketing term, technology keeps evolving and always aims for new heights so it is expected that in a few years time the web must move in a new direction and this is the birth of Web 3.0 (The semantic web) which is just around the corner and believe it or not is just about a decade away. The internet of tomorrow will connect every aspect of our digital lives together in a way never done before because the web is now becoming smart and for this to become reality a complete overhaul is required. Web 1.0 was just a foundation for what is better known today as Web 2.0 which main focus was on the users of the web, the usability and people being able to connect with each other but the Web 3.0 (The semantic web) is all about giving the web itself a brain which will eventually pave way for the Web 4.0 . The semantic web “Web 3.0″ is going to transform websites to web services there by making information and data that was difficult to access through the help of numerous APIs and already some web giants like Amazon are already blazing the trail and leading by example, the Seattle giant is reinventing itself by introducing some new APIs which ensure easy access and manipulation of their web sevices to suit their needs.

Web 3.0 and beyond: the next 20 years of the internet: By Times online/October 24, 2007http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2726190.ece By Alex Iskold 19-03-07     Web 3.0: When websites become web services: By Alex Iskold/March 19, 2007http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_30_when_web_sites_become_web_services.php

THE SMARTPHONE REVOLUTION November 29, 2009

In march 1876 when the telephone was first evented by the late Alexander Graham Bell there was no way he envisioned his humble invention would become what it has become today (Smartphone). The revolution is here and it is here to stay because smartphone just keeps getting smarter and smarter, smartphones have special features that makes it such a unique device and they also posses feautures many computers do not have because today smartphones can pinpoint the exact location you are standing on the face of the earth, in a blink of an eye a smartphone can make videos and immediately it can be broadcasted to the whole world through video sharing, they provide you with any information you require in seconds like where the nearest cash machine is, they perform task such as hotel reservations, street maps and even accurate weather reports. The speed at which smartphones are developing in unmatched in the history of technological growth and the battle for supremacy rages on between the industry heavyweights such as Apple, HTC, Google, Microsoft, Blackberry,Nokia e.t.c . With each manufacturer coming up with different applications at such a fast pace that applications of just 6 months old can become irrelevant so the business climate reamains highly competitive such as the struggle for technological supremacy only gets more intense and in the long run everyone goes home happy right from the manufacturer, marketer and eventual end users.

“The Ongoing  Smartphone  Revolution” By Bruce Everiss. http://seekingalpha.com/article/127294-the-ongoing-smartphone-revolution

THE EVOLUTION OF WEB 2.0 November 26, 2009

About five years ago from now a conference was launched which has now grown into what we know today as the Web 2.0 Summit which was designed to put the industry back on the right path after the dotcom explosion. At that point it seemed the web could and would only get more robust and also serve as a launching pad for a new computer application generation but in the real sense of it nobody had the slightest idea it was going to get to the present level its reached at the moment and the truth is it can and will only get bigger. The present scale at which people are participating in the Web 2.0 revolution was only dreamt about in 2004, the smartphone revolution is just one of the many examples of how the web has moved literally from our desk into our pocket and data can now be collected, presented and even processed in real time.

Once upon a time it was all about the dotcom but now people can’t just get enough of Web 2.0 or better still the world has already began to ask about the Web 3.0, the web is now the world because everyone in the world does cast an “information shadow” and information or data captured and processed properly can offer tremendous opportunities on a scale never imagine a few years back.

Web Squared: “Web 2.0 5 years on” By Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle.http://www.web2summit.com/web2009/public/schedule/detail/10194

Hello world! October 21, 2009

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

My name is Olufemi Obayomi-Davies and i must say that today has been an interesting day because i just joined two social networking sites with unlimited access to photos and information in a way never done before.

I could literally be anywhere in the world as long as i have access to the internet not only can i access information through delicious friends within the delicious community can also access information from me, likewise is the photo sharing phenomenon called flickr.

What this experience has made me realise is that the web is not just a place that dishes out information but the fact that we are now the web in every sense of the word because i could come across very rare information anywhere on the planet and post straight away on delicious and within fractions of a second the whole world has  access to it.