The Cloud. 'Nuff said.

Forget meteorology, and think virtualization. Cloud computing is finally becoming a significant part of our lives.  Microsoft, in particular, is certainly making sure of that. Introducing the new, dynamically scalable, over-the-internet productivity suite Microsoft Office 365 available in the early 2011 completely through a cloud computing environment! Consider the business world transformed. Now, employees of any company around the world will easily be able to communicate, collaborate, and get their work done from anywhere around the world. With an entire suite of Microsoft products available to employees over the internet through a simple log in process (without a software install of any kind), work will go very smoothly - too bad offering the service is such a gamble for Microsoft. Many companies still either don't know or simply refuse to believe that cloud computing is safe and reliable, so many will not risk their sensitive information for the service. Also, marketing the service as a subscription may actually end up hurting Microsoft. After a little bit of math, it's clear that buying traditional software licenses works out to be cheaper in the long run. So, why pay for the subscription? Microsoft's competition is also tough. Google offers a similar service called Docs for free. In combination with Gmail, Google Docs is a solid choice for any company interested in these kinds of services. We will have to wait and see how MS Office 365's success plays out, but in the mean time, I wish them the best of luck, for it this thing works, it could become a $25 billion dollar per year business by 2013.

The Improved Relevance

“What your friends think and what people like you think is much more relevant than what everybody thinks,” said Augie Ray, an analyst with Forrester Research, in an interview with Jenna Wortham for her recent article "Search Takes a Social Turn" published in the NY Times. Indeed, the world of mouth that is becoming more and more tailored to the individual. Why waste time sifting through tons and tons of reviews about a product or a service when you can simply listen to what the people you already trust have to say on the matter? Think about it. You're looking for a good local restaurant on Google, and the reviews seem to vary vastly. Which ones do you trust? Which ones were posted by regular people like you? Which ones were posted by food critics? Which ones were planted by the managers and marketing advisors of the restaurants? It's so much easier to simply ask a friend who had been to the restaurant and get a straight opinion. Most people would think so - to save time, at least, if for no other reason. In recent years, companies have realized that simply providing reviews is no longer cutting it with consumers. Social media has helped them turn things around. Facebook, Twitter, TunerFish, Loopt, Hunch - be they location-based social systems or plain profile-based ones or new interest-logging applications, they are making a difference for consumers and their friends. It is now clear that the traditional search engine has to change to provide this improved relevance everyone has been talking about. So, it turns out that your friends do know you best - and, ultimately, they can help save you some time. Who would have thought?

The Netflix Solution

What if you could go to your living room, sit down, turn on the TV, and watch any show, movie, or sports game that is currently on or that aired any time in the past? It may sound like science fiction, but we can already do that. Well, almost. This is exactly the type of project Reed Hastings, "a quiet disrupter [who] sabotag[es] business models silently and irretrievably" and the CEO of Netflix, is working on. In an attempt to create a media-streaming infrastructure that by-passes all services provided by the cable company, Hastings is revolutionizing the television experience. Netflix may have gone down wrong paths, may have had some set-backs, and may have dealt with "hell" over the past few years, but Hastings' dynamic business strategy and a very informed view of the technology and the surrounding markets have allowed Netflix to not only pull through but also succeed far beyond the expectations of industry analysts. Something tells me that even though there are a lot of risks in being Netflix right now, the company's vision will keep in at the head of the industry. Just five years ago, most people did not have a TV that could fast-forward through commercials, and everyone had to deal with setting up that bothersome VCR to record shows that they knew they would miss. Now, we can stream cable channels through our computers or re-watch the glorious moments of the Boston Red Sox taking the World Series title in 2007 all with a push of a button, without any extra devices to set-up, and with Netflix making the process easier and easier every day.

The Technological Teddy Bear

I recently found an article that made me realized that the notion of progress is actually much more interesting and much more complex than I had imagined before. Currently, when we think of progress, we think of how technology has evolved and how our minds and attitudes have evolved with the machinery. We take this evolution as fact (for all practical purposes), and we rationalize it to be true, as we hope that technology will work to do great things for us in the future.  But what if we are wrong? What if our digital revolution is not a revolution? What if our "human factor" - our human nature and our love for the natural and the actual - will never allow us to proceed? What if a technological world with perfect living conditions for humans is just science fiction? Humans really love their printed books, Rubic's cubes, and teddy bears. They have no idea why they do, but I think as they refuse to give them up now, they will refuse to give them up in the future. So, yes, in the future, explaining your computer science program logic to your computer may be much more useful than explaining it to your teddy bear (because the computer can help you solve the problem), but the computer will not be nearly as effective as the teddy bear in teaching you about the principles that lead you to make a mistake and the principles that will lead you to the solution.

The Digital Kind of Dorm Experience

Would you like your dorm room to be the most popular hang-out spot on a Friday night? You could start by sharpening your social skills and making friends...or you could just do what Zack Anderson and his roommate RJ Ryan did. Two words: PARTY MODE. This absolutely crazy, yet completely awesome applications of electrical and computer engineering, as well as computer science, puts most college dorms, even the wild ones, to shame. Check it out: blinds, lights, music all create a complete party experience with a push of a button. The security camera set-up is also glorious and a very smart idea too with the RAs walking around.
Clearly, this is not your typical dorm room experience, and not all of us are able/want to build a system like this. I think however that it is a wonderful way to utilize technology in practical matters of the daily life and a solid approach to the dorm experience.