Practical Technology

for practical people.

September 30, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Today’s Internet is the mobile Internet

Once upon a time, 2007 to be exact, if you wanted to use the Web on your phone, you had access to only a limited subset of it via Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) (PDF). Then along came the iPhone and 4G, bringing us smartphones and broadband, and six years later, 21 percent of smartphone users use their phones, not their PCs or tablets, as their main way to access the Internet.

Things have changed.

Today’s Internet is the mobile Internet. More>

September 30, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Are there too many cloud services?

Are there too many cloud services? Not really, but it can pretty darn confusing.

I have no problem with the three fundamental cloud services: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS); Platform as a Service (PaaS); and Software as a Service (SaaS). Each of them has its role. There’s some crossover between them but not enough to confuse anyone who’s bothered to spend some time learning their cloud 101. Unfortunately, it seems like every company with a cloud service wants to have it own unique kind of cloud, fill-in-the-blank as a Service – and that’s confusing.

If you look closely at them you’ll find that most of these are variations on SaaS, but, alas, it’s not that easy.

Are there too many cloud services? More>

September 29, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

One in seven Americans don’t use the Internet

Don’t we all want faster broadband? Don’t we all envy Google Fibre users? Isn’t happiness caused by good, fast 4G? Not necessarily.

According to the Pew Research Center’s internet and American Life Project survey, 15 percent of Americans, approximately one in seven, don’t have Internet access. More surprisingly, the May 2013 survey revealed that 34 percent of that group isn’t interested in using it.

One in seven Americans don’t use the Internet. More>

September 27, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Ubuntu 13.10 final beta: Ubuntu for smartphones is almost here

Ubuntu 13.10, aka Saucy Salamander, is almost here. The popular Linux desktop just when into final beta and it’s on schedule to go final on October 17. While Ubuntu desktop users will be happy to see the latest and greatest from Canonical, the important news for Ubuntu‘s corporate backer will be the release of its smartphone brother, Ubuntu Touch.

Ubuntu 13.10 final beta: Ubuntu for smartphones is almost here. More>

September 27, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

IPv6 gathering momentum

Ordinary users don’t have to worry about switching from the old-style IPv4 internet to IPv6 … yet. Businesses are another matter. Europe, the Middle East, and some of Central Asia ran out IPv4 addresses in 2012. The rest of Asia used up the last of its IPv4 addresses in 2011. The United States, Canada, and most of the Caribbean Islands? We’re due to use up the last of our American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) assigned addresses on January 6, 2015. Lucky us.

IPv6 gathering momentum. More>