With the emergence of the iPad, there are many trends changing and many ideas developing around an old but finally well-developed phenomenon: the tablet computer.
Although I am somehow late giving my opinion on the subject, I think it is worth the try.
One of the areas cloud computing can be very useful and extremely capable is on the thin clients. Despite the fact that definition of a thin client nowadays is quite different than few years ago (take iPad and compare it to any of the “revolutionary” J2ME enabled devices) they are still far less capable than conventional computers, i.e. laptops and desktops.
iPad (as a good example and so far the best in the segment) is fairly powerful by itself and offers decent performance in doing resource-intensive tasks like 3D game rendering. But there are times that its processing power and storage capacity is not sufficient for certain tasks. You might say, well turn to a more powerful computer then. The price of such move could be sacrificing the super cool and useful features like ultra-portability and modern human user interface of the iPad.
After moving to Vancouver (yeah baby), one of the things I want to do is to apply for UBC graduate program. No, MBA is not what I have in mind, MIS is a better choice for me. Although I’m still finishing my MSc in SBIT, I think this degree will help me better in accomplishing my goals, none of which involves taking over the world. So worry not.
After weeks of “research” I contacted Sauder School of Business and they just enlightened me with the information I already knew: “You are late for fall 2010 and you have to apply after September with all supporting documents including a GMAT score.
Well, I have got enough time to study Math again (tickles some old nightmares) but to get a better chance to be admitted and hopefully get an scholarship, I need to be really good at GMAT.
There are 12 books to start with, 3 official books and 8 from Manhattan. There are also classes to attend. I guess I’ll start with the books because I’m good at self-paced studying. After taking a sample test or two I can decide whether to go to a real class as well or not.
There are many (I mean it) resources to study for GMAT and these 3 websites are must-check:
Companies like Manhattan offer online classes for the busy applicants, but you can still attend UBC classes to have better and real connection with your classmates (aka competitors).
Well, I’m still at the beginning and I can’t advise anybody about anything. This is briefly the data I collected so far and I’ll update the post if I find something worthy in the future.
So good luck if you are in the GMAT game too.
P.S. Obviously some of the information mentioned above applies to Canadians only. I am sure you can find plenty of resources online of and test center near you.
Security remains as one of the biggest challenges in adopting and spreading cloud computing. But there is an even bigger concern that could threaten the existence of clouds in a bigger picture.
It outlines the pillars of Cloud Computing as well giving a brief on what the possible threats and weaknesses could challenge the early and future adopters.
The manifesto declares 4 major goals of an Open Cloud:
Choice; to give total freedom to the cloud clients in choosing between different cloud providers with no barriers
Flexibility; to maximize the interoperability between Clouds and organizations on different Clouds.
Speed and Agility; to employ open interfaces to allow organizations to build solutions that easily and quickly integrate
Middle East is usually behind when it comes to the bleeding edge technology. Clearly because we don’t build bleeding edge technology unless we are US or EU residents!
One of the greatest aspects of Cloud Computing is SaaS (Software as a Service). With the current credit crunch creeping all over the world, this might be biggest chance for SaaS to take a big leap and make itself ahead of the game.
However is it like that everywhere? Or is it just in US and Canada?
The point is that Middle East market is so overwhelmed by Microsoft supplied software that there seem to be no room to breath for alternatives. Windows is a reigning champ on both client and server systems, Exchange is there with no competitor, and Office is a no-brainer choice. In higher market levels you see Oracle and SAP ruling.
You might say, duh, this is pretty much the case everywhere, the situation here is more intense. The local market is so addicted to such products that I think it will take another 2 to 3 years for it to wake and see the world is a better place with SaaS.
However there are some constraints too. In a perfect world, SaaS applications would work just fine replacing the sluggish, pricey, and hard to maintain applications.
But here is the thing: What if we can’t rely on the local Internet connection? UAE (where I currently live) has the best Internet facilities and biggest user share in the region, but we experience total blackouts one or twice a year due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Well, I don’t need to say that what will happen to my cloud-based business if my US-hosted SaaS application goes down for a day.
In the other hand, there a lot of political and economic tensions between this part of the world and the rest of it! The security risk does matter and if a Middle Eastern firm totally relies on an overseas SaaS platform, what could be the guarantee for this not be used as a potential pressure factor?
Perhaps local and private SaaS platforms could be the best solution, but Private Clouds have their own merits and demerits.
Whatever the ups and downs of moving to the Cloud could be, the companies in the region, especially government and enterprises should have a close look at what is currently happening up in the Cloud.