The last ACSS Newsletter was written about a year ago. So, I guess this could be considered as an anniversary issue. Lot's of things I would like to cover in this issue: Windows and Mac updates, converting books to eBooks, and the future of computing.
Let's get the Windows people out of the way first.
Windows 8
Windows 8 is going to be released I think sometime in October. Right now those who have bought Windows 7 since June can upgrade to Windows 8 for about $15. That's a steal! But don't go there!!!
Remember Microsoft's big flops: Windows ME and Windows Vista? As far as the laptop and desktop are concern my prediction is that Windows 8 will also be a big flop. I have been using the pre-releases of Windows 8 for about a year now and I still find it very aggravating. Windows 8 might do alright on tablets or phones, but for the desktop it is difficult to manage.
Imagine having your desktop basically made like an iPhone or Android device. In order to get to an app you have to sort of flip through a bunch of icons to find the app you want. Of course, you can arrange your favorite in specific areas or groups, but still... it just doesn't work for the desktop. Microsoft is going to flooded with a lot of unhappy customers over this.
I also predict that Microsoft will release a patch that will enable the user to just use normal desktop within the first year, or they'll just give away Windows 7 to all the unhappy users.
Office 365
On the other hand I commend Microsoft on the work they've done with Office 365. Office 365 enables you to use most all the Office products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) through a browser. It works really well and is almost like the real apps on your desktop.
I'll talk a little more about Office 365 below in "Future of Computing."
Now for the Mac users out there.
Mountain Lion
Less than a month ago Apple released the latest edition of their operating system. The changes are rather minor as far as I'm concerned, but I can see how some people might appreciate them. Suffice to say at price of about $20 for the upgrade, GO FOR IT!
Convert that Book to an eBook
Today I just found out about an interesting service that will convert any book into a PDF for only.... wait for it..... $1.00!!!
Ok, you have to mail the book to them, so the postage is probably going to be more. Don't forget though that there is a special postal rate for books!!! But if you're looking to get rid of some old books, but you wish you just had them on your reader, well for just $1.00 the company 1DollarScan will do it for you.
http://www.1dollarscan.com
Future of Computing
So I've written before about where computing is going. And that is to the cloud. Recently I've seen a bunch of posts by people frustrated with cloud-based computing. So here's a little primer about cloud computing with caveats about what to and not to do.
Previously I wrote about Google's Chromebook and Jolicloud (now JoliOS) as being the leaders in introducing complete cloud-based computing. In the ideal situation the user would be accessing applications, files, services, etc., that are hosted on the Internet. That is to say that none of these is really on your computer, phone, tablet, etc. Most users are familiar with accessing their mail through a browser. Well, there's an example of using cloud-based computing.
Google has probably really been in the forefront as far as enabling cloud computing. I personally access my mail and documents through a browser or cell phone app. They are therefore available to me 24-7-365. Likewise, I don't have to worry about backing any of it up.
Microsoft has finally gotten it's act together with Office 365. They have also recently been encouraging all Hotmail, Live.com, etc. users to move to a new Outlook.com interface. I recommend it. What's even better about it is that you can easily access your SkyDrive, as well as easily switch between your various accounts should you have multiple ones.
Offline storage services: Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, Bitcasa, etc.
Although technically these services all offer storing your files in the cloud, they are also synced to your computer. Now this is really good when you computer or device is offline. But depending on the amount of data you're storing on those services, you might find that any device that has synced in a while struggling to download all the latest versions. Most all of the complaints that I have seen about cloud-based computing come down to this problem. It might make more sense to just keep the documents in the cloud.
One final note:
Social Networking (oh not another one!!!)
Yeh, there's a new player in town: Diaspora*. The good thing about Diaspora* is that it is an OpenSource development and it puts YOU the user in charge of your privacy. In fact, Diaspora* promises that your information is YOURS. Need proof? Read the following commitments the Diaspora community makes. Ask Google+ or Facebook about making such a commitment. I think you'll just hear laughing as the connection is cut....
Privacy by design
Diaspora doesn’t expose your information to advertisers, or to games you play, or to other websites you visit. You tell Diaspora who gets to see those pictures of your kids, and only those people will see them. Period.
Ownership
You retain full ownership of all your information, including friend lists, messages, photos, and profile details. When you delete your account, all of your data gets deleted, not hidden.
