Technology trends expected in 2009

source : http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/12/30/technology/technology_30092174.php
By Asina Pornwasin
The Nation

Even though the state of the global and local economies will probably be the main focus of attention in 2009, technology is nevertheless moving steadily forward.

Moreover, 2009 promises to be a particularly exciting year, with a mix of both new and improved technologies. The following are expected to represent the main technology trends in the coming year.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is expected to play an important role in the IT industry in 2009.

The concept of cloud computing is for large pools of computer systems to share an IT infrastructure. Cloud computing accesses virtual resources and is not limited by the power and capabilities of local or remote computers.

Cloud computing will support the next generation of enterprise data centres, operating like the Internet to provide extreme scale and fast access to networked users.

It offers a simplified, centralised platform for use when needed, lowering costs and energy use. Unlike grid computing, which distributes IT for a specific task, cloud computing is used across an entire range of activities. The platforms can be externally hosted services, but the principle can also be used inside companies, especially those that operate globally.

The market for cloud computing swelled to an estimated $36 billion (Bt1.24 trillion) in 2008, representing roughly 13 per cent of global software sales.

Uses for cloud computing will increase over the next three to five years.

Unified communications and collaboration (UCC)

The need for connectivity, anytime and anywhere, will remain essential despite economic conditions. UCC gives enterprises the impetus to enhance both internal and external communications by consolidating voice and other services on to standard data networks, thereby providing IT with an intuitive way to reduce operating costs. 

The demand for UCC will continue as economic conditions improve, not only because businesses will be convinced of its benefits after trying it out, but because demand for it will be backed by sustainable developments.

With the emergence of virtualisation, embedded software on open platforms and the software-as-a-service model, there will be an increased focus on services and applications, like UCC, delivered over a robust network infrastructure.

The rules are also changing: people are no longer interested in operating systems and hardware platforms for computing and networking, but rather in how they can get simple, reliable and secure access to services that drive a business, anytime and anywhere.

NetBooks

The small 'cutesy form' factor will remain the primary selling point for netbooks, but it will also change the way these devices are being used.

With limited processing power and storage, users will be heavily dependent on being connected to the Internet, eventually running applications through the cloud.

This demand for connectivity will further change the way mini notebooks are sold. Instead of being sold by retail stores, partnerships with mobile phone operators are expected to proliferate, with devices sold in service bundles like mobile phones, using operators' cellular 3G infrastructures.

With vendors already looking at ways to overcome the challenges associated with this product category, ICT market-intelligence firm IDC believes that mini notebooks will change the way traditional notebooks are used and sold.

Windows 7

Windows 7 is expected to be available later this year. Microsoft has been attempting to improve most of the things that annoy people about Windows Vista, including user-account control, sluggishness and an interface that slows people down.

The most significant feature of Windows 7 is likely to be virtualisation, a technology that allows one computer to run operating systems or applications that used to require several different systems to handle.

With virtualisation, users will be able to run Linux, Windows 95 and DOS all on the same machine, at the same time. It will provide a lot of benefits, including energy savings, cost savings on software upgrades and accessibility to a wider range of applications.

Online applications

The Internet is becoming the platform on which all business documents can be created and, more importantly, shared.

In the year 2009, there will be more online applications. For example, Google Docs, ThinkFree Office, and Zoho are offering free online word processors, spreadsheets and presentation programs. Even Microsoft is planning to move its Office suite of productivity tools to an online format.

USB 3.0

USB has been the most successful plug-and-play connectivity standard for computing.

In 2009, USB 3.0 will be one of the highlight consumer technologies. It will boast maximum data-transfer speeds up to ten times faster than USB 2.0. With this speed, people will be able to transfer 27 gigabytes of data to an external device in about 70 seconds, when the same amount of data would have taken 15 minutes to transfer over a USB 2.0 connection. Importantly, USB 3.0 will also provide two-way communication with devices and ports. Therefore, data will be written and read simultaneously over the same connection.

Faster, More Secure Wireless

With mobile devices becoming more pervasive and finding more applications, mobile technologies that enable high user volumes, high-bandwidth voice services, seamless roaming and adaptive mesh creation, as well as industry-specific services like RFID asset tracking, will become important for businesses and consumers.

The 802.11n Wi-Fi protocol, which is expected to be finalised in 2009, will be a key to enabling all of these capabilities. Technologies based on the protocol that are already available are expected to be deployed liberally throughout the Asia-Pacific region in the coming year.

RFID-enabled mobile phones

According to research reports, it is expected that within five years, 50 per cent of mobile phones will include radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips to use near field communication (NFC), a two-way technology.

Some major cellphone manufacturers are preparing to release communication devices incorporating RFID technology with the hope that consumers will change the way they buy products and services and use their credit cards.

Information Collection and Use
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ThinkFree lets them know why you are collecting information from them. In most cases this is to customize the advertising and content seen.

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Security
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From Marketing manager Benedict at ThinkFree.com

When cloud computing thought about security and privacy (in ThinkFree) !



 

As millions of consumers begin to take advantage of cloud computing it’s apparent that major concerns including security and privacy are top of mind. So how are companies such as ThinkFree ensuring the security and privacy of the millions of documents that sit on the cloud?

For starters, ThinkFree begins at their homepage by providing users with SSL secured sign-in process. By providing protocols which deliver security and data integrity for communications over TCP/IP networks such as the Internet, ThinkFree ensures information hijackers from decrypting account information. Furthermore, ThinkFree enhances their security even more by working with third party security companies such as Verisign which provide two important services – encryption of data transmission and identity verification.

But ThinkFree doesn’t end their security measures there! Security structure is divided into four sections:

Ø  First is the network security – ThinkFree runs a hardware based network firewall and IDS (Intrusion Detection System). Which ensures that all communications and data packets are real-time filtered and audited in addition to keeping unauthorized people off the network.

Should there be any suspicious access, leakage or attack, ThinkFree’s existing security system immediately blocks all data transfers.  A real-time report is sent to the security manager via email and mobile message incase they are remotely located.

Ø  ThinkFree’s second layer sits within server security. By only allowing top management direct access to servers in the local network environment, unauthorized remote users cannot directly access any of ThinkFree’s servers. This method delivers an extra layer of security by requiring users to be localized whenever directly accessing any of ThinkFree’s servers.

Ø  Protecting user’s uploaded data and documents is a critical portion of cloud computing. ThinkFree leverages D-DRM (Document-Digital Right Management). Incase there are data and/or document leaks into public domains an encrypted document protocol is launched so that unauthorized users can’t open or read the documents without a license key.

Internal security measures have been covered now what about backup capabilities should a natural disaster strike?

ð  ThinkFree servers currently sit at the IDC (Internet Data Center) owned by Samsung networks which provides UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). Consisting of a three-layer hierarchy: the upper layer is the active layer which conducts the active service. Followed by the middle layer which is a standby layer for automatic switching to a redundant server that has duplications of active servers.

Finally, the last layer is backup server for duplicating and backing up of active and standby server’s all data. Which ensures all data is captured and mirrored in case of a disaster. In addition, all data is backed up once a week from the IDC server farm to local internal server farms which are located at ThinkFree Corp.

ThinkFree Office 3.5.1052.20 - SOFTPEDIA "100% CLEAN" AWARD
http://mac.softpedia.com/progClean/ThinkFree-Office-Clean-10003.html


 



ThinkFree Office 3.5.1052.20 - SOFTPEDIA "100% CLEAN" AWARD

This product was last tested in the Softpedia Labs on the 12 September 2008 by Iulia Ivan

Softpedia guarantees that ThinkFree Office 3.5.1052.20 is 100% Clean, which means it does not contain any form of malware, including but not limited to: spyware, viruses, trojans and backdoors.

This software product was tested thoroughly and was found absolutely clean; therefore, it can be installed with no concern by any computer user. However, it should be noted that this product will be retested periodically and the award may be withdrawn, so you should check back occasionally and pay attention to the date of testing shown above.


We thanks to Softmedia and their effotrs to verify the clean software ! : ThinkFree Team

Microsoft Office Alternatives: 10 KickAss Word Processors : at CIO.com Slideshows

excerped from http://www.cio.com/special/slideshows/microsoft_office_alternatives/slide03#slideshow


 

Microsoft Office may be the dominant suite for office productivity software, but it sure isn't the only option. We show you 10 word processing alternatives that just might be better suited for your business.

By Rich Levin

Anyone who said competition is dead in the office suite marketplace hasn't Googled the terms "word processor" or "spreadsheet" lately. Ten years ago, it appeared Microsoft had neutralized all serious threats to its Office franchise. But this industry can change seemingly overnight. And it has.

Today there's a bumper crop of worthy Office alternatives. The list keeps growing, as developers exploit new and potentially better ways to deliver functionality users want in an office suite. There are native desktop replacements for Microsoft Office including free and open-source options, myriad Web-based rich Internet alternatives and even portable platforms.

None of this has been missed by Microsoft, which debuted a revamped Office Professional 2007 last year in an effort to clearly differentiate its cash cow from the bulging mass of Office me-toos, and now is promising a new version that's cloud-enabled. But the new Office user experience, "the Ribbon," is likely responsible for driving once-devoted users into the arms of alternatives.

The good news: it's never been easier to extricate your organization from dependency on the Microsoft Office suite. Here's a visual rundown of 10 alternatives to Microsoft Office, plus one add-on to ease the pain. We focus on word processors for this slide show; not everyone needs a spreadsheet or presentation tool, but we all need a word processor.

ThinkFree Office: The enterprise alternative This is your office on Java. From a features/functionality standpoint, ThinkFree Office should be the leading contender for enterprise use. It's the only product in this roundup (besides Microsoft Office itself) that provides a Microsoft-compatible suite plus the multi-user backend collaboration, Web, mobile and enterprise services larger shops need. It also offers a rich API for developers to integrate document editing and viewing into the IT infrastructure, webmail, blogs, storage, groupware, ERP and CRM platforms.

Smart blogging with document embedding in ThinkFree Note
(and so on)

We have been providing mash-up services with YouTube (video files), Flickr (photos), and Yahoo (maps), 
but ThinkFree web office users were not able to utilize files that were stored in their online account. (reflecting !, ^^;)

Now you can link documents which are stored in your ThinkFree Online Storage to  ThinkFree Note documents and insert image files very easily through the ThinkFree Mash-up service.

Snapdragon fires up competition for Intel on new mobiles

ThinkFree is the significant contributor to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform ecosystem !
But
Whoever wins this race, ThinkFree always keep the track that ThinkFree is  platform-independent solution supporting
cloud computing ecosystem
  

Source : http://labs.pcw.co.uk/2008/12/snapdragon-fire.html