Cloud based browser could allow mobile devices like smartphones with limited computing power to perform large scale computing tasks. Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Oregon have found a new way of performing large scale computing tasks through cloud based browsers.

The researchers claimed that the cloud based browser could allow mobile devices like smartphones with limited computing power to perform large scale computing tasks. Cloud browser can create a web interface in cloud though which computing tasks can be performed in the cloud instead of performing it on the devices...

In the coming year, the Internet of Things will change how consumers and enterprises use technology, interactive displays will become common in public spaces, robots will be used to rehabilitate patients, and visualization will help solve the big data problem.

Those are just some of the technological advances that experts from the IEEE Computer Society, a membership organization for technology leaders, foresee in 2013. “The promise for the coming years is not just technology,” said incoming IEEE Computer Society President David Alan Grier. “But technology and data–how we get data from the right sources and get it to the right people in the right forms. That is the big issue that engages many of our members.” Among the major advances that IEEE Computer Society experts forecast for 2013:...

We have been talking on GreenMonk about the lack of transparency from Cloud vendors for some time now, but our persistence is starting to pay off, it appears! Some recent conversations we’ve had with people in this space are starting to prove very positive.

We’ve had talks with GreenQloud. GreenQloud are based in Iceland, so their electricity is 100% renewable (30% geothermal and 70% hydro). They already measure and report to their customers the carbon footprint of their cloud consumption – so what discussions did we have with them? Well, GreenQloud use the open source CloudStack platform to manage their cloud infrastructure. Given that CloudStack is open source, and we’ve previously suggested that Open Source Cloud Platforms should be hacked for Energy and Emissions reporting, we suggested to GreenQloud that they contribute their code back into the CloudStack project. They were very open to the idea. Watch this space...

Grazed from CloudTech. Author: VI.
As cloud computing continues to grow and cloud hosting is adopted by more and more individuals and businesses alike, it has been calculated that the use of cloud hosting can dramatically decrease the amount of carbon emissions produced by each and every business that makes use of the cloud.

Google has calculated that an SME can lower its energy usage by 65%-85% simply by switching to the cloud. This is thanks to the fact that servers, located elsewhere, will be used for data storage rather than running pollutant in-house servers. So, here at VI, we got thinking. If every SME around the world made use of cloud computing, could we really go some way to saving our planet from the ever worsening problem of global warming caused by rising carbon emissions?...

A cornerstone study into cloud computing in the UK has revealed the key difference in opinion between cloud users and non-cloud users. The study, from Raconteur Media and written by Mike O’Driscoll entitled ‘Navigating the Cloud’, had a relatively small survey base – just under 250 completed at least part of the survey – but of that number, there was a lot of clout – 84% saw themselves as the key IT decision maker.

Again, software as a service (SaaS) proved itself to be the most mature cloud market. 81% of respondents currently use SaaS, compared to 45% for information as a service (IaaS) and 38% for platform as a service (38%). Crucially, only 5% of respondents had no plans to use SaaS in their company. This correlates with research from Symform which showed that SaaS “continued to be the entryway” for cloud platforms...

It's rather difficult to get a good read on public opinion, especially about things that half of them don't know about. Cloud computing is one of those things. How does one get a really good view on the overall public perception of particular things?

Sure, you've got your own personal opinions, but they may be years ahead or behind the bulk of the public, depending on what exactly the subject is. We're speaking very generally right now and philosophically at that, but this is a general topic that is extremely relevant. How can we really gauge things, and not just model them and pretend as if we're doing something real...

UCSD's Guardian magazine reports on an often overlooked aspect of cloud computing. According to the university's researchers, "developing countries are utilizing the growing adoption of 'cloud computing' -- the use of consumer devices to access remote computer and information resources -- to expand their economic role in an increasingly global economy."

As the study illustrates, the cost efficiencies of cloud computing are the same in third-world countries as in the developed world, and up-and-coming nations can leverage data, applications, and infrastructure that were once cost prohibitive. In turn, this increases commerce by facilitating the countries' entrance into the global markets...

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted on 16 November its opinion on the Commission Communication on "Unleashing the potential of Cloud Computing in Europe”, which establishes key actions and policy steps to promote and accelerate the use of cloud computing services across Europe.

Besides, because the relationship between cloud computing and data protection is currently being discussed, the supervisory authority also highlights the challenges generated by this new communication system and how the proposed Data Protection Regulation will tackle them. Likewise, the EDPS identifies areas that require further action at EU level...

The world we live in is in a rapid state of change in terms of the way we communicate and are connected with each other. We are constantly greeted by new advances in communications technology, be it the smartphone, tablet computers, internet gaming, social networks, or e-services like e-money or e-education. The advent of cloud computing is a natural progression as we advance towards a super-connected world where data centers and local area networks are at the heart of making it all happen. Cloud computing and superconnectivity are placing ever-increasing pressures on these networks.

Networks are now required to increase their capacity and deliver higher data rates and also be energy-efficient. This pressure means that virtualization, next-generation speeds, and the green data center have become key global trends. In striving to cope with these trends, data center managers are destined to encounter certain specific challenges. Data center dynamics (in collaboration with Corning Inc) recently conducted a survey of 160 data centers in the 6 key markets of the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Middle East, and the US, including the top 100 data center owners and operators in those regions...

Cloud computing is turning into a true utility, as essential to any business as water or electricity. This evolution is driven by massive investments by cloud companies, itself funded from businesses' increased reliance and spending on cloud services over their traditional, internal IT.

How this shift plays out will determine the fates of many of the world's leading technology companies - some stand to benefit and some stand to lose - and will fundamentally change how businesses are structured. It will also create a new and important commercial landscape. Economists have a term for this: the cloud is industrialising...