by admin | Dec 20, 2013 | Cloud Computing
In recent years, cloud computing has become a buzzword and proponents are saying that huge business benefits can be derived from cloud computing. But what is cloud computing really? Most users would be surprised if they are told they have been using cloud computing since they started using Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and many other popular websites. Due to the scale of computing power required by these websites, it makes sense to organize servers to act as if they are one machine. This way, any hardware that break down can be taken offline, then replaced without disrupting service. Then out of this one huge “server”, virtual servers or even desktops can be created which then can act as individual computers. These virtual servers can then be configured to have any resource size. For example, from the server farm, one can create a virtual server with 256MB RAM and 4 CPUs and other with 4GB RAM and 8 CPUs. These virtual servers can be created and taken down...
by Jovie Cabais | Dec 8, 2013 | Tech Updates
More than two weeks of unstable power or none at all crippled Bohol’s business environment very severely. Tourism should have been very brisk already at this time of the year. Consumers should have been buying lots of Christmas celebration related goods. Parties should have started already. Instead, we have stores closing earlier than usual and resorts making up promos to attract as many guests, if any arrive. After the October 15 earthquake, the tourism industry suffered because of a lot of cancellations. But it might have only been a temporary setback if power wasn’t knocked out after typhoon Yolanda which did not damage Bohol significantly. With the electrical service being totally out in major tourism areas, travel agencies have no choice but to suggest to guests to go elsewhere. Because we are not sure when electricity would be back to normal, service providers would either have to prepare to spend for fuel for their generators in order to meet their commitments with their customers, or shut down for a while. Others may have to shut down permanently, unfortunately. Yolanda reminded us that we should not assume electricity from outside the province is always available. Bohol must have its own capability to generate enough electricity at least to keep the city and major tourism and industrial sites running. The choice for Bohol would be renewable energy sources. At the household level, off-grid solar energy systems would be a practical option. If we could buy these systems in volume, we could drive the cost down. If these systems could be tax exempt and duty free, costs can easily drop by at...
by Jovie Cabais | Dec 7, 2013 | Tech Updates
After so many “leaks” of the features of the upcoming Galaxy S4, Samsung fans finally got a glimpse of the latest iteration of the Galaxy S series of smart phones. The upgraded features did not disappoint most reviewers. The case and location of the home button of the S4 looks very similar to the S3 but the S4 is lighter and thinner. It also has a larger battery capacity at 2600mAH vs 2100mAH on the older unit providing the extra juice for its slightly larger 5” 1080pixel screen and 8-core CPU (some markets may only have 4-core CPUs). Yes, that’s 8 microprocessors on this smartphone. Your regular desktop computer most likely will have less CPU cores. A 13 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel camera on the front and the camera software allows you to use both cameras simultaneously. That might come in handy if you pretend to take pictures of something in front of you but you are also taking a picture of someone behind you. I like the addition of an infrared blaster which means you can use the S4 as a remote control for your TV, DVD and even your aircon. This may just be the reason why I’ll get an S4 over an iPhone 5 when I upgrade my lowly but quite reliable Galaxy S mini at the end of the telco contract. Pretty handy if I only reach for the S4 instead of three or more remote controls when I’m too sleepy to remember which is the power button on each remote. There’s a ton of software upgrades on the...
