Chip Insider May11

YOUR GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY TRENDS YOUR GUIDE TO TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Sup me Su plemen Supplement to CHIP May 2011 Supplement to CHIP May 2011 u e HIP Ma 2011 P
TOP 12 CLOUD STORAGE SERVICES

The best ways to back up and share your data securely
Your life the in
Store, stream, share and collaborate on the go
Cloud
10 ESSENTIAL CLOUD FEATURES

What you should look for before signing up
THE MOBILE CLOUD

Make your PC data instantly accessible on your phone or tablet
ON-THE-GO COLLABORATION
Create presentations and plan projects from anywhere, any time
CREATE YOUR E-PORTFOLIO

The rst step towards exhibiting your works of art in the virtual world
PLUS:
INNOVATION: EFFICIENT REGULATION OF ELECTRICITY IN PUBLIC CAREERS: JOIN THE CLOUD COMPUTING MOVEMENT
CONTENTS
UP IN THE CLOUD
4
DO I T YOURSELF
GET YOUR SITE ONLINE USING FTP
A guide on using FTP clients to upload your website effortlessly.
MANAGING EDITOR
Hatim Kantawalla
DEPUTY EDITOR
LIFE ON THE CLOUD
26
A look at how cloud computing has changed the way we perceive the virtual world.
Jamshed Avari
SENIOR FEATURE WRITER
WORK TOGETHER FROM ANYWHERE

Use cloud services to collaborate with colleagues or classmates anytime.
CONDUCT SURVEYS AND CREATE DATA ONLINE WITH EASE

Learn how you can create complex online surveys with Google Docs Forms.
30
Kamakshi S, Priyanka Tilve

FEATURE WRITER
Kushal Mamoowala
COPY EDITOR
GREEN CLOUD: FACT OR FICTION?

Cloud computing is hailed as being green, but is it really so?
10
Sameer Desai
PROJECT COORDINATORS
SHOW OFF YOUR CREATIVITY ONLINE

Create your online portfolio with Behance.net.
32
Rajesh D'Souza, Gautami Chalke

SENIOR ART DIRECTOR
IS YOUR DATA CLOUD PROTECTED?

Simple tips to make sure your data stored on cloud servers is not compromised or infected.
12
Nirmal Biswas
T ECH TALK
BACKING UP YOUR ONLINE SOCIAL LIFE
Keep a copy of all the information you put up on your social network accounts.
SENIOR DESIGNER
Hemali Limbachiya
ILLUSTRATORS
36
Sachin Pandit, Chaitanya Surpur

COLOR CORRECTION
SHOPPERS ' S TOP

10 THINGS TO TO LOOK FOR IN A CLOUD SERVICE
A list of essential features you should look for before you pick a cloud service.
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STREAM. SHARE. COLLABORATE.

A look at cloud-based services that let you access your data on your mobile phone or tablet.
38
Sanjay Shelar
HEAD OFFICE
Intelligent Computing CHIP, Infomedia 18 Limited, 'A' Wing, Ruby House, 2nd Floor, J.K. Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai - 400 028. INDIA Phone: (91 22) 3024 5000, Fax: (91 22) 3003 4499
PICKING THE RIGHT CLOUD SERVICE

Many websites offer cloud-based data storage. Here are 12 of the very best.
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CLOUD ARCHITECT: BUILDING A CLOUD

Be a part of the cloud computing movement.
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10 BEST SITES FOR STREAMING MEDIA

Here's a few great sites for streaming movies, videos and music.
22
SMS US
SMS your feedback to us at 51818. For general comments, create the following message: ICCO <Your comments here> Example: ICCO The cover story was very useful To rate a story, product review, etc look out for the story tag at the base of each article and type: ICCO <Story tag> <Rating> Example: ICCO PWS 5 The Story tag is mentioned at the base of every story in the magazine and the Rating is on a scale of 1 to 5. Please keep comments to 160 characters per message! Include your email address to help us reply.
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CAMPUS REPORTER
A look back at the events of Superinfomania 2011 in Pune.
CLOUD APPS FOR YOUR MOBILE DEVICE

Find the best applications to access cloud services from your mobile device.
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SAVING ELETRICITY IN PUBLIC PLACES

An innovative system that regluates eletricity usage in public places.
48
FOREWORD
T
Devices like tablets offer you a form factor that not only supports cloud computing, but lets you access these services on-the-go.
he cloud services have today evolved beyond simply online data backup solutions. You can do a lot more via cloud services than simply sharing images, documents and media. You can collaboratively work on documents with your colleagues, listen to your favorite songs without downloading them to your PC, put up your art to get expert comments and tips, and even watch all your TV shows online; all this when and where you wish. In the event that your PC crashes, your laptop is stolen, or your data on an external hard drive goes corrupt, having all your data backed up on a cloud server would be a smart idea. Not only does it clear up storage space, it lets you work from anywhere in the world and from any computing device. All you need is an Internet connection. With a range of portable devices also entering the cloud arena, you can now work and stay entertained over the Internet even when you travel. Devices like tablets offer you a form factor that not only supports cloud computing, but lets you access these services on-the-go. However, there are certain things that you need to be cautious about too. Some may say that there are no down sides to cloud computing, but users should know where to draw the line and not depend too heavily on these services. Although you may nd all you need with a particular service, you have to consider the security and portability it offers and also make contingencies should the service be terminated abruptly. Moreover, an online service is more prone to threats than your PC. Having said that, however, most would agree that with cloud computing, the good outweighs the bad. So with imaging services, document collaboration solutions, media streaming sites, and secure online back-up services all now available on the cloud, you can travel light and know that all your work and entertainment is waiting for you wherever you go.
KAMAKSHI S
insider@chip.in
UP IN THE CLOUD
LIFE ON THE CLOUD

BY KUSHAL MAMOOWALA
MAY 2011 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP INSIDER SUPPLEMENT
If youve ever browsed Youtube for videos, streamed music online, or even just sent and received e-mails, youve used cloud computing services. The cloud has been around us for a long time and its only now that weve started realizing its full potential.
UP IN THE CLOUD
f you are even a basic computer user, it is likely that you have already used some form of cloud computing service. Any entirely online service you use, be it e-mail, le storage or sharing, or even media streaming, uses cloud computing technology. If you have used any service that doesnt require you to download and install specic software or store any data locally, you have used the cloud. Cloud computing allows you to keep your PC and all of your mobile devices in sync all the time. You can access all of your personal data at any given moment, you can organize and collect data from any online source, and you can even share photos, videos, music, contacts, e-mail, documents, etc. with your friends, family, and coworkers in an instant. In essence, personal cloud computing gives you easy and quick access to all your data, making
it instantly accessible and mobile. Social networks, le sharing servers and Webaccessible software take advantage of resources provided by cloud computing to give you a lightweight structure for your personal computing needs. Cloud services give you options to protect your data with accessibility and privacy settings for your accounts, enabling you to store your life on a remote server without having to worry about storage space constraints or software installations.
YOUR PERSONAL CLOUD

Storage space and processing power are the biggest hurdles that mobile devices like smartphones and tablets face today. Cloud computing has come to the forefront as it overcomes these hurdles, enabling you to access and edit your les and les uploaded
sachin pandit
INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP INSIDER SUPPLEMENT
MAY 2011
UP IN THE CLOUD
by other users without the need for excessive hardware and support. Browser-based email and cloud services such as Grooveshark, Facebook, Google Docs and Youtube have smartphone and tablet extensions, designed specically to run on the lower hardware specications of such devices. Operating systems of today like Android, iOS and Windows 7 are also made compatible with mobile devices and equipped with applications that let you sync and access data across devices via their cloud servers. Apart from storage, developers have also used cloud computing capabilities to develop Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Webtop services to make your computing experience completely mobile.
installations on your machines local drive.
UTILITY COMPUTING
Utility computing is a form of cloud computing that is more robust at an enterprise level. Large companies can rent out their hardware support via the cloud to clients based on their requirements, maximizing the utility of the host server and reducing the costs to the client. Companies like Amazon. com, Microsoft and Sun offer storage and virtual servers to clients for their computing needs using the cloud. This drastically reduces the investment required for small scale businesses as they no longer need to purchase hardware. Instead, they pay only for what they need and utilize the computing strength of the host via the cloud.
SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SAAS)

Web accessible software enables users to use programs or applications without having to download or install them on their machines. You can access data hosted by companies on their cloud servers for almost any task, like word processing, designing or even media editing. This enables users to carry out their work without having to purchase software that can be installed and run only on a single machine. You no longer need to worry about expiration dates, downloading updates or installing software on multiple machines. SaaS reduces the users expenses by allowing you to rent a service and use only specic features rather than buying complete packages of programs, some of which you might not use. For instance, to use Microsoft Word, a user must purchase the Microsoft Ofce auite, which gives you Word bundled with Excel, Powerpoint, etc. These packages can be fairly expensive. Instead, you can use a SaaS product that allows you to sign up for free or a monthly fee and lets you perform your word processing tasks without any
PLATFORM AS A SERVICE (PAAS)

PaaS is a form of SaaS that provides development environments as a service. Rather than designing software for the customers to use, companies provide clients with the infrastructure required to design and run software specic to their needs. Clients can then use this infrastructure and develop software applications for their use that run on the hosts cloud servers. This form of cloud computing gives the clients the freedom to develop software to suit their requirements without having to worry about the hardware. PaaS provides clients with facilities for designing and developing applications, hosting their applications as well as hardware for scalability and storage.
ONLINE STORAGE
Online storage allows users to upload les and information to cloud servers so that the data can be accessed from multiple machines remotely, as long as they have access to the Internet. Online storage has grown rapidly in recent times due to the increased speeds in data transfer and improved security for protecting this data. The service is very useful for users restricted by lack of storage space or users that wish to access their data from multiple machines or on-the-go. Using cloud storage services can also be benecial as a backup for locally saved data in the event that your local drive is compromised by viral infection, online threats or physical damage. There are several services to choose from, ranging in size of storage space and you can also use paid services for greater
Source: www.cloudhypermarket.com MAY 2011 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP INSIDER SUPPLEMENT
UP IN THE CLOUD
storage space and better security. Some storage services also enable you to sync data across devices so that les added to one device are automatically uploaded to the cloud, and in some cases, even downloaded to other synced machines.
THE CLOUD ARCHITECTURE

The cloud computing system can be divided into two distinct sections. At the front end, there is the user, who can access the cloud server and includes their machine and any application required to access the cloud. The back end is the hardware that makes up the cloud, which includes computers, servers and data storage systems that can be accessed by the users. Cloud systems use middleware, which is software that communicates with various users connected to a single cloud server. It monitors the system, managing trafc and client demands to ensure that everything runs smoothly and efciently.
THE CLOUD ADVANTAGE

The advantages of cloud computing are fairly obvious. Users have access to their applications and data from anywhere at any time and they can access their information from multiple machines; their data and software is no longer conned to a single machine. Cloud computing also brings down hardware costs, as users no longer need to purchase the fastest computers with high end congurations. The cloud system handles the load for you. Essentially, all you need is a basic computer, input devices and an Internet connection to access the cloud services. Cloud storage enables users to create backups of their data so if their machines crash, they no longer need to worry about data loss. Cloud servers can sometimes be a safer option for protecting your data from viral infection or damage due to the vast amount of online threats and viruses circulating on the Internet.
THE CLOUD CONCERNS

The biggest concerns about cloud computing are security and privacy. Users might not be comfortable handing over their data to a third party. This is an even greater concern when it comes to companies that wish to keep their sensitive information on cloud servers. While most service vendors would ensure that their servers are kept free from viral infection and malware, it is still a concern considering the fact that a number of users from
around the world are accessing the server. Privacy is another issue with cloud servers. Ensuring that a clients data is not accessed by any unauthorized users is of great importance for any cloud service. To make their servers more secure, cloud service vendors have developed password protected accounts, security servers through which all data being transferred must pass and data encryption techniques. After all, the success of a cloud service depends on its reputation, and any sign of a security breach would result in a loss of clients and business.
MAY 2011
Source: www.horngroup.com
UP IN THE CLOUD
WORKING IN COLLABORATION
WORK TOGETHER
Exchanging files, data and information by e-mail or on physical storage is a thing of the past. Cloud computing not only allows you to share files via cloud servers, but there is also software that enables you to work collaboratively in real time.
BY KUSHAL MAMOOWALA
loud computing has revolutionized the process of collaborative working with the innovation of groupware or collaborative software. Working in the cloud allows users to access their data from multiple machines without having to transfer les or sort through several versions of their work. Such services are especially useful when it comes to working in groups, be it in school or professionally, and also aids working in collaboration on a global scale. With the help of groupware, users do not have to worry about exchanging emails and attachments or tracking multiple copies of a document. Collaboration software like Google Docs and Sync.in let multiple users access a single le from different machines. The le is stored on the service vendors cloud server and any changes made to the le by any of the users is saved and updated in real time
and displayed on screen for all other users. With such services at hand, workgroups, teams, students and companies are no longer bound by physical location restrictions. People can work together, at the same time, on the same project, from opposite ends of the world. Collaboration via the cloud also overcomes the hurdle of having to install the same software on every users machine. These services provide you with the interface to view and edit your documents, chat windows and even saves your work on the cloud server itself, so all you need to nish your work is Internet access and a compatible Web browser. Of course, working in the cloud still has a few drawbacks. The most obvious one is that it relies completely on the Internet, which means you must have access to the Internet whenever you wish to work, either in collaboration or by yourself. There is also the issue of data compatibility. Different services use different formats to save your data, sometimes not even compatible with popular software like Microsoft Ofce, and in such cases, transferring your data from your cloud service can be quite a headache. Even switching between cloud services, should you choose to, can sometimes be an arduous task due to le incompatibility.
GOOGLE APPS
Google Apps is the most popular service for cloud storage, le sharing and collaboration amongst personal users. The service has Web applications for viewing and editing documents of various formats such as .TXT, .PDF and .DOC les. The Google
Google Docs makes collaborative work easy with a simple interface, chat box and highlighted changes in real time.
MAY 2011
UP IN THE CLOUD
R FROM ANYWHERE
Docs service provides users with an interface similar to that of Microsoft Word, which allows you to view and edit Word documents. This service is very effective for collaboration as well, using color tags for each user and displaying changes made by all the users in real time. Google Docs also lets you work on spreadsheets, Powepoint presentations, forms and drawings through your browser. The application is bundled with your Gmail account and the Google service lets you share 8 GB of storage space between your email and Google Docs. version provides you with 1 GB of storage space and is limited to ve users. There is also a workgroup package for up to 20 users, which provides you with 50 GB of storage space.
SCENIOS
Scenios is a video host that allows users to work collaboratively, specically for video les. There is no additional software to be downloaded or installed and all the work is done directly on the Scenios cloud server. You can upload your video les and view previews or stream complete videos with a timeline and keyframes for making notes and editing. There is also a shot log where you can make notes, suggestions and comments for specic times. There are also tools for re-encoding, upscaling video quality, exporting and publishing your videos on sites like Youtube and Facebook, all via the cloud. A free account gives you 5 GB of cloud storage, but is limited to only 1 active project. A $99-per-month account will give you unlimited storage and let you have 3 active projects.
SYNC.IN
Sync.in is another collaboration tool that allows you to work on Word documents directly from your Web browser. Using the service is quick and easy; you can create new documents for sharing and editing without having to go through the sign-up procedures. The software assigns color tags to each user so that their changes are highlighted and there is also a chat box for discussions and notes. There is also a desktop launcher for Sync.in, which lets you create new text notes directly from your desktop, and a feature to quick open notes by entering their unique IDs. With Sync.in Pro, users can assign a URL to their team site for direct access to notes, and use other features like organizing notes and quick search options. You also get better security with password-protection and SSL for your notes. A Sync.in Pro account will cost each user $2 per month.
CENTRAL DESKTOP
Central desktop is a platform for collaborative online working at workgroup and small scale business levels. With Central Desktop, users can create Word documents, Powerpoint presentations and spreadsheets via the Web interface and you can also add les, calendars and tasks to your projects. The service is equipped with easy le sharing, audio and video conferencing tools as well. The free
Scenios gives you a shot log for detailing changes in videos as well as a keyframe and time line for uploaded videos.
MAY 2011
10
UP IN THE CLOUD
THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT
GREEN CLOUD: FACT OR FICTION?

Cloud computing is rapidly being embraced by individuals and enterprises alike, and while its been hailed as being eco-friendly, there are no clear means of validating this claim.
BY PRI YANK A T ILVE
loud computing is growing at a rapid pace, as its increasingly being adopted by large businesses, mid-sized businesses, as well as SOHOs. Moving to the cloud proves to be a viable option for rms as it dramatically cuts down hardware and software expenditure. According to a report by consulting rm Zinnov, the market for cloud computing in India is expected to grow nearly ten times to $1,084 million by 2015 from the current $110 million. While all seems hunky dory, there are growing concerns that the cloud computing trend is actually hazardous to the environment, as it will lead to an increase in carbon emissions.
CLOUD AND ENTERPRISE

Consider the traditional scenario, where every rm invests in setting up a server room, staff for maintaining it, etc. Servers consume huge amounts of energy not only for operation, but also for cooling. These servers generate a vast amount of heat during operation, which must be dissipated to keep the components within their safe operating temperatures. Overheated parts will reduce their life span, and can also cause problems such as system crashes. So it becomes imperative to maintain a constant temperature to cool these servers. This is usually done with the help of air conditioning, which consumes even more energy. Even if the servers are not in use or are under utilized, the temperature needs to be maintained, resulting in huge amounts of energy loss and added cost. The rms can minimize their cost as well as energy consumption by opting for cloud comput-
WHAT MAKES CLOUD COMPUTING GREEN?

There are many factors that are said to make could computing green both at the enterprise as well as the consumer level.
MAY 2011
UP IN THE CLOUD
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ing. Cloud offers scalability; you pay only for what you use and you can buy more space as required or you can even temporarily scale down usage when you experience a slump in business. Thus, there is no unnecessary loss of energy. While its true that these huge data centers that operate on a large scale require massive amounts of electricity, the manufacturers of data centers are actively taking initiatives to minimize the impact on the environment. As a result of the growing green consciousness, the leading players in the industry are taking efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. For instance, they are looking at places with temperatures that are ideal for naturally cooling data centers. Dublin is fast emerging as a hub for data centers owing to its geographic location and ideal temperatures. Cloud computing giants like Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and others have their data centers here. These data centers have been designed in such a way that they can make maximum use of fresh air to cool servers rather than completely depending on other power consuming options. Secondly, the data center manufacturers also make use of innovative technology and alternate sources of energy to power these data centers. For instance, recently Google invested $168 million in a solar energy power plant in California. When constructed, it will be the largest solar thermal project in the world.
devices consume less energy because they do not need continuous power supply. They just need to be charged once a day at most. Today, most people dont really need a high end PC as their usage is limited to Web browsing, email, social networking, banking, watching videos, listening to music etc. All this can be easily achieved on a smartphone or on any of the portable devices that can be used for cloud computing.
IS GREEN COMPUTING A MYTH?

With next to zero data available about the data center practices and technologies used by the major players in the cloud industry, there is a lot of speculation. There is no data available to ascertain the amount of energy consumed and the carbon emissions caused by these data centers. This is one of the major reasons why data centers have come under re from various environmental agencies. Google is one of the rst companies to release details of their data center. You can nd details like the technology used, locations, practices, sustainability measures, etc. on their site under corporate information. Recently, Facebook, which is facing opposition from environmental organization Greenpeace for the use of coal and nuclear energy to power its massive data centers, released details of its data center practices. The same can be found on the Facebook page Building Efcient Data Centers with the Open Compute Project. Other players in the industry need to follow their lead and make this vital information public. Cloud Computing in itself is a practical solution for the IT requirements of the future and something that will only grow in the coming years. This would mean setting up many more data centers and other facilities. The companies within this industry need to understand their responsibilities and their role towards safeguarding the environment. The need of the hour is to have an open dialogue and devise better technology to power data centers. One example of efcient power management is that of the Academica data center in Helsinki, Finland. They use the water warmed while cooling the servers to provide heat for homes in the city, which often experiences -20 degrees C temperatures during winter. Whats more, after the heat has been extracted, the water is again used to cool the servers.
CLOUD AND CONSUMERS

With rising concerns over global warming, we all want to do our bit to reduce our carbon footprint. One way to do this is by adopting cloud computing. Cloud computing on portable devices like smartphones, tablets or ultra low-powered laptops could prove eco-friendly. According to carbonfootprint.com, a PC running for an hour generates 40-80 grams of carbon dioxide, while it consumes about 60-90% of normal workload power even when idle. When working on a PC or a laptop, we may engage in other activities like talking on the phone, or completing other tasks, which means the computer remains idle for long hours, hence wasting energy. Its also surprising to know that even power-saving modes like Sleep or Standby can consume as much as 120 Watts of power. In comparison to a traditional PC or a laptop, portable computing
MAY 2011
12
UP IN THE CLOUD
HOW SECURE IS YOUR DATA
There is a variety of cloud services to choose from, whether you wish to use them for storage, file sharing or collaborative work. In all cases, it is imperative that your data is protected from viral infections, piracy, damage or loss.
BY KUSHAL MAMOOWALA
IS YOUR DATA CLOUD
sachin pandit
obile computing has come a long way with smartphones and tablets. Cloud computing enables users to share les and work on-the-go across different devices with ease. With such storage and working options without the presence of physical storage hardware, users are easily convinced to avail of cloud services without rst ensuring that their data remains secure with respect to accessibility as well as infection. Different cloud services have different privacy policies and while some of the established companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft might be easily trusted, there are many other smaller companies looking to take advantage of the boom in cloud computing. Whether you are using a renowned host or a relatively newer one, it is always advisable
to look through the privacy policies before trusting an organization with your data.rage space constraints or software installations.
DATA SECURITY
Data stored on cloud servers is not completely secure from infection. While popular cloud services such as Google Docs are equipped with virus scanning software, there is still the possibility of an internal or external attack affecting your data. Servers that have a public log-in page can be targets for hackers and even servers with secure login pages can be compromised its many users or subscribers. It is important to remember that while you have a secure account on a cloud server, there are many other users using the same cloud
MAY 2011
UP IN THE CLOUD
13
UD PROTECTED?
devices are quite common and some vendors like Dropbox and ZumoDrive have even developed mobile apps. These applications allow you to store and sync data on multiple machines via your cloud account, but it is important to note that you can still experience data loss using such services. In the event that one of your devices that is synced with the cloud server crashes or experiences data loss, the le syncing app would perceive this as deletion of les and removes the les from other synced devices as well. Even though cloud services help you clear up space on your local hard disk, it is important to have a local backup of data stored on or synced with cloud services to prevent unwanted data loss.
Panda Cloud Antivirus scans files on local machines as well as cloud servers.
hardware. Pravin Kothari, founder and CEO of CipherCloud says, There are multitudes of attacks on the virtual machines that can be launched from another virtual machine running on the same cloud hardware. So, securing the data by security communication alone, such as by https or VPN, will still be insecure.
VIRAL INFECTION
A very common use of cloud computing is public le sharing. Sites such as Fileshare, 4shared and Rapidshare allow users to upload a variety of les, including media les that can be accessed by anyone, making them popular for downloading vid-
SERVER STABILITY
With the growing popularity of cloud computing, several companies have started cloud services of their own. The stability of such companies, especially start-ups, is questionable considering todays volatile market. It can be inviting to make use of third partys software and hardware to work on and store your data, but keep in mind that you are relying on that company for your data. If the company goes out of business, you could lose your data and the services that you have been availing of. You might be under the impression that established service providers like Google or Apple would not shut down a service or go out of business, but even they have discontinued SaaS products in the past.
DATA LOSS
Services for le sharing and syncing data across
Using public access cloud services puts your data and files out of your control and in far greater security risk.
MAY 2011
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UP IN THE CLOUD
eos and music. Although such sites are generally equipped with virus detection software, there is the possibility that a movie or music le that you download from such a site is infectious and could affect the data stored on your machine. Antivirus software such as Panda Cloud Antivirus and Immunet Protect are available to ensure that your data is safe on the cloud and scans your les even if they are on remote servers.
ACCESSIBILITY
Unlike the case with corporations, it is highly unlikely that the personal data you exchange or store on a cloud server is of a sensitive nature or can have legal implications. Nonetheless, it is worth noting the accessibility policies of your cloud server. E-mail services have been known to access the content of your e-mails to generate user specic advertising and most cloud servers are liable to allow access to any data stored on their
servers if a legal authority would demand so. A more basic accessibility issue with cloud services is that they require the Internet. While this may not be a security risk, it is an issue that all users must consider before relegating important data to a cloud server. If you are going to depend on cloud storage to access a le you are working on while travelling, you need to consider how often you will have access to the Internet. With the growing questions on the security and reliability of cloud servers, a non-prot organization called the Cloud Security Alliance was formed in late 2008. The Cloud Security Alliance website names the founding members including IT giants like Dell, HP, Sun and Qualcomm and states that its aim is to promote the use of best practices for provide security assurance within cloud computing, and provide education on the uses of cloud computing to help secure all other forms of computing.
Most reliable cloud services have rigid security measures in place to reduce phishing, malware and viral infection.
MAY 2011
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SHOPPERS' STOP
PURPOSE
While some people would need a cloud service to work collaboratively, others might use it as an extended hard disk for storage, or to host their website. Once you know why you need the cloud service, you can narrow down the list of service providers accordingly.
FEATURES
A cloud service is not restricted to providing storage space alone. Several services offer features like document preview, multimedia playback, and hosting services to share and view media. Check for the features offered by a service before you nally pick one.
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Things to Consider Before Picking a
Here are things you need to watch out for before you back up your important files on a cloud service.
BY KAMAKSHI S
CLOUD
ACCESSIBILITY
SPACE
There are several service providers that offer free services up to a certain space limit, after which you will have to pay a fee to keep the service alive. If you are using it as a personal backup service and not for business, you can opt for a service that gives you the maximum free storage space.
There are certain cloud services that provide specialized operations for members based in a particular region. For instance, the Amazon Cloud Drive allows you to host les from anywhere in the world, but offers online media playback option only to its US customers. If the features you need are not available to you, then it would be better to reconsider your options.
MAY 2011
SHOPPERS' STOP
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COST SECURITY
If you are using a cloud service to work on-the-go and are going to deal with condential documents, then you need to ensure the safety measures taken to protect sharing of such les. Moreover, if you are going to upload and download data from these services, you also need to make sure that they are free of malware. Most cloud service providers do offer a certain amount of free space, but do not provide too many features with such accounts. You will have to consider the cost of retaining space and services on such servers. While some work on a pay-per-use model, others charge you fees based on a period of usage. Make sure you know what you are paying for and how long you can use these paid services.
SHIFTING BASE
There may come a time when you would want to shift from one service provider to another. Even if you have no such intentions in the beginning, it is always smart to check what kind of websites you can migrate to and the tools available to help you with the move partially on in totality.
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LONGEVITY
If you are using the cloud as a back up for your les or as a server space for your website, you need to nd out how long the particular service will be available to use. If the service is unstable and expects you to shift base often, or the services are time-bound, you might have trouble keeping track of your les.
INTEROPERABILITY
SUPPORT
With cloud services being customized keeping in mind the smartphone arena, there are several services that extend support to mobile phones and tablets as well. If you want to access your les on a portable device, check if the services are extended to the device of your choice.
If you are new to cloud computing, it is always sensible to go through the FAQs of the service provider, and check out the support offered by the service. Support service becomes more critical if you are using a paid plan, or using it to share critical data. Make sure that the website informs you about critical structural changes and helps you use the service optimally.
MAY 2011
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SHOPPERS' STOP
TOP CLOUD STORAGE SERVICES
Picking The Right Cloud Service

The Internet offers a wide range of cloud services that enable you to free up the disk space on your computer and access files from anywhere in the world. Here are 12 services that you can use to back up your data and access it from anywhere.
BY KAMAKSHI S
T
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here are various online storage services that offer different features. While some allow you to simply upload and download data, others allow you to view your les online and share them with others, and some services even let you open and edit your les in the cloud from anywhere in the world. Here are 12 of the top cloud storage services.
of websites. The server creates a unique key for each developer, which is region specic. Currently, Amazon S3 offers the US Standard, EU (Ireland), US West (Northern California), Asia Pacic (Singapore), and Asia Pacic (Tokyo) regions. You will be assigned a key closest to the region you reside in. While the service is not free, there is no prescribed minimum fee either; you pay for the data space you use. For details, visit 'http://aws.amazon.com/s3'
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Amazon Simple Storage Service or the Amazon S3 is best suited for Web developers and not for users who are simply looking for a place to upload and store their les. The service offers up to 5 terabytes of space for development and maintenance
AMAZON CLOUD DRIVE
If you are not a developer and dont want a paid service; if you just want a virtual drive to store your videos, music, photos or documents, you can use the Amazon Cloud Drive service. Your les can be neatly classied in pre-existing folder structures and the service offers 5 GB of free space. However, you cannot upload les that are over 2 GB in size. You can buy more space if required. It is an excellent way to free up space on your system or if you want to share legitimately purchased media les across machines. However, the built in music player and video player that lets users stream media online without downloading it to the local drive is available only to US citizens for now.
4SHARED
While the Amazon Cloud Drive enables users to store files online, the preview service is restricted to its US-based users only.
4shared is a cloud service based in Ukraine that allows you to upload and download various types of les. A premium account will get you more storage space, larger le uploads, and faster downloads. With a free account, you can upload les of up to
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2 GB, up to a total of 10 GB. You can mark your virtual folder as private if you dont want anyone snooping around your data. You can upload music, videos, images, archive les, ofce les, e-books, executable programs in a variety of formats, and unlike the Amazon Cloud drive, you can stream media les live. The new QR Code feature lets you download les directly to your Android device. You can do all this without even logging into your account. However, if you have a free account and you dont access it at least once a month, you will lose all your data permanently. You can also get the desktop 4shared application to manage your virtual drive better.
ESNIPS
If you are not sure if you are downloading the correct media file, 4shared.com lets you preview the file.
eSnips works similarly to 4shared, wherein you can store a variety of le formats, including e-books, documents, archived les, images, audio and video formats. You can also playback media les instead of downloading them to your computer. However, it offers only 5 GB of storage space. You can connect to the website with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, but there is no Android support as of now.
GOOGLE
Google offers a plethora of services that are dedicated to les of specic types. On the whole, you stand to gain the benets similar to other cloud services, but the segmentation helps you to upload and search les with ease. The entire bouquet of Google products offers 8 GB of space in total, which includes your images (Picasa), documents (Google Docs and spreadsheets), archives, and email (via Gmail). Any service you havent subscribed to is automatically excluded. The video sharing cloud service Youtube, however, is not restrained by any le storage limits, but there is a video duration limit on free uploads.
eSnips enables you to upload and look for various file types, which include documents, multimedia, archive files and PDFs.
WINDOWS LIVE SKYDRIVE
Windows Live SkyDrive, which was launched as Windows Live Folders, offers the maximum amount of free storage space. You can mark les as private on the SkyDrive, which can be downloaded only with a Windows Live ID. The SkyDrive offers 25 GB of free personal storage, with a maximum of 50 MB per le. You can use tools like Windows Live Mesh to drag and drop les onto the SkyDrive from your system directly. You can upload les to your SkyDrive from mobile devices too. Moreover,
You can access all the Windows Live services including the MSN Messenger and Hotmail using a single user ID.
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you can also download all your les as a single zip archive for convenience.
SAFESYNC
The Trend Micro SafeSync offers 31 days of free trial, which you can use before you buy the services offered by the website.
Originally known as Humyo, the website is now known as SafeSync after it was taken over by Japanese security company Trend Micro. While users of the free services of Humyo can continue with the original 10 GB of server space (5 GB for pictures, videos, and music, and 5 GB for other les). SafeSync offers a free one-month trial, but after that its a paid service. 20 GB of storage space costs 29.95 (Rs 1,860), 50 GB space is priced at 69.95 (Rs. 4,410) and 100 GB of space will cost you 110 (Rs 6,930). The service promises strong security and offers mobile device support.
BINFIRE
Box.net enables you to collaborate and edit documents on the Web in real time. You can also share the files.
The perfect tool for project management, Binre helps you collaborate in real-time with features that include an interactive whiteboard and built-in chat module to help you mange communication on a project better. You can also create project milestones, tasks and sub-tasks with dependencies to ensure better project management. Apart from uploading and sharing les of any type, you can also create status reports to keep your team members up to date with project details. Moreover, you can mark les as private to ensure that they are not deleted or modied without your consent. While a paid account may soon be in the ofng, the free version currently available offers 10 GB of storage space, with a le size limit of 200 MB. Other features include le version history, one active project with dashboard, folder access for all team members, milestone and task creation, secure status Tweets, whiteboard, alerts, online le viewing and le locking features. While you can host only one project per account, you can be a member to multiple projects.
BOX.NET
The email sent from the YouSendIt.com informs the recipient about how long the file will remain active.
Box.net is a service that helps you share, collaborate, and organise les and links. You can opt for a personal account, or a paid Enterprise or Business account. The personal account offers 5 GB of free space with a 25 MB le size limit, and up to 50 GB of storage on a fee. The features vary depending on the type of account that you have signed up for. Paid services offer faster and more secure le downloading options, better collaboration options as well as third party application
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support like integration with Google Docs, Microsoft Ofce, and Adobe Photoshop for viewing and editing data online. While the personal account doesnt provide you with too many options, you can purchase 25 GB of space for $9.99 (Rs 445) and 50 GB for 19.99 (Rs 890). For $9.99 (Rs 445), you can buy 1 GB of additional space. The business account offers 500 GB of space and is charged at $15 (Rs 695) as per your usage per month. The enterprise server account details are only made available on request.
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YOUSENDIT
You can share paid Rapids with your friends to let them avail faster downloads.
YouSendIt is a service that lets you send and share heavy les using a secure FTP connection. It works on a freemium model wherein the basic services are available to you free of charge; you will have to pay for using any additional features. These payper-use features include premium delivery ($9.99/ Rs 445), password protected les ($3.99/Rs 175), and return receipt ($3.99/Rs 175). It also enables you to share download links with your friends for a limited period of time. On a free account, you can send les of up to 100 MB in size and youll get a link via which the le can be downloaded 100 times. The pro and pro plus accounts offer 2 GB le transfers, and additional features like a drop box for your sent les, 500 to unlimited downloadable links, control over link expiry, detailed tracking history, and advanced security options. If you want collaboration options, you can opt for a Corporate Suite account, which you can try before you buy.
You can install the application on your mobile devices and your PC to access files on the go.
trafc for uploads and downloads, a licence to sell and share your original les and gain access to the RapidShare Anti-Waiting Lounge, where users can spend their waiting time playing online games.
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RAPIDSHARE
RapidShare is a cloud service which is mainly used to download heavy les using a single link. The website offers both paid and free services. You can use several free tools to ensure easy uploads and tracking of les to your account. You dont need to log in to upload les. Moreover, tools like RapidShare Manager 2 let you manage uploads of les up to 2 GB. You can also use the Upload2Me free tool to upload les to RapidShare directly from your website. Any le uploaded using a free account is deleted after 90 days of upload; you can use the RapidShare Link Checker to nd out if a link is active or broken. While users of the free account can download only one le at a time, you can buy Rapids that convert your free account into a Pro account. With RapidShare Pro, you can avail of 50 GB of safe storage space, unlimited web
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TEAMVIEWER
If you want to collaborate and also access your system remotely, TeamViewer is a very good application to start you off. You can share les, collaborate documents in real-time and get optimized connection with your PC depending on your network channel. While there is a free version with a minimum usage plan, you can opt for a Business plan with a one time charge of Rs 28,500. The Premium plan carries a one-time charge of Rs 57,100, and a Corporate plan comes with three channels priced at Rs 1,08,200.
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YOUTUBE
Youtube is undoubtedly the most popular streaming video site on the Internet today. It gives you a simple interface to search for specific videos on any topic or you can browse through recommended videos based on your previously viewed videos. You can nd music videos uploaded by recording companies, tutorials and DIYs, educational videos, comedy skits, sports highlights, and even live streams for some sports. You can upload videos of almost any format and the site even gives you the option of HQ streaming. You can also embed videos to your blog or website or directly share them on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
APPLE MOVIE TRAILERS DAILYMOTION

Dailymotion offers the latest music videos, short movies, TV shows and useruploaded videos for online streaming. You can upload videos, create playlists of your favorite videos and subscribe to other users videos. The site supports HQ videos and most video formats and creating an account is absolutely free. You can also use the Dailymotion app for iOS, Windows 7 or Android to access your favorite videos and upload your own videos from your mobile device or desktop.
METACAFE
Metacafe is a unique video streaming service that compensates users monetarily based on the number of hits on their uploaded videos. This ensures that the videos uploaded to the site are helpful, entertaining and original. You can share the videos directly to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and you can even embed the videos in blogs and websites. Metacafe is the perfect site to make some extra money with original video content, recorded videos or compilations.
For the movie fanatic, Apple Movie Trailers is the perfect site to nd and watch trailers of upcoming movies. The site uses the iTunes and QuickTime interface to organize videos, allowing you to browse through trailers by popularity or upload date, and you can search for specic trailers as well. The site offers Hollywood and some Bollywood movie trailers scheduled for release. You can choose to stream trailers in varying quality and you can even read through a synopsis and watch interviews and teasers.
COLLEGEHUMOR
CollegeHumor is a purely recreational video hosting site that offers original video content created by its team of in-house writers and production team along with useruploaded videos, pictures, articles and shared links. The comedy skits are over-the-top and obscure and strictly for your entertainment. You should note that some of the content does involve adult material.
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Great Sites For

Streaming media is by far the greatest influence that cloud computing has had on the Internet. With sites dedicated to streaming videos and music, users can now access their favorite media with just a click of the mouse.
BY KUSHAL MAMOOWALA
STREAMING MEDIA
4SHARED
Although 4Shared is more popular as a file-sharing service, it also allows you to stream videos and music without downloading them to your local drive. While most le sharing services concentrate on privacy of data, 4Shared has taken the opposite approach, making all les publicly accessible, thereby making it a great library for streaming useruploaded videos and music. If you like what youre watching or listening to, you also have the option to download it to your hard drive.
MUSICINDIAONLINE
MusicIndiaOnline is a music streaming service dedicated to Bollywood and Indian music. The site hosts videos across a variety of genres and languages. You can search for your favorite songs or browse through the library of most popular artists and tracks. The site also offers online radio in multiple languages and musical styles. It also uses a music discovery technology called Music DNA to detect instruments, tempo and even tone of voice in your music to generate a list of recommendations.
GROOVESHARK
Grooveshark is a music streaming service with an easy-to-use Flashbased interface that makes nding songs a breeze. The site is designed so you never have to navigate further than the home page. It also gives you recommendations based on your musical taste and you can create your own playlist of songs based on the recommendations. Theres also a Grooveshark widget, which lets you embed tracks on blogs or websites for sharing.
GOOGLE MUSIC (LABS)

Google Music is one of the latest features of Google to hit India. Part of Googles Labs feature, the site is still under testing and caters only to the Indian market. Although it currently offers only a small range of songs to choose from, its only a matter of time before Google Music takes off. The interface, like any other Google product, is simple and easy to use and can be accessed at www.google.co.in/ music.
LAST.FM
Last.fm is a music streaming service that allows you to search for your favorite music and create a personalized radio station to stream your music. It also allows you to scrobble, creating a playlist of music similar in style to your music by collecting data based on your listening history at Last.fm and other music streaming services. You can can even watch music videos and get lyrics for tracks.
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MOBILE CLOUD COMPUTING
Cloud Apps for Your Mobile Devices

The uses and functionalities of smartphones and tablets increased drastically after the introduction of cloud-based apps. Mobile devices can be used for a lot more than just communication with access to the cloud and its file storing advantages.
BY KUSHAL MAMOOWALA
odays mobile devices have been transformed by cloud services into highly versatile mobile computers. Developers have made applications for mobile operating systems that exploit cloud servers and services to allow users to compute on the go. The biggest obstacle for mobile devices is signicantly lesser storage space as compared to notebooks and desktops, which is a limiting factor if users wish to perform the same functions on their smartphone or tablet as they do on full blown computers. Cloud computing overcomes this obstacle by providing users with apps for storing, accessing and exchanging data through cloud servers, without burdening the local storage hardware. These apps allow users to store les on cloud servers into a common account from multiple machines, allowing access to the les from any device. You can also use features like le syncing, backups and le sharing with these applications.
There are also features which enable you to upload photos and videos directly from your mobile device gallery without even running the application or visiting the website. There are options to sync data across devices and create backups on the cloud server as well. You can download and install the mobile application on your device for free and with a free account, you get 2 GB of storage space. A monthly fee of $9.99 gives you 50 GB of space, and at $19.99 per month, you get 100 GB.
WEBSHARING
WebSharing is a le transfer application designed specically for Android devices. The app allows you to transfer data between Android devices and computers wirelessly via a cloud server. WebSharing uses the WebDAV protocol (Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning) with which users can create new les, edit existing les and transfer data between devices remotely. Another great feature of WebSharing is that it displays your cloud folder as a locally installed hard drive on all synced devices and machines. The free version of the WebSharing app for Android does not allow you to transfer music, videos or photos and the multiple le upload feature is unavailable. The full version of the app is available for $2.99 on the Android Market.
DROPBOX
Dropbox is arguably the most favored le sharing and storage application for mobile devices. There is an application for every mobile operating system, which gives you access to the Dropbox cloud server, allowing you to upload and access les in your Dropbox account from different machines. The Dropbox application also provides you with a link to each le in your account so that you can share a specic le with friends or co-workers.
SUGARSYNC
SugarSync is another le sharing and backup
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service that has developed apps for all popular mobile operating systems. The application allows you to store, share and access les from their cloud server and also lets you remotely move or delete les on other synced devices. You can even copy les from one of your machines to another one without accessing either one of them. The SugarSync app has a feature that generates a link to each le in your account so that you can share a specic le by email or via social networking sites. Recipients can download your le without having to create a SugarSync account. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial after which there is a range of plans to choose from starting at $49.99 per year for 30 GB of storage space, all the way up to $399.99 per year for 500 GB of space.
Your Dropbox homepage displays all your recent activity, including new files, deleted files and edits done from any of your machines.
ZUMODRIVE
ZumoDrive is another cloud storage and le sharing application for a range of mobile operating systems like iOS, Android ans Windows Phone 7, that creates a virtual drive on your machine that is linked to your cloud account. The folder appears as a local hard drive on all synced devices and your les are streamed to your device from the cloud server when you run them through ZumoDrive. A unique feature of ZumoDrive is that it caches recently accessed les to your local drive so that some of your recently used les can be run even when you do not have access to the Internet. The free account gives you 1 GB of storage and a $2.99-per-month account gives you 10 GB of storage space. For even more space, you can sign up for $79.99 per year and get 500 GB of space.
The ZumoDrive app on the iPad gives you easy options to share, upload and download files to and from your ZumoDrive account.
GE.TT
Ge.tt is a le sharing service with a twist. While other services give long term storage space, Ge.tt provides you with temporary storage space for sharing les rather than storing them. The service is quick and easy; you do not need to install any applications or sign up for an account. Simply go to the Web address and upload your les. You can upload up to 2 GB of les and as soon as the upload begins, you are provided with a URL for sharing. The les remain on the Ge.tt cloud server for a limited period of 30 days, after which they are discarded. The service is perfect for users who wish to share les with friends or co-workers without having to worry about removing or deleting les and the only requirement is Internet access and a Web browser.
Ge.tt lets you start sharing files even before they have been completely uploaded, via a link or through social networking sites.
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USING FTP SERVERS
GET YOUR SITE ONLINE USING FTP

If youre planning to move beyond your simple blog to a customized builtfrom-scratch website, picking a host that offers FTP support would be a good idea. Read on to know how you can use FTP server access to take your website live easily.
BY KAMAKSHI S
TP servers offer a convenient and secure way to upload les for your website. FTP clients are easy to use and they also help you keep a tab on les on both your PC and the server. Most web hosts now offer FTP access to your account, and while most of them are paid services, some free web hosting plans also offer FTP access. On such host is BlackAppleHost.com, and in this workshop, well show you how you can set up your website on this host using FTP access.
GETTING STARTED
First, you must create an account at BlackAppleHost.com. You can also use the website to host
Dont change the path assigned to the folder marked to the HTML templates.
your own domain name. For an externally created website, you can opt for a standard upgrade or a premium upgrade for a monthly subscription fee. We will create a free site, which will bear the solidwebhost.com sub-domain. To register, click the 'Join Now' button. Once you have lled in the required details, conrm the registration via the link that you will receive in your e-mail inbox. Now, you can log in to your account. If you are an old user, you can continue using your Blackapplehost.com website, or you can use the newly created Solidwebhost.com website as the case may be.
Ensure that the resample instead of resize for creating thumbnails (slower, but better quality) option is selected.
SETTING UP THE FTP SERVER

Before you can start uploading data to your web-
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site, you will need an FTP client. Popular blogging sites like Wordpress also enable you to use an FTP server along with a customised CMS to edit your posts ofine and synchronise posts when you go online. But if you are looking at a more free-owing website layout, Wordpress may not be too useful. If you want to stick to the blog layout but nd Wordpress to be too complicated, you can link your Wordpress account to this free account as well for ease in access. In this workshop, well be using the Filezilla FTP client. Go to http://go.chip.in/lezilla and download the appropriate version of Filezilla. We will be using the Windows version of the application. Save and execute the le to install it on your system.
DESIGNING A SAMPLE WEBSITE

You can use web design applications like Dreamweaver and Flash to create your website. For this workshop, we will be creating a photo gallery using a free image editor called IrfanView. Go to www.irfanview.net, download the executable le and install the application. Follow the process as directed through the installation screens. Collect all the images you want to upload to your online image gallery. You can customize the image gallery before you upload it. To do so, go to the File | Thumbnails menu on the main application window. Browse for the folder containing the images in the folder tree appearing on the left-side of the IrfanView Thumbnail window. It is a good idea to keep your photographs and images in a separate folder, and name them as per a sequence of your choice. If you are loading images that require permissions, make sure you secure them and pay the required royalty before putting them on your website. To continue, go to Options | Set thumbnail options in the IrfanView Thumbnail window, and check the Use Resample instead of Resize for creating thumbnails (slower, but better quality) option. Set the thumbnail size as either 100 x 100 or 80 x 80 pixels from the Thumbnail size dropdown list. Click OK to save the settings. If you havent arranged the images, you can drag and drop them in the sequence that you require. Once your images are nalized, select all the images from the IrfanView Thumbnail window.
Applications like Notepad++ can be of help if you want to edit files and are not very well versed with HTML.
To use the Solidwebhost.com subdomain, you will have to register on Blackapplehost.com.
GENERATING THE HTML PAGES

Once you have created an image gallery in Irfan-
The free account also lets you create two MySQL databases. You can link up your Wordpress blog to the website too develop it.
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View, go to File | Save selected thumbs as HTML le menu command in the IrfanView Thumbnail window. Type an appropriate le name in the Main result HTML le name: text box appearing under the File options section of the Create HTML le dialog box. Set the destination folder in the specied textbox. Type t_ in the Thumbnail le prex: text box and clear the value in the Thumbnail le sufx: text box. Set appropriate titles for the HTML le name under the required textboxes. Click Start to create the les. Make sure that your main le is renamed as index.html. You can use the notepad application or any other HTML editor to tweak the text and alignment of the generated les.
Use the details listed in your Solidwebhost.com account page to connect through the FTP client.
UPLOADING THE WEBSITE

Once the les are created, go to the folder and double-click the le bearing the HTML name you provided. You can now upload these les to your website using the FTP client. The thumbnails appear in a neatly arranged grid as per your inputs. If you click on a thumbnail image, you can view the original image in the same browser window, or a secondary window as per the options you set.
RETRIEVING THE FTP SERVER DETAILS

Once you have your website contents ready for upload, you need to set up your FTP client. For that, youll require the details about the FTP server that the les will be uploaded to. Go to blackapplehost. com and enter your login details. You will be redirected to the solidwebhost.com login page instead, where you will have to re-enter your details. Note down the details that appear under the FTP connection information section. The password for the server would be the same as that on the website.
Browse to the folder on your local drive and upload it to your website. Make sure that you replace the index.html file.
SETTING UP THE FTP CONNECTION

Start the FileZilla FTP client. Type the host name, username and password values in the appropriate textboxes that are placed below the toolbar. Leave the port value blank and click Quickconnect. Now just upload all the les that you generated using IrfanView. Make sure that the index.html le is replaced with the new le you are uploading. If not, the website will not be redirected to the page you intend. Once all the les have nished uploading, type out your website name along with its associated sub-domain to view your website online.
Load the website using the subdomain name, to ensure that your website is up and running.
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COLLATING DATA USING GOOGLE DOCS FORMS
CONDUCT SURVEYS AND CREATE DATA ONLINE WITH EASE

If you are looking for a simple way to create complex survey forms, you can use Google Docs to not only design the UI, but to also manage the data that comes with it.
BY KAMAKSHI S
f you need to collect data samples, especially when you have a project at hand, getting people to answer questions for you can get cumbersome. Moreover, if you have to convert all your paper work into a digital database, it will consume more time and resources. You might also have skipped some crucial information in the bargain. If you are stuck in such a position, Google Docs can come to the rescue with its form features.
GETTING STARTED
Firstly, you will have to add Google Docs to your
Select the Form option from the file menu of the document to create your form.
applications if you havent done so already. For that, you can start off at https://docs.google.com and use your Google account details. Alternatively, you can log on to your Gmail account and click the Documents link from the top right corner. Once you are redirected to Google Docs, you can create your forms from here on. You can use both the documents and spreadsheet applications to create your forms.
CREATING THE FORM

You need to ensure that Google Docs is added in the list of Google applications that you use.
To create a form using documents, click the Create button and select Documents or Spreadsheets.
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In the window that opens, select the File | New | Forms menu command. Type out the questions, and select the nature of answers from the question type drop down menu. You can pick from options like paragraph text, multiple choice, checkboxes, choose from a list, scale and grid. Check on the Make this a required question if you dont want people to skip the question. If you have want to redirect the survey based on peoples choices, check on the Go to page based on answer option, and link the selection to the appropriate page. Click Done to complete the question and create a new one. Click the Add Item to add more questions to your form. Columns are assigned in the spreadsheet once you nalize a question by clicking Done. If you rearrange the pattern in which the question appears before clicking Done, the columns are not adjusted accordingly.
You can redirect users from one survey to another to get more detailed insights based on their choice of answers.
ADDING FRILLS
You can make your form a bit more attractive by picking an appropriate theme to go with it. To change the theme of your completed form, click the Theme: Plain button. Select a theme to preview and click Apply to set it to your form.
SPREAD THE WORD

Once you create the form, a public link is generated for you to spread the word. You can add the link to social networking websites like Facebook to get more responses. You can shorten the link using services like Bit.ly to share it on sites like Twitter as well. However, if you want to send it to your existing Google contacts, you can mail the form too. To do so, click the Email this form button. You can type out the email addresses or use the Gmail address book.
You can preview the theme before you add it to your form. However, it doesnt have any bearing on the contents of your form.
VIEWING RESPONSES
Once you start receiving responses, a spreadsheet bearing the name of your form is automatically created. Each column is mapped to the questions that you set when creating the form irrespective of its nal placement. You can edit or delete records from the spreadsheet with ease. You can go to the Form menu to edit the form again. If you want to stop people from adding more responses, check off the Accepting Responses option appearing under the Form menu.
Check off the Accepting Responses option to ensure that additional responses are not recorded.
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CREATE YOUR E-PORTFOLIO
SHOW OFF YOUR CREATIVITY ONLINE

If you are a budding photographer, illustrator, Web designer, digital artist or into any creative field, then sharing your work with like-minded professionals will help you take your work to the next level. Behance.net is one such network specifically created for the creative community.
BY KAMAKSHI S
f you work in a creative eld and want to make money or pick up some projects based on your past work, then a niche online community can actually be a very important tool to help you promote your art. Once you have an online portfolio, which is neatly categorized and tastefully presented, it becomes easy for a potential employer to see your work and hire you for future projects. Even if you are a beginner, being part of a niche network of fellow artists can help you learn faster and come up with better work. One such online network Behance.net. Right from the initiation process to putting your projects up for the world to see, the website reminds you of
Your projects can fall under three creative fields only, so pick categories wisely.
the exclusive nature of your chosen art. Heres how you can begin using Behance to your advantage.
GETTING STARTED
To start off, go to www.behance.net. You will be directed to the websites gallery, where several artists have publicly put up their projects for you to go through. Click the Log In link to set up your account. Click the Join Now button under Creative Professional. Next you will have to post a request for an invitation to join the network. Provide your email address and a short testimonial that describes your reasons for signing up on the website. Once have applied for an invite, you will be notied within a day if you are onboard. You can track the status on your invite through
You cannot sign up directly for an individual account on the network; youll have to request to be a part of it.
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the link provided. Once you receive the invitation from Behance, click on the link provided in your mailbox and proceed to create your account. Here we have created an individual account. If own a creative venture, you can pick the team account as an extension to your website; this will provide you with better networking options. Pick a name for your prole and ll in the other details to continue with the registration process. Next, ll in your personal information. The website offers an exhaustive list of creative elds that you can pick from, and you can select as many as three elds at once. Once all your details have been lled in, proceed to create your rst project.
CREATING A PROJECT
For this example, we will create a digital photography project. There are certain limitations to the image properties that you will have to consider before uploading them. To start with, your images must be at least 202 pixels by 158 pixels, must not exceed 1 MB, and should be in the RGB color channel. Crop the uploaded cover image and give the project a name. Click Save and continue' to proceed and add more images to your project. You can pick from a variety of templates depending on the kind of project you wish to create. You can preview not only a sample of the template before picking it, but each template also features an example for you to preview. We will be using the Multiple Images template. Click Select and proceed to upload your pictures. Go through the instructions on the next page and click the Start now button to continue with your project. On the content page, drag and dock the tool bar at a convenient location. You can then start with editing the text values. If you dont want a particular element on the project, you can click the Options button and delete it or change its placement. Use the up and down placement tool to reorder your elements. Once done, save the project and continue.
Pick the project cover wisely as that will be the face of your project. It will draw others on the network to your project.
Before you begin building your project, a help window with the toolbox is displayed to help you understand how the website works.
ADDING FRILLS
Once you have completed your project, you need to ll in details that will be associated with it. The details section includes the creative elds that your project falls under, project tags, description, and the visibility and privacy values. Save the page and continue. Next, you can set copyright details for your artwork. You can also set the
You can also go through the element controls before you upload your work online.
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DO IT YOURSELF
project to No use without explicit permission, but the website doesnt recommend it as it limits your exposure on third party websites like blogs and other networks. Next, you must mention the software, hardware and materials used to create the project. Go on to set nature and type of the project. Save to continue and add ownership settings. These include inviting users to share editing privileges and credits for your project. Once you have nished with all these settings, your project is ready to be shared with the world.
SPREAD THE WORD

You can edit the font, format and style of the text. The options menu helps you edit, delete or replace elements.
The nal settings panel in the settings section enables to you go public with your project. Once you reach the page, check the networks and notication settings. If you are not satised, you can edit them before publishing your project. Click the Publish Project button; conrm the settings and your maiden venture is now published on Behance. Once you have gone public with your project, you can publicize it further using other networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Finally, you can view the project in a browser. Another way to promote your work is through badges. To get badges for your website, go to the portfolio menu and pick the Promote your work option. Select the badges sub tab and customize the badge as per your requirement. Get the HTML source code and embed it into your website or blog.
For added authenticity, ensure that you put in information on the hardware, software and other materials used to make your artwork.
GETTING PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE

If you want to get more out of the Behance network, you can start off with the tips from professionals. For specic tips, go to the tools menu and pick the Tip Exchange option. You can look for tips specic to a creative eld and narrow down your search by typing in keywords.
ELEVATE YOUR CAREER

If you are looking for a job in your creative eld, the Behance network can come to your rescue. While most jobs seem to be targeting the US markets, they can be of help if you plan to migrate there. However, you can also look for a lot of freelance job options. Moreover, if you put up good work, you may even end up bagging a project without having to apply for a job. All the best!
You dont really need to move to the US to get a job off the network; you can look for freelance projects as well.
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ARCHIVING DATA FROM YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKING PROFILE
BACK UP YOUR ONLINE SOCIAL LIFE

If you tend to spend a lot of time on personal and professional social networks, you might want to hold on to your memories or keep a record of your interactions. Here are some tools that can help you back up all your information on social networks with ease.
BY K AMAK A SHI S AND PRI YANK A T ILVE
ocial networks are no longer just a medium of communication, and with all the pictures, music and videos that are exchanged over these websites, its become a necessity to ensure that the data can be preserved. Here are a few tools that help you back up data from social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
FACEBOOK BACKUP TOOL

If you are a Facebook user, you can backup your prole information, which includes your wall posts, photos and albums, videos, friends list, notes, events, messages, and chat transcripts. This tool doesnt allow you to customize your backup
options; you will have to make do with the entire chunk. To carry out a backup on your account, go to the Account Settings option placed under the Account drop down menu and locate the Download Your Information option. Click the Learn More link and click Download to initiate the process. While this is an ofine backup, you cannot delete your account while hoping that the backed up data can revive your prole; it is only a backup service, not a backup with restore option. Moreover, this is not a quick process; it takes some time and you will be notied via email when its done. Before downloading the backup, you will have to pass a security test to conrm your identity, keeping in mind the sensitive and personal nature of the data. If you are comfortable with add-ons instead, then being a Firefox user can work to your advantage. The ArchiveFacebook add-on, although unveried by Firefox, can help you backup every bit of information that you have put up on Facebook, right from the comfort of your browser. Just use the ArchiveFB menu command to initiate the back up process.
SAVE YOUR TWEETS

Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not provide a backup option. However, there are many third party websites that allow you to backup your Twitter data. One of them is tweetstreamapp. com. Once you sign up for the service and authorize it through your Twitter account, it carries
Facebooks built-in service backs up all your account data in a ZIP file, but its a long process.
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out a daily sync to take a backup of your tweets, contacts, lists, followers, photos, etc. It also lets you save data on your desktop. The free account lets you sync up to three Twitter accounts and offers 500 MB of storage and a weekly sync option. The daily sync option is one of the features of the paid service. If you are looking for a selective Twitter backup service, tweetscan.com can be a better option. The service lets you download your last 1,000 messages on logging in. It allows you take either a full archive of your account, or you can choose the items that you want to take a backup of, like your tweets, replies, followers, direct messages, etc. If you need a tool that lets you sift through your Twitter backup as well, you can try backupmytweets.com as an option. It not only takes daily backup of your tweets, but also allows you to easily search through all your tweets. You can even archive your email, blogs, tweets and pictures using this tool.
Tweetstreamapp.com backs up your Twitter data very quickly, and even lets you enjoy a video while you wait.
LINKEDIN
It becomes more important to backup critical data if your connections are not only social, but also professional and work-related. While all communication on Linkedin is copied on to your linked email account, you can export connects to ensure that you have a local CSV le to help you stay connected with people even if the service is down. To back up your LinkedIn contacts, log into your account and click on Contacts. Click on the My Connections tab. At the base, you will nd the Export Connections link. Click the link and save the le in a format of your choice. These formats include Outlook Express (.CSV le), Yahoo Mail (.CSV le), Mac OS X Address Book (.VCF le) and vCard (.VCF le). Save the le and you have all your contacts backed up on your PC.
Backupifys free account lets you backup data from Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, LinkedIn, and many more.
ALL-IN-ONE BACKUP
Apart from these sites, there are some sites that allow to you to backup all your social networking accounts. The most popular is backupify. com, which allows you to take a backup of your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa, Flickr, Blogger, LinkedIn, etc. Its free account provides you with 2 GB of storage space per social media account, which will be backed up weekly.
You can easily download and keep a local copy of your LinkedIn connections.
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CLOUD SERVICES THAT WORK ACROSS PLATFORMS
STREAM. SHARE. COLLABORATE.

If you are looking to use your favourite cloud services from your smartphone or tablet, here are some apps that can help you out.
BY KAMAKASHI S
hile you may have heard about le sharing services like Zumo Drive, Dropbox and Sugar Sync, which let you access les of various types on all your computing devices, how do you share les or listen to streaming music on the go? Here are a few options that you can consider.
your images to websites like Picnik.com. You can also use a desktop tool to upload your pictures to the service. Flickr is also popular with bloggers because of the easy integration and the slideshow options that it offers.
THE MOBILE CONNECT: The website offers a mobile version to help you browse and upload pictures from any mobile device via 'm.ickr.com'. However, a dedicated app is much easier to work with. For Apple device users, Flickr offers a native app. You can download the Flickr app for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad from iTunes to upload pictures taken from the device directly to your account. You can also geo-tag images and resize them on the device itself. You can add and access sets and collections, and search for pictures on the website too. For Android users, there are several third party applications to pick from. One of them is the Flickr Companion for Android from ZMo Software. The app comes in free and paid versions. The paid version is priced at Rs 43.73 and offers better stability in connection. The app supports multiple Flickr accounts and lets you switch with ease. You can not only upload pictures, but also view favorites, sets and collections with ease. It also enables you to download images from Flickr. Flickr also offered a dedicated BlackBerry app, which has been discontinued from March 1, 2011. However, the browser supports the mobile version of the website. If you are a Windows Phone 7 user, you can download the Flickr app for your smartphone too.
IMAGE SHARING
With smartphones and other computing devices offering digital camera functionalities, it becomes all the more essential to de-clutter your memory space. Here are a few apps that can help you put your images on an image cloud service of your choice.
FLICKR
Flickr is a well known photo sharing and back up service, which has recently replaced Yahoo Photos. The service enables you to share photographs, and videos between individuals and closed groups. You can also carry out basic image xes online by pulling
You can listen to music from anywhere with the Audiobox app on your device.
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PICASA
Picasa is one of Googles well known products and is said to be a collaborative image sharing service. Although you cannot edit pictures shared with you, you can add images to another user's album if you have the required permissions. Picasa does not support nesting of photo albums, but it enables you to edit your images using an embedded Picnik tool, which means that you dont need to leave Picasa to edit your pictures.
THE MOBILE CONNECT: RIM seems to be avoiding this cloud image service too, as the Picasa app for BlackBerry is no longer in service. However, you can use several third party tools like Auto Photo Uploader for Picasa. Unlike Yahoo (or Flickr rather), Google doesnt have any ofcial tools linking Picasa services to any mobile device, thus making most of the tools available from external developers instead. For the iPhone users, an app called Web Albums by Scott Sykora is available to be purchased from iTunes. It gives users a Picasa Photo Viewer to view Picasa images and an uploader tool for direct image uploads. You can add captions and rotate
images from your device and even email the pictures to a friend. The app also supports slideshow view of your Picasa images on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. While many expected the Picasa app to be featured by default on the Android OS, Google clearly thinks otherwise. Even for the Android platform, you will have to make do with third party apps. One such tool is the Picasa Tool Pro from Colifer Lab. The tool helps you look through your images, view and post comments, add and edit captions, and also have access to albums marked as favorites. It also gives you access to upload images directly from your device in batches, and keeps a lter to ensure you know You can upload images and add tags which of the images have been uploaded, very much like the PC- using a variety of Android apps. based Picasa tool. If your smartphone runs of the Windows Phone 7 platform, you can buy the Picasa Viewer for Windows Phone 7 app. It lets you add, delete, browse and save pictures from your Picasa online account directly from your phone.
DOCUMENT SHARING
There are several online collaborative options to work on documents while on the go. However, most of these are limited to an Internet-powered laptop or netbook. If you want the functionalities to extend to your other portable devices too, here are some handy options.
THINKFREE ONLINE
Thinkfree Online is a Java-based online document editor that resembles the Ofce 2003 UI, making it very convenient to work with. With 1 GB of free storage space, the website offers support to a variety of formats, including Ofce 2003 and Ofce 2007 documents, spreadsheets and presentations, OpenOfce formats, and it also supports PDF conversions. Moreover, you can use it as an extension to Google Docs as well.
You can edit spreadsheets and format them using Documents To Go.
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THE MOBILE CONNECT: Like the other services, BlackBerry has abruptly stopped support for the service. However, you can avail the Web services on all the other major mobile platforms. For Android users, you can opt for a ThinkFree online mobile viewer that lets you to view les and convert them into PDFs. You can purchase the ThinkFree Ofce Mobile app for Rs 662.11. The app enables you to view, create or edit documents in a variety of formats and also email and view attachments and PDF les. Apart from the main website, the app also provides support for Google Docs. It offers similar support for Windows Phone 7 users. iPhone users can download the free app from the iTunes store. The app allows access to the ThinkFree website, and enables you to view and save documents on your device. The app also enables users to share documents as email attachments or SMSes, but this feature is not available for iPod Touch users.
GOOGLE DOCS
One of the most widely used Google products, Google Docs helps you to not only collaborate on documents, but it also lets to collate data to create a database using Google forms. While Google Docs forms might not be available on the mobile platform, you can still enjoy the document support on your mobile device.
THE MOBILE CONNECT:
Edit documents via Google docs with ease from your iPhone.
from, starting with iGoogDocs. This app lets you use Google Docs in an ofine mode too. Moreover, you can add images to the document before you upload it. Another useful tool is GoDocs for iPad/ iPhone by Light Room, which offers support for multiple accounts. Android users can get Google Docs support from popular apps like Doccuments2Go by Data Viz or ThinkFree mobile online. There are other simple apps like GDocs, but it tends to remove document formatting when accessing les on a mobile device. A similar service, also named GDocs, is also available for Window Phone 7 users.
Documents created offline can later be synced with your Google Docs account.
Google Docs can be accessed on all major mobile platforms. For Blackberry users, Google has a BlackBerry application suite that offers Gmail for Mobile, Google Sync, Google Talk and Google Docs. To get just Docs, visit 'http://docs.google. com/a/user_name' from the browser. iPhone users have several options to pick
STEAMING MUSIC LIVE

Space becomes a major constraint for many people, especially if their PC is stacked up with songs. You can use a live streaming cloud service from where you can access your music not just on your laptop, but also on your mobile device.
AUDIOBOX.FM
Audiobox.fm is a free cloud service that enables you to collate and upload up to 1 GB of music which you can then stream for free. The service
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THE MOBILE CONNECT: While any mobile device with a Web browser can use the MP3tunes service to stream media comfortably, you can also opt for a native app for your smartphone. The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users can get the free Airband app to access their MP3tunes Lockers. You can browse and play your music with customizable streaming rates and the app also lets you regulate volume of the streaming music. There are also apps providing similar features for Android, Windows Phone 7 and WebOS powered devices.
GoDocs is a handy app to access Google Docs on your iPhone or iPad.

is compatible with most browsers and it has its own in-built player so if you are using your laptop to access music, you dont need a seoarate music player. This means that you can access your music from anywhere; even a cyber caf, without installing any additional software. If you are using a storage app like Dropbox or services like Last.fm, Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, or YouTube, you can use this service all through this website on a single platform.
THE MOBILE CONNECT
You can geo-tag images using the desktop application. You can also view and alter the image tags on your mobile device.
The service provides a native app for both the iOS and Android platforms. For iPod Touch, iPad, and the iPhone, you can sync music from your account directly without the need to save it on your device. The AudioBox app also lets you scrobble AudioBox and Last.fm play lists from the app. The Android app is compatible with versions 2.0 and above. You can scrobble and play songs as well. The app stores your preferences and enables you to sync with the service without any hassles.
MP3TUNES
MP3tunes calls itself a Music Service Provider (MSP) and offers a secure cloud service tool called the MP3tunes Locker. The service provides you with 2 GB of free space and you will need to register with the website to use the services. Once done, sync your music les using the free tool, and you are good to go.
The Web portal features a UI similar to that of MS Office 2003. It also allows you to insert pictures and charts with ease.
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CLOUD ARCHITECT:
BUILDING A CLOUD
If the current IT trends are anything to go by, the future of IT will largely be based on cloud computing. If you want to be a part of the revolution, then you can become a cloud architect and get a headstart.
BY PRI YANK A T ILVE
Nirmal Biswas
he future of computing points towards a more cost-effective, user-oriented and exible concept, which is that of cloud computing. Business houses are rapidly adapting cloud infrastructure as it offers them unparalleled exibility, scalability, accessibility, and security and it also proves to be more cost-effective then having to manage in-house servers. According to a worldwide survey by Gartner, cloud computing services consumed from external service providers (ESPs) are estimated to comprise 10.2 percent of the spending on external IT services. Bob Igou, research director at Gartner, says, The cloud market is evolving rapidly, with 39 percent of survey respondents worldwide indicating that they allocated IT budget to cloud computing as a key initiative for their organization. There is a shift in spending from traditional IT assets such as the data center assets and a move toward assets that are accessed in the cloud. These trends are good news for IT services providers that have professional services geared towards implementing cloud environments and those that
deliver cloud services. This means that increasingly, cloud service providers will be on the look out for cloud architects, who, after understanding the needs of the client, will provide and manage the cloud infrastructure for them. We spoke with Vivek Punekar, Chief Human Resource Ofcer, HCL Infosystems, to understand what it takes to be a cloud architect.
What is the job profile of a cloud architect?

The cloud architect supports the cloud computing team and helps drive their strategic direction. He is responsible for dening the ideal cloud architecture for the organization and works with business analysts to ensure the determined architecture is in line with the client business requirements. At the same time, he is also expected to assist the team in cloud consulting assignments and provide internal training and solution workshops to the junior engineers. In a nutshell, the cloud architect serves as technical and architectural lead for the cloud practice.
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What are his responsibilities?

The technical responsibilities of the cloud architect include being the technology lead for the cloud practice, to dene cloud-based solution architectures for clients and to assist in assessment exercises for clients. Whereas his business responsibilities include articulation and communication/marketing of cloud computing offerings of the organization, assisting clients, de ning cloud adoption roadmap for clients, dene cost and investment return models etc. His responsibilities also include dening marketing content and collateral for the cloud computing practice as well as provide consultancy and assistance in implementation issues. Most importantly a cloud architect has to be abreast of the emerging cloud technologies and recommend viable options to the organization for integrating these technologies into the existing cloud practice architecture.
ing the upward trend. The Indian market is at a nascent stage in the cloud computing space, and most of the demand is centered around the basic cloud services such as infrastructure and email. However, we are seeing positive trends in both government and private enterprises with respect to acceptance for cloud based service models.
What would be your advice to students?

The cloud computing space today is fast evolving and very exciting. We would advise students to get an understanding of the core concepts of virtualization and service- oriented architectures so that they can grasp new developments in the space quickly.
INSTITUTE TALK
Premier technology training institute Aptech is one of the few institutes that conducts courses for cloud architecture. We spoke with Shrutidhar Paliwal, VP Corporate Communications, Aptech to know more about the course.
What are the challenges involved?

Being a fast evolving eld, it is hard to be updated on the new developments, and with the massive amount of information and opinions oating around, it is difcult to help the organization articulate a truly holistic cloud offering. Also, the role demands potential to quickly evaluate and grasp new methods for implementing cloud technologies.
Who can apply for the course? What skills must one possess?
The course is open for anyone who has completed or is pursuing graduation and possesses skill for software development technologies. To be a successful cloud architect, one must have thorough knowledge of the cloud domain as well as knowledge of the development environment and database.
Which are the areas of growth?

The current trend shows that the demand for infrastructure services on the cloud exist mostly in India, but at the same time, the global market has evolved to the second tier of service offerings on the cloud SaaS (Software as a Service). However, this is yet to take a foothold in India. The growth in the SaaS market is outpacing the overall growth of the cloud computing market and the SaaS market is expected to further grow to a signicant size in the next couple of years. Hence, one will see a large number of service vendors providing software offerings on cloud in the next year or so. We are also looking at bringing out a slew of software service offerings to complement our strong infrastructure stack.
What are the career opportunities in this field? What is the growth potential like?
A candidate can look at becoming a cloud architect, cloud developer, infrastructure engineer, software system engineer in cloud, security professional, or team leader. The growth potential is tremendous as medium and higher level organizations are moving to cloud due to lower investment and maintenance costs involved. Organizations are lured by the pay-per-use model and flexibility in services.
What advice would you give to students?

Students must start with programming development technologies like Java, .Net, OST, and RDBMS. He/she should start acquiring skills on cloud technology like Windows Azure, SQL Azure, Amazon Cloud Services and Virtualization. They should be able to use cloud delivery model (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS). They should be adept at integration, implementation, deployment and maintenance in the cloud. After gaining sufficient experience on these, they will be able to establish themselves as a successful cloud architect.
Will we witness a rise in the demand for cloud architects in the coming years?
The future looks promising. With the industry growing, the demand for architects is follow-
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Supinfomania 2011, DSK Supinfocom Pune

very college, young or old, hosts a college fest. College fests have become an identity and calling cards for the colleges these days. Likewise, DSK Supinfocom, located just outside the city of Pune, hosted its own version called Supinfomania. DSK Supinfocom, being a fairly new college, hosted its second Supinfomania this year. Supinfomania was a huge and successful event celebrating all three schools from the college
SAPTESH CHAUBAL
Saptesh is a 4th year Animation student, specializing in core 3D Modeling, Texturing, Animation and post production. He is a biology student, who also has completed a short course in 3D from MAAC before choosing to pursue further studies in Animation with DSK Supinfocom. His hobbies include reading, writing, traveling and sports.
i.e. Supinfocom (animation) Supinfogame (video game design) and ISD (industrial design), along with mind blowing performances by DJ Agnel and Spinmaster KAZ during the War of the DJs and an amazing performance by KK on the last night. This being only the second year for Supinfomania, theres not much of a history to it, but the rst Supinfomania was fairly quiet compared to this year. After everythings done and dusted and after a very successful two-day festival, when everyone goes home happy and full of memories, few would look back and think about what went into creating such a mega event. But we, as students and volunteers, know the effort that went into creating this festival and making each and every event of every school successful. The week leading upto Supinfomania was quite hectic, with all the volunteers balancing school work and Supinfomania related work. Last minute additions like printing the yers and boards for the event, creating designs, maps, etc. The night before Supinfomania was quite fun. The processes of rule nalizations, last minute changes, completing setups for the event went on through the whole night. The staff was awake till the early hours, helping out the students in every way possible. It was a great group effort and the fruits could be seen during the two days of the event. The quote in the air was Supinfomania was built in a day and every volunteer wore it proudly. Being a two-day event, Supinfomania had a mix of events and competitions, both casual and competitive, with an overall prize of Rs 5,00,000 to be won. All three schools had their own events and the college had its own highlight events as well. All the events were unique in their own elds and quite challenging and competitive.
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DSK Supinfocom (Animation) had three events, namely Mobile movie making, Light painting and T-shirt design. For Mobile movie making, participants had to shoot a two-minute short movie on a given topic using only mobiles. Computers were given by the college for editing and the participants could use anyone or anything on the campus as props and/ or actors to make their short lm. For T-shirt design, all the raw materials including the t-shirts were provided by the college and all the participants had to do was to come up with a design and paint it on the t-shirt in one hour. Of course, themes were provided by the college to choose from. Light painting was a very unique and interesting competition. Not many people knew about it, but were very keen to learn it. This competition was conducted in a dark room. Cameras with very slow shutter speed were used and the candidate had to draw in the air using different types of low intensity lights, and the camera caught all the light movements on one picture. DSK Supinfogame (video game design) had three competitions as well - Prop war, Design a game character and paintball. Prop War was one of the most interesting competitions that DSK Supinfogame had to offer. It was a team-based competition, where teams were given random props on their tables and a pile of random props was left in the common area. The objective of the event was to build a playable game from the given props, dening the rules of the game and a winning and losing scenario as well. Design a game character, as simple as the name sounds, was one of the toughest events in the whole of Supinfomania. The brief was to design a game character and also dene its universe. The focus was given to sketching out the character, dening the ner details of the character, which were relevant to his/her universe, a back story to the character, and props and/or powers if there were any. Paintball was Supinfogames 3rd event, but unlike your usual Paintball, the level of this Paintball game was designed by the students of DSK Supinfogame. It wasnt your usual team vs team shoot em up game. Teams taking part in this event had to come up with proper strategies. It was an objective-based team vs team game, where
DSK Supinfomania 2011 - the entrance of the college.
in order to win, either the team had to shoot all of the other team members or carry an allocated item to the opponent teams base. But there was a catch to it all; there were moderators or monsters on either side, who acted as extra team members whenever activated. In order to completely kill an opponent, he had to be shot three times. If he was shot only once, he would be immobile but would be allowed to shoot. There were spawn points all over the map where if the injured player was taken by his team member, he would be able to move again. So overall, a very challenging game, both mentally and physically. DSK ISD (Industrial Design) had two of its agship competitions, one of them was Build a bench and the other one was Cintiq Wars. The idea behind Build a bench was to design and build a bench with given materials within a specic time. The main component of the materials used was the carrogated cardboard. The judging for this competition was quite innovative, along with the conventional ones like design, evolution and functionality. Two heavy people were made to sit on the bench, to check the strength of the bench. Cintiq Wars was a competition where the participants had to square off against each other in a sketching contest.
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The participants had 10 minutes to complete their sketches. The topics were given on the spot and they were quite innovative. For example, a spaceship for the year 2020 or an insect-inspired shoe. The medium used for this competition was the Cintiq 21ux and the software used was Adobe Photoshop. What made this competition unique was the judging style. The judging was done by
Paint Ball Competition.
Participants at the sketching competition.
the audience and in case of uncertainty, the jury came into play. The whole event was constantly projected on a huge screen and the atmosphere set for the event was just amazing, with good music playing and audience cheering on the participants. Apart from these niche competitions, there were other competitions that took place as well. One of them was Supermania Challenge, which was jointly done by Radio Mirchi and the live game concept was created by the Supinfogame students of the college. Supermania Challenge comprised of four mini games, which took place across the two days, where teams comprising of ve members would compete against each other. The team with the fastest time would win Rs 1,00,000. The four games included were basketpult, water barrage, light sequence, and photohunt. These mini games were spread out all over the campus. For basketpult, the teams were divided into two parts. One part was on top of the building and their aim was to throw basketballs onto the lawns below without looking. The rest of the team had to catch the balls using nets. The teams were marked according to the number of balls caught. The next game was water barrage, where members of one team were to stand in a semi circle, buckets were kept on either side of the team and small polythene bags and rubber bands were given and one of the buckets was lled with water. The idea of the game was to ll as many bags with water and pass them amongst the team members to the bucket on the other side without spilling water. The team with the most number of successful bags of water after three minutes would score the highest. The third game was light sequence, which is basically a memory game with lights, where members of the team would stand in a line facing a screen and theyll have lights of ve different colors. Theyll be shown a certain light sequence and the idea was to correctly imitate the light sequence with the help of the lights at their disposal. There were ten levels overall and the difculty curve would go on increasing as the team progressed. The fourth game of Supermania Challenge was Photohunt, where the teams would be given random clues to a certain place on campus or a
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random action. The idea was to decipher the clue and click a photo of the place, object or the action correctly. The team with the most correct answers won this game. GameKshetra was was a one-of-its-kind gaming event, where there were competitions of all types, on multiple platforms; individual and team-based. Games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, FIFA 11, Defense of the Ancients, Tekken Tag Tournament, and Counter-strike were played on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and the nals of all the tournaments in Game Kshetra that took place all over the country were also held here at Supinfomania. This is what made it a mega event in itself. The highlight of the rst night was undoubtedly the War of the DJs. After a hectic day lled with fun and creativity, everyone came down to the lawns and lazed around, when War of the DJs had started. DJs from all over the country competed against each other and the event was judged by DJ Agnel and Spinmaster KAZ. Last, but not the least, was something everyone was waiting for - the live performance by KK. And he did not disappoint a single soul on the campus that night. KK came to almost a houseful campus, sang one hit after the other, and he wasnt disappointed either as he got a tting response from the crowd. The level of participation for the whole fest was breathtaking. We, as students, did not expect such a big turnout. The niche events being very schoolcentric, we didnt expect such a huge turnout, but people came, and they came in numbers. Competitions like T-shirt design, where the material was limited and there six participants per slot, we had to increase the number to 14 per slot and send some of the volunteers out to get additional materials all because of the over-
Participants at one of the biggest gaming contest Game Kshetra.

whelming response. Game Kshetra saw at least 800 dedicated gamers over two days, and the whole event saw around 2,500 people on campus, with the college providing accommodation for atleast 600-odd participants. The fest was a huge success. Everyone was ecstatic with such an overwhelming response to the event. We volunteers got to learn a lot from the experience, both from organizing an event of such a magnitude and from taking part in some of the events as well. The award ceremony took place after KKs concert and before everything ended. Some of the details for the next mega event were declared with a few choice words by some of the dignitaries.
MAY 2011
48
TECH TALK
INNOVATIONS
SAVING ELECTRICITY IN PUBLIC PLACES

Electricity has become sparse because of the high demand and fewer alternative sources to generate the energy. K Angusundaresh tells us how we can regulate the supply of energy in public spaces and control wastage of electricity.
BY KAMAKASHI S
hile rural India still waits for stable supply of electricity, the urban and industrial side of the country needs to nd new ways of curbing power wastage. Load shedding has become a mandate in many places; butit doesnt really offer a potent solution as many places use generators that use more energy to be charged. One solution is to regulate electrical xtures in public places. K Angusundaresh, pursuing B.E (Electronic and Communication Engineering) from Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, says, Electrical power has become one of the critical energy sources that is highly decient, especially in countries like India. So power-saving technologies are necessary in every walk of life.
Circuit 2
THE IDEA
Angusundaresh and his mate M T Sakthivel, a budding Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering student from the same college, are the brains behind a project that offers power saving techniques for industrial units and public places. Angusundaresh says, This project proposes one power saving concept by making use of the human eye perception of the light luminance level. Based on this idea, the boys explain the objective of their project. One of the important power consuming loads is the lighting loads. Lights are used abundantly in many places. There are even thousands of lights lit up everyday all along the streets in major cities. In many industrial houses
P1 +5V
C1
+5V 22pF
C2
22pF
X1
U1
OSC1/CLKIN OSC2/CLKOUT RB0/INT RB1 RB2 RB3/PGII RB4 RB5 RB6/PGC RB7/PGD 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 15 16 17 18 23 24 25 26 19 20 21 22 27 28 29 30
R1
10k
4MHz
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1
RA0/AN0 RA1/AN1 RA2/AN2/VREF-/CVREF RA3/AN3/VREF+ RA4/TDCK1C1OUT RA5/AN4/SSC2OUT RE0/AN5/RD RE1/AN6/WR RE2/AN7/CS MCLR/vpp/THV
D1
1N4001
RL1
6V
RL2 D2
1N4001 6V
LDR
RC0/T10S0/T1CK1 RC1/T10S1/CCP2 RC2/CCP1 RC3/GCKGCL RC4/GSD1/SDA RC5/GDO RC6/TX/CK RC7/RX/DT
L1
230V AC
L2
230V AC
+5V
R3
4k7
Q1
BCS47
R2
1k
R4
4k7
Q2
BCS47
RD0/PSP0 RD1/PSP1 RD2/PSP2 RD3/PSP3 RD4/PSP4 RD5/PSP5 RD6/PSP6 RD7/PSP7 PIC16F877A
Complete circuit diagram of a working prototype based on the project.
MAY 2011
TECH TALK
49
such as textile buildings, there are many lights lit up continuously day and night in their large work places. These lights operate at full power and produce maximum luminance at all times, but the human eye has a unique character of perceiving the light intensity and the actual luminance. As power to the lights is reduced, the light level decreases but the human eye may perceive a higher light level than is actually recorded by a light meter. This yields the square law curve, the theoretical relationship between measured light level and perceived brightness. Hence, the project proposes a method to make the level of the brightness as required for the human to be constant even after reducing the actual power input to the light.
ABOUT THE INNOVATORS

K Angusundaresh is a third year B E i n Elec t ron ic a nd Com mu n ic at ion s student from Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Erode, Tamil Nadu. He has been a part of several projects, including Shadow Clock in the Open House exhibition at Birla Institute of Technology, Goa, Intelligent Route Selection in Project Expo, at Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, and has an impending patent for a Automatic Wastage Outlet Controller for Railways project. He has presented several technical papers, including Intelligent Route Selection using GSM at SRM University, Chennai, and Wireless Mobile Charging using RF at Velammal Engineering College, Chennai. He is an active member of IEEE. For the power saver for industrial units and public places project, he teamed up with M T Sakthivel, who is pursuing a B E in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering from the same college.
HOW IT WORKS
Angusundaresh explains to us in detail the various components that power his project. The project consists of power electronics circuitry along with the high speed microcontroller to perform this function. The electric power to the load is switched according to the requirement. For example, at late night and in the early mornings, the voltage applied need not be to its full level and the switching circuit reduces the voltage accordingly. The circuit also consists of ambient light sensors to receive the atmospheric light and even adjust the brightness of the present light source accordingly. Hence, in places like industries and street lights, the brightness of the light source can be reduced by drastically reducing the electrical power as there would still be some effect of natural sunlight. Hence, the same circuit can function as automatic light dimmers.
ADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM

As the system was developed keeping in mind high and long term electricity appliances, its applications are quite exhaustive. Angusundaresh has certain areas of application in his mind. He elaborates, This project can be modied to t into a number of areas like in automatic street light control, as a power saver in large industries and corridors, for warehouses where human occupancy is very less, in conference halls and seminar halls where lights are turned on, dimmed and turned off frequently, and in residential buildings and institutions, where electrical appliances are used around the clock.
SETTING UP THE SYSTEM

The system is made of a circuit, which controls the illumination of the street lamps. Angusundaresh explains, The circuit senses the current brightness and sends it to the microcontroller. This is made with LDR (Light Dependent Resistor), whose resistance is varied in the variation of light around it. The produced voltage from the LDR, proportional to the brightness, is given to the ADC pin of the PIC microcontroller, so the proportionate
MAY 2011
50
TECH TALK
TRIAC Firing Circuit

R4
PIC B1 LED 1 390R
FU1
1A
U2
6
R5
39R 5W P N
2 Zero Crossing MOC3021M
U3
BTA16 4
C1
10K 400V
R7
100R
L1
R6
390R
TRIAC firing circuit controlled by a micro-controller to regulate the illumination levels.
data can be generated. This data is scaled to 10 ms delay (max) that is for one half cycle of the AC voltage. From the zero crossing detector, the start of cycles are detected, which is taken as reference for the ring pulse after the delay which was generated and scaled to 10ms (max). When the delay is slightly less than 10ms, the ring pulse would not come in to effect. When the delay is much lesser than 10ms, the bulb glows dimmer. If the delay decreases, then the bulb will glow brighter. For zero delay, the bulb glows at full brightness.
TESTING THE MODEL

Can this model be implemented with ease? The duo seems to have done their homework well. They have a prototype model to put this idea to the test. Using another elaborate circuit diagram, they explain, We have tested the idea with a small prototype model. For the small prototype model, we have used the above circuit diagram 2. Here, according to the light received by the LDR, the voltage reduces. They add, This project will help spend the energy depending on usage. That way, we can save energy for the future as well.
Circuit diagram
+5V
X1
CRYSTAL
R1
100
U4
13 14 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OSC1/CLKIN OSC2/CLKOUT RA0/AN0 RA1/AN1 RA2/AN2/VREF-/CVREF RA3/AN3/VREF+ RA4/TDCK1C1OUT RAS/AN4SS/C2OUT RE0/AN5/RD RE1/AN6/WR RE2/AN7/CS MCLR/vpp/THV RC0/T10S0/T1CK1 RC1/T10S1CCP2 RC2CCP1 RC3/SCK/SCL RC4/SD1/SDA RC5/SD0 RC6/TXCK RC7/RX/DT RD0/PSP0 RD1/PSP1 RD2/PSP2 RD3/PSP3 RD4/PSP4 RD5/PSP5 RD6/PSP6 RD7/PSP7 PIC16F877A RB0/INT RB1 RB2 RB3/PGM RB4 RB5 RB6/PGC RB7/PGD 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 15 16 17 18 23 24 25 26 19 20 21 22 27 28 29 30 Zero Crossing Detector PIC B1
LDR
+5V
R8
1k
A detailed circuit diagram made with an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) setup.
MAY 2011

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