Posted 11/20/09 at 07:24:14 AM by Paul Lilly

A rising number of data flubs has caused some to question whether the benefits of cloud computing truly outweigh the risks, but is that really a fair assessment? The eggheads at Kroll Ontrack don't think so, who point out that the recent spike in data losses with corporate enterprises is simply the result of human error.

"While advanced storage options such as virtualization and cloud computing offer corporations storage optimization, human processes are still at the root of these solutions, instructing the technology as to how to perform," said Phil Bridge, managing director at Kroll Ontrack UK. "The complextity of these systems often requires a steep learning curve. With reported IT spending at a low, human error is increasingly common."

According to Kroll Ontrack, some of the biggest mistakes attributed to the human element include pulling the wrong drive while trying to pull a failed disk in a RAID array, accidentally deleting a business-critical database and restoring it with a corrupt or incomplete backup, attempting to force failed drives back online when rebuilding a bad array, accidentally deleting files, volumes, virtual machines, or a SAN LUN with no backup in place, and reformatting the wrong SAN LUN during a server migration.

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Posted 07/24/09 at 11:00:00 AM by David Murphy

A coalition of some of the biggest names in the OSS world have banded together to create Open Source for America, a brand-new advocacy group that's going to try and highlight the advantages of open-source software to help achieve the goals set out in President Barack Obama's push for an open-data government.  But as we pause to "ooh" and "ahh" at the list of companies and open-source celebrities contributing to the new group--Novell, the Mozilla Foundation, the EFF, Tim O'Reilly, and Mark Shuttleworth, amongst many others--let us not forget the uphill battle that the concept of "openness" tends to face in the government sector.

I just can't find myself getting that excited over open-source software when we still have fundamental issues of transparency and openness in governmental data. There's a wealth of information out there that's free and easily accessible to the public. But that doesn't mean that legislators, agencies, and departments are going out of their way to make this information as useful as it could be.  In fact, it was only as recently as two months ago that the U.S. Senate itself opened up its own voting records for third-party applications and mashups.

Click the jump and put on your safety helmet--we're going data diving!

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Posted 06/24/09 at 05:20:39 PM by Andy Salisbury

Toshiba has taken note of the importance of digital security these days, and with that thought in mind they’ve released several new external hard drives for those that are hoping to keep their tracks thoroughly covered.

With the introduction of their new portable external hard drives, they’re hoping to make data security something that’s easily accessible to everyone (just so long as they have one of their drives). The drives will feature NTI BackupNow EZ software (for Windows users), which will allow the backup of an entire system with a click. It’ll also be able to scan your computer, and provide a personalized recommendation on the best way to cover your files.

There will also be password protection with up to 256-bit encryption. All of this will be accessed through a graphical interface, which Toshiba expects will make “backing up digital data easier than ever.”

“We’ve increased the level of protection offered by our personal storage products, while making them easier to use,” stated Manuel Camarena, product manager for consumer storage at Toshiba Storage Device Division. “Data backup usually isn’t a consumer’s first thought, but it is the most important consideration for preserving a lifetime of digital memories, entertainment libraries and the entire computer system.  Enhanced backup features combined with password-protected encryption create a true digital safety net that any consumer can use to protect against system failure and unauthorized access to their digital content.”

These drives are available now in 500GB and 320GB flavors, and will run you $149.99 and $119.99 respectively.

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Posted 06/22/09 at 01:30:24 PM by David Murphy

Dealing with your data is a critical part of the Windows experience. "No, really," you ask? I know, I know. But the kinds of file operations you perform on any given day represent the bread and butter of your operating system. You drag your pictures around, copy and paste your documents to other places, maybe send a file or two over email. It's simple stuff. That's not a value judgment, just a comment about the basic functionality that everyone uses on a modern OS.

When you're ready to step out of this minor league of file management and head into the majors, you'll find a host of freeware applications waiting to hit a pitch or two. These applications take the common elements of your Windows file operations and inject them with a dose of raw energy. For example, you can customize and jack up the very process of copying files from one directory to another. You can also beat back Windows' default system for batch file renaming and instead transform a large number of files with very specific titles and extensions. You can even map out just how much space your files take up on your drive, giving you the perfect opportunity to catch up on some spring cleaning across your battered hard drive.

While these kinds of processes are a mainstay of this week's roundup, I'm also taking a look at two additional programs that pack additional functionality into your operating system as a whole. So what are you waiting for? Quit your file transfers, click the jump, and get ready for a brand new world.

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Posted 06/10/09 at 04:00:00 PM by Paul Lilly

Led by physicist Alex Zettl, a team of eggheads from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory and the University of California Berkley have demonstrated a form of nanotube archival memory capable of storing memory bits for a billion years, the researchers say.

The team put together a prototype device based on a nanoscale iron particle moving along a carbon nanotube like a shuttle. It measures about 1/50,000th the width of a human hair and was created in a single step pyrolysis of ferrocene in argon at 1,000C. Technical details aside, the team says the steps it took are compatible with today's semiconductor manufacturing techniques.

The end result is a device that can be written to and read from using conventional voltages, however remains years away from practical application. Nevertheless, the promise of long-lasting data retention could be huge for large-scale archival applications in the future.

Much more info here, along with the abstract (in PDF form) here.

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Posted 05/19/09 at 02:45:41 PM by Paul Lilly

We often preach the importance of maintaining a good backup scheme, but when it comes to the internet, such a task would now be incredibly overwhelming. Just how much data are we talking about? According to the guardian.co.uk, enough to fill a stack of books stretching from Earth to Pluto 10 times over. Put into a different perspective, it would take one top-end iPod for every two people on the planet to back up the entire internet.

In more concrete terms, the amount of data online now sits at 487 billion gigabytes. And get this - that number is expected to double in size in the next 18 months, according to technology consultancy IDC. Compare that to in 2007, when the IDC estimated the world's digital content to be at 161 billion gigabytes.

The rapid rise in data can be largely be attributed to digital cameras, cell phones, and the social networking phenomenon.

"Devices such as camera phones, and the web 2.0 services like social networking sites have created a nation of digital hoarders," said Mike Altendorf, managing director of EMC consulting, the firm who sponsored the research.

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Posted 03/03/09 at 09:00:00 AM by David Murphy

How do we usually receive our data?  In boring textual updates, be it the current time, the contents of an RSS feed, or a ton of 140-character Twitter updates.  And when this information turns graphical, like an icon of a folder on our desktop to signify a grouping or combined storage location, there's no way to edit this representation with any kind of updated contextual information.  How do you assign relevance or urgency to a desktop icon?  You can rename it, or drag it to a different, "I remember that this corner of my Desktop is urgent" part of your screen, but that's it.

In short, there are limitations on the news feeds and data organization that we encounter on a daily basis.  And that's why we turn to third-party developers to help us visualize this data and add context to our actions.  More than that, data visualizations are just downright cool -- why scan an RSS feed for CNN, for example, when you can have the news drop down onto a map based on its source?  Why use Google calendar when you can pretty up your desktop with a slick, visualized clock/scheduling utility?

While finding downloadable data visualizations can be tough, we've scrounged up a batch of five freeware tools to help you add more relevance, functionality, and beauty to your desktop environment.  Click the link to get started!

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Posted 02/02/09 at 02:07:39 PM by Andy Salisbury

It looks like Facebook is finally planning to capitalize on all that precious information that its 150 million users put on their profiles by creating one of the world’s largest market research databases.

“I had tons of people saying 'this could be so incredible for our business'. It takes a very long time to do a focus group, and businesses often don't have the luxury of time. I think they liked the instant responses,” stated Randi Zuckerberg, Mark’s sister and Facebook’s global markets director, regarding the possible monetization of the social networking site.

Some experts say that this move comes in the wake of a double whammy of economic troubles brought on by their failing advertising revenue and the ever-growing cost of electronic data storage.

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