Asia is slowly but surely showing great interest in social media, as demonstrated by the marked rise of Internet traffic in the region. Prior to its new Hong Kong office, Facebook has already opened offices in Singapore and India. Facebook is banned in mainland China, but its move to Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory, is an attempt to further tap Asia’s active online population and sophisticated digital marketing communities.

The company’s North America and Europe offices boast strong marketing relationships with major brands in their respective regions – over 80 of the top 100 advertisers in the US advertise on Facebook. That’s the exact thing that Facebook aims for Asia.

Even if China is, undoubtedly, a lucrative market, Blake Chandlee, Facebook’s VP and commercial director for emerging markets, explains that the company doesn’t have plans on entering mainland China and be aggressive about it right now. But at the same time, to accommodate larger markets, the site is available in all Chinese dialects. “For us that is the first step in any part of the world to make sure people are able to experience Facebook in a language they’re comfortable with,” Chandlee explains.

http://gulfnews.com/business/media-marketing/facebook-opens-hong-kong-office-to-boost-asia-presence-1.759751

Netflix, Google Docs, Windows Live, Flickr, Facebook, and MobileMe are only some of the popular cloud services of today; while, Hotmail, Amazon.com, and eBay are some of the cloud pioneers since the mid-1990s. So yes, despite aggressive advertising drives from companies, such as IBM, Microsoft, and Saleforce.com, “the cloud” that everyone’s talking about is actually nothing new. Previous monikers just thought of calling them in different, non-appealing names in the past, such as “application service provider,” “software as a service,” and “on-demand software.”

The cloud revolutionizes the way you handle everyday computing tasks, like surfing the Web, checking your email, and even writing documents. With the number of services that the cloud handles, you don’t need to use the exact, same computer to access and share documents and other files. It grants you the mobility that these times demand.

Cloud companies are also now selling their services as cheaper solutions to what would have cost you a lot back then. Small businesses, or even individuals, can now borrow space from cloud companies, backed by massive data farms, instead of spending for servers for hosting websites. It cuts the cost and reaps the same benefits – or even more.

Expect issues to arise as this technology grows. Security, for example, becomes a concern since, from controlling your own server, now you have to trust person X, with servers located in who-knows-where locations.

There’s little doubt that the cloud is ready to take on normal, everyday computing tasks. The question  then becomes “are you ready for the cloud?”

http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/09/technology/cloud/index.htm

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is considered as iPad’s first real challenger. The Galaxy runs on Google’s Android 2.2 operating system, which means that it also comes with an existing library of a whooping 100,000 apps. It’s sleek and sturdy with its 7.5 by 4.7 by 0.5 dimension. It’s much lighter than the iPad (13 ounces vs. 1.5 pounds). The glass front is a 7-inch multitouch. Its touch response is immediate and reliable. And the whole thing is said to be superfast and a delight to use.

On top of those, the Galaxy also sports a front- and rear- facing cameras with a flash, video, exposure controls, and special effects. This tablet can also play Flash videos online. (Take that, iPad!)

But Galaxy’s biggest drawback would probably its price. It sells for $600. With that money, you can already buy two netbooks, or four Kindles. Or perhaps, a 16gb iPad, with a larger screen, aluminum body, and better battery life. You can also get it for $400 if you’re willing to sign a two-year contract for a cellular service.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab presents itself as a potent alternative with its incredible speed and highly refined hardware. It just sucks that the Galaxy costs more than what it’s supposed to replace.

Source: NY Times

Virgin Galactic is already confident to take passengers to space starting next year, but is still reluctant to set a date. A trip outside the Earth will cost $200,000, but prices are likely to fall as the industry grows. Even this early, competition is already present. Space Adventures, which was able to send private citizens into space as early as 2001, already announced similar flights to Galactic’s for around $100,000. Experts estimate that in 10 years time, prices can drop to around $50,000.

With those astronomical price tags, what can you expect from the trip?

A mother ship will climb 50,000 feet before a separate aircraft detaches and accelerates three times the speed of sound. At that point, engines will shut off and you’ll be free to enjoy zero gravity and see the Earth from space. After four or five minutes, gravity will begin to drag the aircraft back down to the Earth. Everything will be done in less than an hour.

Last year, Galactic already received a $280 million worth of investment from Aabar, an Abu Dhabi-based global investment company. So, with companies aiming higher than the skies and big investors on board, it seems that we should all be ready to roam the universe.

Source: Time

In agreement with the plaintiffs, a New York judge ordered LimeWire to stop distributing its P2P file-sharing software, arguing that LimeWire highly encouraged copyright infringement. Judge Wood of U.S. District Court of Manhattan further explains that LimeWire “marketed itself to Napster users, who were known copyright infringers.”

LimeWire shutdown its service Wednesday, displaying a legal notice that reads: “This is an official notice that LimeWire is under a court ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software. Downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorization is illegal.”

LimeWire, however, clarifies that this doesn’t mean that the company has been permanently put out of business. LimeWire CEO George Searle explains that the injunction only applies to the LimeWire product.

The Recording Industry Association of America, their trade group, blames much of the music industry’s declining sales – a 12% drop in 2007 alone – on illegal file-sharing made possible by LimeWire’s technology. More than a dozen plaintiffs pursued the case against the company, which began four years ago, including Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin Records America, Inc., Artista Records, Capitol Records, and Warner Brothers Records, Inc.

While the injunction stops software distribution, the networks that the software tapped into – Gnutella and BitTorrent – remain active, and can be accessed through other software apps.

Source: CNN Money