Cloud

Point-Counterpont. In the second of two posts about Google's cloud-connected operating system and Chromebook, Joe Wilcox argues that PC defenders are an unimaginative lot living in the past. He refutes Larry Seltzer's morning commentary: "I'll take Windows and a good browser over Chrome OS."

I'll be the first to admit that laptops running Chrome OS aren't for everyone. But they're for many more people than my colleague Larry Seltzer suggests. He argues that a Google OS-powered notebook is "defined not by what it can do but by what it does not do; there's nothing that a Chromebook can do that a Windows notebook running Chrome browser cannot." The same reasoning could easily apply to smartphones, tablets, televisions and other high-tech devices running an operating system and web browser. Yet consumers and businesses use these devices in droves. Context often defines what's good enough, and that's missing from most Chrome OS criticisms.

It's point-counterpoint time. In the first of two posts about Chrome OS and Chromebooks, Larry Seltzer argues that Google and its partners are putting "old win in new bottles" -- that Google's cloud-based OS and laptop concept isn't defined by what it can do but by what it can't. Joe Wilcox responds with "Chrome OS is only a failure to people living in the past."

The web as a platform is a really old idea, by tech standards. You really began to hear people talk about it seriously 15 years ago, although of course the tools were primitive then. It was no later than 1998 when I began to see products to implement this, including client systems that were "web-only." I recall terminals from the likes of Neoware and Wyse that were really Linux boxes with a browser user interface as the shell. The Java PC from Sun and IBM was a similar idea in that the client was dumb and manageable and all the software resided on the servers, although it used mainly Java apps. Yes, the web has changed and improved a whole lot since then, but so have client systems and the management of them. This is why the Chromebook is old wine in new bottles.

Is the waiting finally over, or is Sony making more promises? Today, the entertainment giant announced partial PlayStation Network restoration, after a 24-day self-inflicted outage. PSN is being restored in Europe and the United States and, at that, on a rolling basis. This evening, I downloaded the necessary PS3 firmware update necessary to access PSN only to be confronted by that nasty "PlayStation Network is undergoing maintenance" screen, now in dark gray instead of the previous grim green. However, before posting the service went live.

In a video message announcing PSN's return, Sony Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai says that PSN, Qriocity, and third-party services like Hulu and Netflix are being "restored in phases, and I'm pleased to say that the first phase has been launched in most regions of the world." He claims that Sony has been "working around the clock" to bring gaming and media services "back online."

There's pretty good chance that you are one of the millions of people who have a Facebook account. While the social network has an undeniably huge user base, there are few who would claim that there is not room for improvement. If you've ever wished for a way to customize the appearance of your Facebook account, or would like more control over the way the site works, assuming you're using  Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome or Greasemonkey, Better Facebook may be just what you have been looking for -- Internet Explorer users are left out in the cold, however.

Better Facebook is a browser extension that can be used to completely change the way Facebook looks and works. In all, there are more than 70 settings that can be applied in various combinations to personalize the social network to your liking. Anyone who has a fairly extensive list of friends will be all too aware that it does not take long for your Facebook news feed to run out of control. Better Facebook adds options such as tabbed news feeds and news filtering so you can concentrate on what is most important or interesting.

Not surprisingly, Dropbox's recent ToS changes have upset many users. In late April, I posted a poll asking people to describe their reaction to changes that would allow law enforcement access to some subscribers' Dropboxes. About 71 percent of respondents are unhappy with the changes.

The ToS revision was unexpected. Before the change, the service boasted that "Dropbox employees are unable to view user files." Now it's "Dropbox cooperates with United States law enforcement when it receives valid legal process, which may require Dropbox to provide the contents of your private Dropbox." Essentially, Dropbox strips off encryption when the cops come asking for access to specific user files -- or at least I should hope specific instead of broad fishing expeditions.

Move over Billboard. "The times they are a-changin'." Today Google launched a music chart for videos -- the YouTube 100 -- that empowers Jack and Jane Wannabe to stand tall with the likes of Lady Gaga or, gasp, Justin Bieber. The chart tracks "song popularity in user-generated and professional music videos," Chris LaRosa, Google Music product manager, explains in a blog post.

YouTube is still mostly about user-generated content, and opening information -- and possibilities -- is fundamentally in keeping with Google corporate philosophy. So it's very appropriate that Google's music chart should include user-generated videos alongside those from popular, commercial musicians.

There were enough leaks in Google's streaming music plans to sink Titanic. So it was no surprise that earlier today at Google I/O, the search and information giant launched a cloud locker for your tunes. Well, for the tunes of special invitees (I/O attendees for starters) or Motorola XOOM tablet owners (the music app is included with Android 3.1). It's a closed beta. You can't attend I/O now if not registered, but you could still buy XOOM to get beta access -- that's if your domicile is the United States. The beta's only open here.

Keeping with Google's mindless marketing approach to nomenclature -- with Android and Chrome being two of the few exceptions -- for now the service is called Music Beta by Google, presumably Google Music on release. If someone got paid to develop the brand, please tell me how to get such an easy cash-producing gig. If Music Beta by Google is the product name, seriously I want the brander's job. That said, I must concede Music Beta by Google does evoke a sense of exclusivity fitting with the invitee or XOOM "Honeycomb early adopter" status.

You are? Then why are you reading this? You should be hanging out at Microsoft's Windows Experts Community.

I dunno how long this thing has been around, but Microsoft blogger Paul Donnelly calls it a "new site." Donnelly describes Windows Experts Community as "a collection of online forums geared for advanced users, enthusiasts, experts and so on -- those that are doing fantastic and amazing things with their Windows PCs and other ecosystem devices. We're also rolling out a community-driven wiki where members can create and edit articles and explainers on how they've set-up their PCs, created scenarios, or established their own best practices."

Should I feel special? Today I got an invitation from Amazon offering "free, instant access" to "membership-only fashion destination" MyHabit.com. Are you a "valued Amazon.com customer," who received this invite, too?

I'm a sucker for good marketing but I'm a perpetual T-Shirt, shorts and sneakers wearer. Besides I'm short and chunky. I don't look good in designer anything. I do like Amazon's branding and marketing though. MyHabit.com is truly inspired branding. Every fashionista I know, including my 16 year-old daughter, is a clothes and fashion addict.

There will be many postmortems written this week about social media's role disseminating news that U.S. special forces killed terrorist Osama bin Laden. For Betanews readers, I'd like to start the process informally, by simply asking how you heard the news. Please answer in comments and take the poll below.

I also think the discussion may be cathartic for some of you. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that brought down the Twin Towers and destroyed part of the Pentagon were a national trauma. For many people, the death of bin Laden, architect of those attacks, is a moment of national jubilation -- of closure. The spontaneous crowds that gathered on Pennsylvania Ave. outside the White House or Ground Zero in New York overnight show the national euphoria and relief.

Today, Sony issued an official statement about the resumption of PlayStation Network services, starting soon. The company also revealed plans to compensate subscribers with some freebees as part of the "Welcome Back" program, which include 30 days free PlayStation Plus and Qriocity music streaming services. Sony will reveal further details about the freebees on a region-by-region basis.

I attempted to log into PSN early this afternoon Eastern Time, and the service was still down. However, instead of the immediate appearance of the "PlaySation is currently undergoing maintenance" screen, about 10 seconds passed first. That could be sign of nothing, but it's the most response I've seen from PSN in about 12 days.

The game-console area on the Endpoint spectrum is a place I rarely visit, but Sony's huge PlayStation Network outage misstep has finally caught my attention. What is this company thinking?

Letting the PlayStation Network go down for five days with no resolution in sight, or even indication when there might be one, is sorely trying the nerves of the 70 million PSN users.

Courtesy of our colleagues at Softwarecrew, on Wednesday we posted a story about Dropbox terms of services changes that came as a surprise, if for no other reason than the service's earlier assertions that employees couldn't access subscribers' files nor anyone not authorized by the user. Suddenly that's changed, with Dropbox stating it will open your stuff to law enforcement. I put a poll in the story, and we asked your reaction to the changes. The results are in, and you're not happy.

"This is why you can't trust cloud anything when it comes to data privacy," writes commenter LurkerLito. "If it goes to the cloud you need to encrypt it yourself with your own trusted encryption program. No matter how much people assure you that their stuff is only accessible by you because of their encryption, that is never really true unless you encrypt it with your own tools."

Early on Monday, Microsoft announced the availability of the full public beta of Office 365, Redmond's cloud-based enterprise productivity suite that puts Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, and Lync Online into a single subscription package.

It's been just about six months since Microsoft rolled out the first limited beta of Office 365, and now the company is releasing the public beta just about six months before the product's anticipated final launch.

In the "Back to the Future" movie series, cars can fly in 2015. Flying cars aren't likely in the immediate future, but they will go to the cloud. Today, Microsoft and Toyota announced a telematics deal connecting electric and hybrid vehicles to Azure services.

The first vehicles with the joint telematics solution will go on sale next year, with a global platform being available by 2015. During a joint presentation with Toyota, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer described the solution as "telematics in the cloud" and a "backend platform for a wide range of applications" delivered to Toyota vehicles.