Google Wave

There has been a lot of buzz in recent months about Google Wave and the large array of team-based tasks that can be completed with it. Google Wave is basically a collection of online tools that allow the members of a team/group to work together collaboratively on documents. The tool is web-based which provides team members the freedom to be located anywhere in the world. All types of preferences can be established, however, at it’s most basic level, no matter which member of a team comes up with an idea, all team members can be required to sign off on the idea as a condition for moving to the next level of development. Google Wave is often used by team leaders. They often set up a document and then invite people into the project, giving them the ability to ask every team member to input ideas. It is a great way to stimulate discussion. Google Wave makes teamwork via the Internet a reality.

Wave is a term that is used often in the Google Wave system. A Wave is defined as a discussion that has several participants in it. Wave participants are invited into a project, or added by a Wave admin and are given permission to participate in the development of documents or in whatever collaborative effort is taking place. There is no limit to the number of participants that can be added to a Wave. One particular feature that makes Google Wave especially exciting is the option for new participants to playback any interactions that took place among the team before they actually joined the project.

Google Wave functions are in real-time and therefore any communication at all, can be seen instantly by other team members. This allows team members on the same project to work together on a document while holding a real-time discussion at the same time. There are no limitations on the quality of documents that users work with. Google Wave allows for rich text formatting, uploading photos, video uploads and the placement of maps in documents as well. All of this eliminates the need for email messages being sent to the group and eliminates a need for attachments in those emails.

Project managers, business owners and business planning departments can all benefit greatly from the features offered by Google Wave, as can companies that require the co-operation of multiple departments placed in different offices and cities. Often traditional businesses hesitate to adopt new technology and wait to see how things fair with other companies. Google Wave is one development in technology that definitely improves the way that things are done in the best of ways.

Dropbox Online Storage

Dropbox technology was developed by Dropbox Inc. Their online service allows people located anywhere in the world to store files and to sync data between their computer and the Dropbox servers, where the data is stored. Using the service is not difficult, users simply sign up for an account and then they are free to sync files as they need to. This can simply be either storing files from a single computer or syncing several computers with the data that they have stored on Dropbox.

In these days of widespread computer use, very few people use just a single computer all of the time. Most people have a computer that they use at work, one that they use at home and perhaps a mobile device as a laptop, iPhone or PDA. When this is the case, there is always an issue of trying to figure out how to share and access files and data between various devices. Flash drives and Bluetooth have helped somewhat in this arena, but as the world becomes more tech savvy, the demand for higher levels of flexibility and broader bandwidths of data transfer arises. The need for a central repository for files and data that can be accessed by all of your devices is very necessary. Dropbox solves this issue in a way that is easy and practical.

Since Dropbox is web-based, it can be used by computers operating on any platform. Therefore people running computers on Windows Operating System, Mac, Linux or even on an iPhone can take advantage of this service. Basically, once a file has been dropped into Dropbox, it is instantly available to be synced with any computer owned by the user. In addition to this, it can be either shared with other Dropbox users or it can be accessed via the Internet.

One of the first questions that arises when we talk about storing data online, is security. It is important for users to know that their files are safe, and that those files are for their eyes only. Dropbox has addressed this issue and have done an excellent job of ensuring that all files are securely uploaded and that they are accessed only by the correct parties.

Technically speaking, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is used to protect the transfer of data. This is the same technology that is used with shopping carts and online payment systems. Besides this, Dropbox has revision history. What this means in practical terms is that if a file is deleted either purposely or accidentally, it can be made available and recovered from any one of the other computers that are used on the account.

Dropbox offer a variety of packages to their users. Their initial package is free, but provides limited services. As with all businesses, the more features required by the user, the higher the related fees. They have an unlimited package, which is known and promoted as the ‘Pack Rat’. Check out dropbox.com to see this great new technology, and in the meantime, here is a video which provides a simple explanation on the Dropbox technology.

Light Peak Technology

Light Peak is the nickname, or codename for a new technology that will be used in the cables that we use to connect our electronic devices. Light Peak technology makes use of extremely high speed optical cables that will allow for the rapid transmittal of data between electronic devices. High bandwidth Light Peak cables will allow for extremely high speed file and data transfer at rapid speeds that we have not yet seen or experienced up to this point. If you compare Light Peak speeds to the file transfer speeds that the average cable these days allows, Light Peak technology is truly phenomenal.

The thing that makes Light Peak technology unique and of extreme interest to developers as a future technology, is the fact that it makes use of optical light technology. Optical technology makes use of light to transmit data rather than electricity which is what is used to using at the moment. The fact that data is transmitted using light rather than electricity eliminates the problem of electro-magnetic interference (EMI). EMI is responsible for much of the limitations in the speeds that we currently experience with the devices and cables that we currently use because of the EMI they emit. EMI causes a slow down in data transfer and puts a cap on how quickly data can be transferred between devices, and how far it can travel. Today’s cables have for the most part reached the maximum potential for speed and length. Light Peak technology does not create EMI and therefore has less issues with speed.

Light Peak technology is packed with potential for speed. As we further advance in technology, everyone is looking for faster and faster transmittal speeds. Light Peak It is capable of bandwidths of around 10 gigabytes per second. However it has the potential to reach around 100 gigabytes per second. Amazingly, at this speed you would be able to copy a full-length BluRay movie in as little as 30 seconds. Although it will be a while before we see Light Peak functioning at its fullest capacity, even the bandwidth that it will provide at launch will already begin to revolutionize the way that we do computing.

Intel is a major player in bringing about the rapid launch of Light Peak technology and making it available to the general public. If things go as currently planned, you should begin to see Light Peak technology offered on devices as soon as 2010. Another benefit of Light Peak technology is that it will be able to compliment other I/O technologies because it will allow everything to connect on one, single cable. Keep your open for this new level of cable that will soon be offered by Intel and other electronic device makers.

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