SKYWRITING: Your Internet Through Our Eyes http://blog.skywaywest.com The Skyway West Blog Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:48:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Skyway Recommended June 10th to 16th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-june-10th-to-16th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skyway-recommended-june-10th-to-16th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-june-10th-to-16th/#comments Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:48:57 +0000 Mike http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2413 Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want [...]]]> Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…

The Guardian | Project Loon: Google plans balloon network to extend internet reach

Mobile phone users could receive signals from balloons floating in the stratosphere if a project launched by Google this week succeeds. Google launched 30 test balloons in New Zealand to test the possibility of having a global network of balloons floating 12 miles above Earth provide internet access and mobile phone signals. Read More…

The Guardian | GCHQ in Britain intercepted foreign politicians’ communications at G20 summits

Foreign politicians and officials who took part in two G20 summit meetings in London in 2009 had their computers monitored and their phone calls intercepted on the instructions of their British government hosts, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Some delegates were tricked into using internet cafes which had been set up by British intelligence agencies to read their email traffic. Read More…

The Next Web | Woz talks iOS 7 and PRISM in an off the cuff airport interview

Steve Wozniak, a technology icon for his work at Apple, is an elder statesman in the industry; he’s a person whose opinion carries measurable weight. Recently, in an airport, the fine folks of FayerWayercaught up with Woz to talk over iOS 7′s new features, and the NSA’s PRISM program. Watch the Video…

GigaOm | 

There’s no official announcement as yet, but it’s finally here. On Friday, Microsoft unveiled a version of its Office productivity suite for iOS devices. Read More…

The Next Web | iOS 7 and the evolution of the information appliance

Apple’s keynote presentation at WWDC Monday clearly answered the question of how Jony Ive’s influence would be felt in the design and, more importantly, function of iOS. It’s as if Ive imagined the OS as a physical computer made up of sliding panes of frosted glass, with surfaces activated by touch and color. You slide those panes of glass around to access various functions and, as you do, they interact to provide context and a sense of place. Then, he took that and translated it to software. Read More…

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-june-10th-to-16th/feed/ 0 Get Ready for Next Generation Wi-Fi http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/get-ready-for-next-generation-wi-fi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=get-ready-for-next-generation-wi-fi http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/get-ready-for-next-generation-wi-fi/#comments Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:12:54 +0000 Chris Miles http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2403

Invitation to Wings-N-Wi-Fi  3 – 5 pm June 19

Are you ready for the day when your office is bursting with smart phones and tablets sharing your office’s 1000 Mbps Wi-Fi network?

Although Skyway West’s focus is Internet access, we are following Wi-Fi closely because it parallels our business, and growing Wi-Fi demands [...]]]>

Invitation to Wings-N-Wi-Fi  3 – 5 pm June 19

Are you ready for the day when your office is bursting with smart phones and tablets sharing your office’s 1000 Mbps Wi-Fi network?

Although Skyway West’s focus is Internet access, we are following Wi-Fi closely because it parallels our business, and growing Wi-Fi demands are causing businesses to increase Internet bandwidth requirements.

By 2014, 90% of us will allow our staff to “bring your own device” to work and all these devices bring security and management headaches. Already, wireless networks designed to accommodate one device per user (typically a laptop) are now asked to satisfy the demands of nearly 3.5 devices per mobile worker. 1000 Mbps Internet connections will soon be standard instead of today’s 100 Mbps or yesterday’s 10 Mbps. We’re preparing for this transition. Are you?

Jumpstart your readiness for this new reality by accepting our invitation to a presentation by Meru Networks  on the new 1000 Mbps Wi-Fi (802.11ac) networks.

Meru is one of several tech industry leaders we’re proud to partner with. They offer a unique solution to assist businesses in managing networks, making it easy to identify, manage and prioritize each device separately. Their virtualized network architecture makes multiple access points appear to your users as one.

We will also be offering information on the latest trends in wireline bandwidth such as 1000 Mbps Internet access.

Please register  and join us for complementary chicken Wings and Wi-Fi

When: June 19 2013
Time: 3 – 5 pm
Where: Hog Shack Restaurant , 3900 Bayview Street, Richmond, BC V7E 0A4

 

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/get-ready-for-next-generation-wi-fi/feed/ 0 How ADSL achieves faster throughput with the Pair Gain System (PGS) http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/how-adsl-achieves-faster-throughput-with-the-pair-gain-system-pgs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-adsl-achieves-faster-throughput-with-the-pair-gain-system-pgs http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/how-adsl-achieves-faster-throughput-with-the-pair-gain-system-pgs/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:12:04 +0000 Wes http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2369 Starting approximately six months ago Skyway West has been allowed to resell ADSL (DSL) services over 6 Mb to our business customers. At that time we were capped at 15 Mb and then, two months ago 25 Mb came available (location depending). Before these higher speeds opened up to us Telus made some significant changes [...]]]> Starting approximately six months ago Skyway West has been allowed to resell ADSL (DSL) services over 6 Mb to our business customers. At that time we were capped at 15 Mb and then, two months ago 25 Mb came available (location depending). Before these higher speeds opened up to us Telus made some significant changes to how they would allow these speeds to be sold. The biggest of these changes was that ADSL service speeds over 6 Mb would be sold as PGS (Pair Gains System), services. For this reason I thought you might be interested in what PGS is and does. Before doing so however I think it would be prudent to look at how Skyway delivered ADSL prior to the addition of PGS on the higher speed services.

On a standard ADSL line you have three basic elements: The Telus port, the ADSL router at the customer end and the cable in between (granted there is other equipment in the mix but for our purposes here they need not be mentioned). So let’s say you send a request to a search engine to look for the best pricing of your favorite widget. The packet information is sent from your computer to your ADSL router, converted into an electrical signal, fed over a twisted pair copper cable, received by the Telus port, converted back into data and sent to the Internet. When the server hosting the search engine site receives your request they reply back with the details you asked for and the process just described is reversed until the data reaches you. That’s standard ADSL.

In the case of 15 and 25 Mb services the above scenario still essentially describes what happens. Data is sent over the twisted pair, received and sent back. There is one difference though, and apparently it makes all the difference. Devices called “multiplexers” have been added to the system. Multiplexers take the data and create multiple connections for that data to pass, allowing more data to flow at the same time and at the same speed. So effectively, instead of making the data pipe bigger, they have just made more pipes available. You can sort of think of it as a bonding of services without the physical requirement and expense that bonding needs to achieve faster speeds. Despite the speed increases, the one thing that hasn’t changed is ADSL performance is still dependent on location. The closer you are to a central office the better the speed you can expect to get over your Internet service.

And there you have it. I hope you found this little introduction to PGS interesting and informative. If you want to read more on the subject you can Google “Pair Gain System” and/or have a look at the Wikipedia article below.

Wikipedia article: Pair Gain System

Got a question or an idea for a topic you would like to see covered in one of my upcoming blogs? Write to support@skywaywest.com and sound off. I’ll do what I can to address your questions or concerns either personally in a reply email or on the blog. Until next month, take care.

–Wes

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/how-adsl-achieves-faster-throughput-with-the-pair-gain-system-pgs/feed/ 0 Skyway Recommended June 3rd to June 9th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-june-3rd-to-june-9th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skyway-recommended-june-3rd-to-june-9th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-june-3rd-to-june-9th/#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:08:43 +0000 Mike http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2394 Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want [...]]]> Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…

IT World Canada (Infographic) | The High Cost of BYOD

Mobile Security is considered Low, and Hacker Interest High. You be the judge…

Quartz | What Amazon’s push into online groceries is really about

Amazon is making a move into the online grocery business, offering delivery service to the Los Angeles area as early as this week, according to a Reuters report. Dubbed AmazonFresh, the service could be available in 20 other urban areas, including some outside the US, by next year. Read More…

IT World Canada | Toronto DNS provider recovering from DDoS attack

This is why every business must have DNS redundancy: A Toronto domain name management provider is recovering from a nasty distributed denial of service attack that hit DNS providers in at least three countries earlier this week. Read More…

IT World Canada | Ottawa nixes Telus-Mobilicity deal

The Harper government has refused to allow incumbent carriers to get hold of the wireless spectrum of new entrant carriers before a five year ban runs out next year, refusing to approve Telus Corp.’s purchase of struggling startup Mobilicity. Read More…

The Atlantic Wire | NSA Spying Goes Way Beyond Verizon

The National Security Agency’s warrant for metadata on every single Verizon call for three months is jaw-dropping in its scope. Except, well, the NSA’s surveillance of our communications is most likely much, much bigger than that. Technology has made it possible for the American government to spy on citizens to an extent East Germany could only dream of. Basically everything we say that can be traced digitally is being collected by the NSA. We’re supposed to trust that our government will be much better behaved, but they’re not, and the White House almost admits it. That doesn’t mean they’re admitting everything. Read More…

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-june-3rd-to-june-9th/feed/ 0 Skyway Recommended May 27th to June 2nd http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-may-27th-to-june-2nd/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skyway-recommended-may-27th-to-june-2nd http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-may-27th-to-june-2nd/#comments Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:46:47 +0000 Mike http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2383 Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want [...]]]> Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…

Huffington Post | Obama Meeting with Chinese to Focus on Hacking/Cyber Security

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will be looking for signs from China’s leader at their upcoming meeting that Beijing is ready to address its reported high-tech spying, which the White House sees as a top threat to the U.S. economy and national security. Read More…

IT World Canada | Rogers again challenges Ottawa with Videotron deal

The country’s biggest wireless carrier has again poked its finger in the eye of the federal government by signing another option deal to buy spectrum from a new entrant carrier before a ban is lifted. Read More…

Business in Vancouver | New rules for telecoms: roaming caps and two-year contracts

New rules for mobile phone carriers might not have much of an impact on Telus (TSX:T), which has already implemented some of the new guidelines, but it could have a positive impact on a local company that was born out of high roaming charges. Read More…

Quartz | A typical Briton will write more than Charles Dickens—in text messages alone

The average mobile phone user in the UK will text as many as 7.3 million words in his or her lifetime, according to a study by MobileInsurance.co.uk. With novels typically clocking in at about 80,000 words, that makes more than 90 literary tomes for each texting Brit. (The 15 novels of Charles Dickens clock in at a relatively concise 4 million words.) Read More…

Huffington Post Tech Blog (Tom Green) | Did Steve Jobs Ruin the World?

Steve Jobs is considered an amazing genius and made billions of dollars. Sure we overlook that he didn’t pay his share of taxes and didn’t believe in charity. But other than these occasional rumblings of dissent he is pretty much held in high esteem. We celebrate him because he invented incredible computers and phones to interact with the Internet and supposedly fix our mundane lives. And now we are addicted to these machines with most people under the age of twenty hardly remembering what the world was like without them. Read More…

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/06/skyway-recommended-may-27th-to-june-2nd/feed/ 0 The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy: Buying an IP Phone System in 2013 http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/the-good-the-bad-and-the-buggy-buying-an-ip-phone-system-in-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-good-the-bad-and-the-buggy-buying-an-ip-phone-system-in-2013 http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/the-good-the-bad-and-the-buggy-buying-an-ip-phone-system-in-2013/#comments Thu, 30 May 2013 21:01:16 +0000 Robert http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2356 Buying a commercial phone system used to be incredibly complex… now it’s even harder. Part 1: A look back at the landscape of the last twenty years.

______________________________

The smartest computer service manager I’ve known — I’m talking uber brilliant — bought a big business phone system from me about 20 years ago. He seemed [...]]]> Buying a commercial phone system used to be incredibly complex… now it’s even harder. Part 1: A look back at the landscape of the last twenty years.

______________________________

The smartest computer service manager I’ve known — I’m talking uber brilliant — bought a big business phone system from me about 20 years ago. He seemed fairly satisfied with it: he bought two other systems through the years, so it must have been all good.

It absolutely floored me when, months after that first sale and out of the blue, he said to me, “choosing a phone system was the hardest business decision I ever made.”

Major epiphany…and it’s stayed with me…Here’s a guy, I KNOW he’s as sharp as a tack; he lives, breathes, eats and sleeps the latest computer tech every day, and yet he struggled to make a decision on telecom gear.

Turns out it’s pretty much the same for everybody. Don’t kick yourself for not understanding everything the first, second or even the third time… even the smallest commercial phone system can be incredibly complex.

Twenty years ago, 90% or more of the SMB market bought EKT (Electronic Key Telephone) systems.  In the eighties, pretty much every sizable BC real estate office had a TIE ULTRACOM 2260. In the nineties, and still today, in every second or third general office you’ll see a Nortel 616 OR 824… The numbers represented lines and phones… 616 – 6 lines, 16 phones.

DIAL TONE was an easy choice… BC TEL!  They merged with Telus in 1998, of course.

Back then, the choices for EXT systems in British Columbia included other big names: Panasonic, Toshiba, AT&T which became AVAYA, Nitsuko was very popular; they later merged with NEC.  Mitel was the big name in PBX’s.

Telecom gear by the established hardware makers above are (now) typically referred to as legacy systems.

But WAIT! There’s MORE! Not only today do you have ALL the choices offered by the “legacy” outfits, there’s the huge range of new IP hardware and new vendors, and let’s not forget the multiple service providers for DIAL TONE.

Recapping with my friend the Uber Tech Manager, he at least easily narrowed his initial choices down to 3 or 4 systems, with BC Tel as only option for DIAL TONE.  Yet it still was, “The hardest decision…”

Today, even attempting to narrow the field may cause a panic attack or similar trauma. Warning signs may include trying to book a root canal with your dentist the same day scheduled for a phone presentation.

Next post, I’ll cover how the three general categories (Centex, EKT and PBX) of commercial SMB telephone systems have evolved into a dozen different architectures.

Robert McNulty

Director, Channel Sales, Skyway West

Email: rmcnulty@skywaywest.com

Personal Twitter: @SkywayWest_VoIP

 

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/the-good-the-bad-and-the-buggy-buying-an-ip-phone-system-in-2013/feed/ 0 Skyway Recommended May 20th to May 26th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-20th-to-may-26th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skyway-recommended-may-20th-to-may-26th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-20th-to-may-26th/#comments Mon, 27 May 2013 22:35:33 +0000 Mike http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2371 Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want [...]]]> Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…

IT World Canada  | ‘Bring your own anything,’ says Citrix

Citrix Systems is going mobile. The virtualization and cloud service infrastructure vendor laid out its vision for mobility and a “bring your own anything” world at its annual Synergy user conference on Wednesday, with a series of cloud-related product announcements. Read More…

Business in Vancouver | Rise in TV streaming on devices puts strain on Wi-Fi

The number of Canadians who cut the cable TV cord grew by 1% last year, many of them opting for Internet TV services like Netflix and video on demand, according to a recent Media Technology Monitor report. Canadian TV and Internet providers like Vancouver-based Telus (TSX:T) need not worry about protecting one side of their business (TV) from the other (Internet), however. Not even Netflix thinks that over-the-top (OTT) TV and film streaming will replace cable TV any time soon. A bigger concern for companies like Telus and Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX:SJR) is not competition for its TV subscription business but rather the strain that streaming to second-screen devices (tablets, smartphones and laptops) is placing on Wi-Fi. Read More…

Huffington Post Canada | Arrested Development Premiere May Account For More Than 5 Percent Of Netflix Bandwidth Usage

Between a traveling banana stand, a Seamless promotion that went viral and Tobias Fünke’s sizzle reel, Netflix has made the fourth season of “Arrested Development” the most highly anticipated original show ever to premiere on the media service. Read More…

Engadget | Amazon Announces ‘Kindle Worlds’ Platform for Fan Fiction, paying Royalties to Writers and Rights Holders

Amazon’s taken a number of steps to bring different types of content to the Kindle Store, and it’s now venturing into an area that has a long history with the internet: fan fiction. The company’s today announced Kindle Worlds, a new publishing platform that promises to pay writers royalties for stories inspired by established works. Read More…

 AdAge | Is a Yahoo-Owned Tumblr More Attractive to Brands?

Like a host of other brands, Yahoo has a millennial problem, and its acquisition of Tumblr could be a step toward fixing it. But will new ownership help Tumblr with one of its biggest problems — drawing major advertisers? Read More…

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-20th-to-may-26th/feed/ 0 Fibre coming to 2550 Boundary Road in Burnaby British Columbia http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/fibre-coming-to-2550-boundary-road-in-burnaby-british-columbia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fibre-coming-to-2550-boundary-road-in-burnaby-british-columbia http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/fibre-coming-to-2550-boundary-road-in-burnaby-british-columbia/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 23:23:47 +0000 Chris Miles http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2359 Skyway will soon be delivering a Symmetrical Full Duplex Fibre Internet service to 2550 Boundary Road in Burnaby BC.

Full Duplex Fibre is preferred by any business that requires Guaranteed speeds, the best technical solution and the highest level of support. We provide you a 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps Full Duplex Ethernet port and [...]]]> Skyway will soon be delivering a Symmetrical Full Duplex Fibre Internet service to 2550 Boundary Road in Burnaby BC.

Full Duplex Fibre is preferred by any business that requires Guaranteed speeds, the best technical solution and the highest level of support. We provide you a 10, 100 or 1000 Mbps Full Duplex Ethernet port and you choose from speeds ranging from 2 Mbps to 200 Mbps. Full Duplex Fibre is Symmetrical, uploading at the same speeds it downloads. For example, a 10 Mbps service can upload at 10 Mbps while downloading at 10 Mbps.

Fibre has the lowest latency, jitter and packet loss. It is perfect for sensitive applications like VoIP, Video Conferencing and Virtual Private Networks or when your requirements call for raw upload speed for off-site backups.

As well as Fibre, Skyway also offers a Business ADSL, High Speed Cable and Ethernet over Copper, throughout BC and Alberta.  Contact me anytime to find out what services and speeds are available at your location.

Chris Miles | 604-484-5257 | cmiles@skywaywest.com

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/fibre-coming-to-2550-boundary-road-in-burnaby-british-columbia/feed/ 0 Skyway Recommended May 13th to May 19th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-13th-to-may-19th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skyway-recommended-may-13th-to-may-19th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-13th-to-may-19th/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 20:34:29 +0000 Mike http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2347 Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want [...]]]> Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…

IT World Canada | Mobilicity strikes deal to be sold to Telus

Canada’s startup wireless companies, formed to fight incumbent carriers and bring more competition for customers, continues to be shaken following news that Mobilicity has struck a deal to be bought by Telus Corp. Read More…

AdAge | No Need to Dream of Interactive TV — It’s Already Here

The dream of interactive TV has been around for almost two decades. We’ve imagined a TV that allows us to transition seamlessly from watching a Yankees game to pulling up a music video on demand to ordering an advertiser’s product. But iTV as we conceived it remained elusive for the brightest of minds, even for the likes of Steve Jobs. Read More…

CNBC | Google Inks Deal With Sony, Universal for Streaming Music Service

Internet-search giant Google has signed licensing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to launch a subscription music service that would compete with fast-growing start-up Spotify, according to a report on Tuesday in technology blog The Verge. Read More…

The Globe and Mail | Anti-piracy firm targeting Canadians who download illegally

Massive lawsuits targeting people who illegally download copyrighted content are common in the U.S., where people have been stuck with hefty fines and out-of-court settlements. Now there’s an attempt to bring that to Canada. Read More…

GigaOm | Welcome to the new (and fast-growing) ecosystem of mobile business apps

Over the last few months, I’ve had several conversations about mobile business applications that remind me of early discussions and debates around SaaS a decade ago. When Emergence first invested in Salesforce.com in 2003, we heard all kinds of reasons why Software-as-a-Service wouldn’t work. Yet, cloud-based computing enabled a fundamental shift in software design, go-to-market strategies, and cost structure. Today SaaS companies are quickly coming to dominate the business application market. Read More…

]]> http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-13th-to-may-19th/feed/ 0 Skyway Recommended May 6th to May 12th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-6th-to-may-12th/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=skyway-recommended-may-6th-to-may-12th http://blog.skywaywest.com/2013/05/skyway-recommended-may-6th-to-may-12th/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 20:45:44 +0000 Mike http://blog.skywaywest.com/?p=2341 Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want [...]]]> Each Monday we’ll pass on links to articles we thought were well worth reading from the previous week, for those who live where we do (British Columbia, Canada), work like we do (high speed business internet), and think about things we do (internet trends, internet privacy, internet censorship, cutting-edge technology, etc.). If you don’t want to wait ’til Monday, we usually tweet and link to these as we come across them…

The Observer | 20 ways to keep your internet identity safe from hackers

Do you use the same password for all websites? Do you overshare on Facebook? If so, you’re a target for cybercriminals – whose computer scams are costing Britain £27bn a year. The Observer asked experts for their top tips to beat the fraudsters. Read More…

The Guardian | Shots fired from world’s first 3D-printed handgun

The world’s first gun made almost entirely by a 3D plastic printer has been successfully fired in Texas. The successful test of the plastic handgun, which was built by Defense Distributed using an $8,000 3D printer, came after a year of development. The company, which is run by 25-year-old Cody Wilson, now plans to publish the blueprints for the gun online. Read More…

The Atlantic Wire | TV’s Pay-Per-Channel Future Is Nigh

For the cord-cutters and cable-company haters out there eagerly awaiting the next era of television, in which you no longer have to pay your provider for a bundled package of junk you never watch, YouTube officially launched 14 of its rumored pay-to-subscribe channels on Friday. And, sure, the site that taught us to love free viral videos might not provide the best top-shelf content just yet, but this is the dream of à la carte Internet TV — or at least a shell of it. Read More…

GigaOm | Microsoft Q3 earnings: Windows wasn’t as bad as expected but it wasn’t good either

The biggest news out of Microsoft’s third quarter earnings call was that its flagship Windows business held up better than expected after reports of the demise of the PC market. But it still wasn’t perky. Once a big upgrade was factored in, Windows revenue was flat year over year — more sobering news for a company that built its fortunes providing operating system for PCs. Read More…

GigaOm | Skype video calls arrive in the browser with Outlook.com

Skype in the browser is finally arriving, but there’s a bit of a catch: The service is fully integrated with Microsoft’s Outlook.com email service. It’s a smart move by Microsoft to integrate the service, which will require a browser plug-in. Read More…

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