I've returned from a nice vacation in Paris, during which I didn't do any writing or editing. So thanks for putting up with no new articles for the past week or so.
But the world did continue to turn while I was away. So here are a few things that you also might have missed.
By the way, our regular contributor, Matt Smollinger, has gotten himself a full-time gig, so will be posting less frequently. So if you know your stuff about cloud computing or tablets and want to share it with SmallCloudBuilder readers, let me know. You won't get rich writing for SCB, but you will get paid.
First off, you know that Microsoft bought Skype, right?
Microsoft Corp and Skype Global S.à r.l today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Skype, the leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.
The other big cloud news this week came from Google's I/O 2011. First was Google's announcement of commercially available Chrome notebooks, with the first ones coming from Samsung and Acer in June.
Chromebooks will be available online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. More countries will follow in the coming months. In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available from Amazon and Best Buy and internationally from leading retailers.
Even with dedicated IT departments, businesses and schools struggle with the same complex, costly and insecure computers as the rest of us. To address this, we’re also announcing Chromebooks for Business and Education. This service from Google includes Chromebooks and a cloud management console to remotely administer and manage users, devices, applications and policies. Also included is enterprise-level support, device warranties and replacements as well as regular hardware refreshes. Monthly subscriptions will start at $28/user for businesses and $20/user for schools.
Other Google news included announcements of Google's response to Amazon's Cloud Player, Music Beta by Google and movie rentals from the Android Market. The bigger Android news was a tweak for Honeycomb with the release of Android 3.1 and the next Android major version, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. ICS's goal is the unification of the now badly-fragmented Android OS into a single version supporting phones, tablets and whatever other devices people can dream up.
With bombshells like those above, any other news seemed to be overshadowed this week. But other news there was including these items.
LaCie announced a fully-encrypted Android app for its Wuala cloud storage service.
Users with an Android-powered device can now access their personal files on the go, share them with friends and colleagues, and upload files immediately. Aimed at users who need secure mobile applications, the app performs file encryption directly on the phone – ensuring data is secure before it leaves the device... Unlike other online storage services or mobile apps, Wuala uses client-side encryption. All files are encrypted directly on the device itself, ensuring that user data is always secure.
PowerCloud Systems announced a cloud-based platform for deploying and managing custom Wi-Fi hotspot solutions.
CloudCommand Hotspot Edition is the first cloud-based platform specifically designed to rapidly deploy and manage custom Wi-Fi hotspot solutions. This new offering dramatically reduces the cost and complexity of providing Wi-Fi guest access for a wide range of businesses, enabling them to meet the surging Wi-Fi demand of mobile users.
D-Link announced two more cloud-managed wireless products powered by PowerCloud Systems' CloudCommand at the Las Vegas Interop show this week.
The D-Link DAP-3525 AirPremier N Dual Band Exterior PoE Access Point powered by CloudCommand, D-Link Insight, and D-Link DIR-605 Fuzion Broadband Aggregation Router leverage Cloud-based automation for remote configuration and monitoring, resiliency, load balancing, and security management that can be outsourced or handled internally, allowing businesses with limited IT resources and budgets to improve the uptime and cost-effectiveness of their networks.
PowerCloud Systems got two new design wins with ZyXEL's announcement of its NWA1100N-CE access point and Amer Networks' announcement of its WAP223NC Access Point for the education market.
ZyXEL Communications today announced its first product, the NWA110N-CE, in a series of CloudEnabled(TM) Wi-Fi solutions for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). ZyXEL'S NWA1100N-CE has integrated business hardware features, including multi-operation modes, Power-over-Ethernet support and multiple SSIDs, with a convenient cloud-based management user interface.
Amer Networks today announces the launch of the first cloud-managed Wi-Fi solution designed specifically to meet the connectivity, budgetary, and ease-of-use needs of the education market. Amer's Wi-Fi solution, the WAP223NC Access Point and Managed Software, empowers school districts and individual campuses to quickly deploy and easily manage robust 802.11n wireless environments that provide enterprise-class functionality but cost only a fraction of traditional enterprise solutions.
