Author: Rocco Penn

Amazon’s data center crash has created a small level of doubt in “the cloud” and the ability to serve tremendous amounts of data to sites like Reddit, Foursquare, and Hootsuite, but that was after Forrester completed their recent analysis of the future of the cloud market. In the study, they concluded that the market will jump nearly 6-fold in less than a decade from $40.7 billion in 2011 to $241 billion in 2020. Software as a Service (SaaS) is projected to hit $21.2 billion in 2011 and expand to $92.8 billion in the next 5 years. Many social networks, quick-data ports, and SaaS providers rely or plan…

There is little doubt that the self-perception of “Mac people” and “PC people” are often completely different, just as the way they look at their counterparts differ. Still, it’s surprising to see just how much difference there is in these perceptions. This graphic by our friends at Hunch breaks down the debate that has been raging for over a decade. Are you a Mac or a PC? Or neither? The debate will go on as long as both computer types dominate the marketplace. Click to enlarge. …

Few things say “geek cred” as loudly as invoking the Linux lifestyle. Those of us who are embedded in its use understand the inherent beauty within its complex nature, the warm and devastating force within its simplicity, and the sheer power that the open source movement has acquired since its casual launch in 1991. To celebrate the anniversary, the Linux Foundation has put together some material for us all to help look back at the last 20 years. Watch this video and then examine the infographic they designed – both are clever enough to carry the Linux badge. Speaking of badges, you can help commemorate…

Taking a page out of Steve Jobs’ playbook, new Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page has restructured upper management at Google to streamline the decision making process and make the individual departments more autonomous. This move, which is happening a week into his reign, marks a dramatic shift in the way Google does business. It matches the style that the Android and YouTube divisions have used for years. Both have been considered extremely successful. The LA Times says the move is designed to “try to restore the sense of urgency and innovation that was once the company’s calling card.”…

For centuries, the dorm room has been a venue where students sleep, study, and occasionally have some fun. They have often been the home of the latest and greatest tech, a venue for excellent discussions, and the final resting place of 59% of the world’s mini-refrigerators. The evolution of the techie dorm room started accelerating exponentially in the 1990′s as more gadgets became affordable by college students and their parents. Fast forward 20 years and there’s enough equipment in 1 dorm room to power NASA in the 60′s. This graphic by our friends at CourseHero gives us a visual glimpse into…

Make no mistake. Google doesn’t care about most of the things they patent. In a world of “defensive patenting,” Google’s recent bid to buy Nortel’s patent portfolio is simply designed to give them more bulk and ability to move forward with emerging products. Patent trolls have been emerging over the past couple of decades as a way of making money. They file patents, sit on them, and wait for a larger company to go about building whatever it is that they filed. After it reaches a point where they feel they can make money out of a settlement, they file a claim and attempt to get whatever money they can out…

$1.54. That’s how much people saved by downloading free Android app called Android.Walkinwat from unofficial venues rather than the real app, Walk and Text, from the Android market. Once downloaded and installed, the app redirects you to the actual app on the Android marketplace. Then, it sends an SMS message to all of your contacts: Hey,just downlaoded [sic] a pirated app off the internet, Walk and Text for Android. Im stupid and cheap, it costed only 1 buck. Dont steal like I did! As our friends over at HotHardware said, it’s Shameware. There are certain precautions people should take when downloading…

Despite selling out quickly and showing no signs of slowing, Apple released an ad that is geared towards expanding the brand and bringing a human touch to the technology. Everything about the ad is psychologically intended to promote the device as a lifestyle-changing element of daily existence. It’s brilliant. Is it necessary? No. The iPad 2 will sell what the iPad 2 will sell, which will likely break records over time, depending on how long it takes to get to the iPad 3. Still, it’s good to see the company continuing to press its domination in the tablet segment by attempting to go beyond the tech-oriented…

If you haven’t received an email from a Nigerian Prince, you either don’t check your email enough or you don’t have an email address at all. The ways that scammers operate to get information or cash from unsuspecting victims is humorous to some, but anyone who has been on the losing end would argue that it just isn’t funny. If it never worked, they wouldn’t keep trying. This graphic by our friends at Finally Fast breaks down some of the “cheese” that scammers use to pull people through their maze and out the other end with some or all of the money in their bank accounts gone. Those clever scammers are the…

Facebook. If you have an internet connection and a pulse there’s a good chance that you have an account. If you have an account, there’s a good chance that you haven’t made adjustments to your settings to protect your privacy, enhance your experience, or stay as secure as you want to be. It’s a minefield. Facebook has been under fire in the past for having a complicated interface when it comes to personal settings. Despite recent changes they’ve made to the UI, it’s still not very easy without a roadmap. Thanks to our friends at ZoneAlarm, we have just the ticket for you. This graphic gives you everything…