More stories from Guest Column

Google Compute Engine vs. Amazon EC2

When Google launched its EC2 rival, Google Compute Engine, last June, it set some high expectations. Sebastian Standil’s team at Scalr put the cloud infrastructure service through its paces — and were pleasantly surprised at what they found. Read more »

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photo: Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com

The digital age has made possible many of the human-technology interactions that once were the stuff of science fiction. But at what cost? UX designers must be aware of and accountable for the human impact of their work. Read more »

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Online security is big business, and is only increasing as private data moves to the public cloud. So while it’s a tough market to break into, there are also great opportunities for focused startups. Read more »

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Sumo Westlers Compete In Bejing For First Time In 30 Years
photo: Getty Images

Nothing strikes fear in a business like having the world’s largest e-tailer and cloud provider decide to take you on. But, according to Chris Potter, of Screenlight, you can not only push back — you can succeed, if you follow a couple of rules. Read more »

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As commerce increasingly shifts online, why isn’t Facebook a more attractive option? Philip Rooke, of Spreadshirt, says Facebook’s ecommerce experience is unfriendly to consumers and companies. Read more »

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Many observers have suggested that Pinterest bought the recipe site for its content. Not so, says Eric Fader of Ignited, who argues that the secret sauce is Punchfork’s technology and what it will allow Pinterest to do. Read more »

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photo: discpicture/Shutterstock.com

As we continue the transition to digital, media companies will have more precise and powerful tools to measure success. David Justus, of contentcurrents.com, says Cost Per Hour will be a pivotal metric, both for consumers and content producers. Read more »

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photo: Alex Garaev/Shutterstock.com

To hear Cisco tell it, the world is quickly running out of wireless spectrum. Tim Farrar, of TMF associates, says a look at the numbers shows that Cisco first overstated them, then revised them, and is now overstating them again. Read more »

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photo: Anettphoto/Shutterstock.com

For many, startups embody the ideals of passion, innovation and agility that can get lost in mature businesses. But John Maeda, president of RISD, says there is also plenty to admire in “end-ups.” Read more »

Kim Dotcom THR3

Alleged pirate Kim Dotcom’s latest venture, Mega, tackles cloud storage. Whatever Dotcom’s motives, Andy Manoske, of GGV Capital, says his startup is bringing a much-needed upgrade to security standards for the cloud storage business. Read more »

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There are very few truly new ideas — the key to making a product stand out is better execution. Niniane Wang, who led engineering teams at Google and Microsoft, offers some suggestions to software developers. Read more »

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Yes, gamification is trendy and overhyped, but that doesn’t mean it’s always ineffective. Gabe Zicherman, author of an upcoming book on the subject, looks at a few areas where companies are using gamification to find new efficiencies. Read more »

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photo: bluefish/Shutterstock.com

Facebook jumped into an already crowded VoIP market with the update of its Messenger app last week. Robert Gaal, of Karma, says the company’s scale ultimately will allow it to kill off the phone. Read more »

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photo: John Wollwerth/Shutterstock.com

Despite the inexorable move to the cloud, some companies cling to the idea that the risks outweigh the benefits. Dave Girouard, former President of Enterprise for Google, argues that the logic these skeptics use is, well, “insane.” Read more »

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photo: Dave Clark Digital Photo/Shutterstock.com

There’s never been more video content to watch, or more ways of to watch it. That, says Jeremy Toeman, of Dijit Media, a big problem. In making TV infinite, we’ve lost its most potent benefit: escapism. Read more »

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photo: fotohunter/Shutterstock.com

Without needing to snoop, your cloud provider has access to crucial data about your business. Allan Leinwand, of ServiceNow, says that’s why you may need a Chinese Wall between you and your cloud provider. Read more »

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photo: Pebble

With advances in sensors and wireless, the age of wearable tech is swiftly approaching. Christian Lindholm, of design firm Koru, explains the trends his firm is tracking. Read more »

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photo: Vlue/Shutterstock.com

As consumers feast on even more video across multiple devices, the advent of Ultra HD – which has four times the picture quality of HD – will simply choke bandwidth. Sean McCarthy, of Motorola Mobility, says its future depends on a smarter, slimmer codec. Read more »

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photo: Felix Mizioznikov/Shutterstock.com

Until now, the mobile revolution has been about squeezing the desktop internet onto portable devices. Entrepreneur Edward Aten says the real revolution for smartphones is about fulfilling a whole new set of needs that people have in their daily lives. Read more »

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photo: ollyy/Shutterstock.com

Huge and expensive patent battles aren’t going away anytime soon– in fact, they’re likely to continue to pick up steam this year. Efrat Kasznik, of Foresight Valuation Group, lays out some of the intellectual property battlegrounds of tomorrow. Read more »

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photo: Andrey Titarenko/Shutterstock.com

The conventional wisdom is that we have a radio spectrum shortage. That’s not the case, according to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. What we need is a much more efficient way to allocate what we have, and that includes a plan for shared use. Read more »

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photo: Sony Pictures Digital, Inc.

Every VC firm has its own way of evaluating potential investments. Remmy Oxley, an anonymous VC, says that Moneyball-style methods are the next step, and reveals his firm’s algorithm for screening candidates. Read more »

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photo: Michaelstockfoto/Shutterstock.com

It’s been a decade since MVNOs first challenged major wireless carriers, and now they account for more than 10 percent of mobile users. Telecom veteran Whitey Bluestein says the latest crop of MVNOs are poised to trigger a whole new round of disruption. Read more »

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