Computers and Technology Inside

Internet is one of the things that people and organizations cannot live without. Over the years there have been many notable efforts made to enhance the internet user experience. Days when web access was possible only via a desktop computer or laptop are long gone now and mobile web or browser-based internet access is all the rage. Statistics show that there are about five-point-nine billion mobile phone users globally, and that this number swells by the minute. As a consequence, mobile web development has become a craved technique across the world.

Mobile web development is the process of making websites accessible from small handheld devices that are already connected to the wireless or mobile networks. Smartphones, computer tablets and feature phones are just a few examples of these devices. Numerous websites seen today were made with the desktop or big screen internet user in mind. However, research shows that many web users are now hooked on mobile internet. Perhaps one of the main reasons why this is happening is the fact that most people prefer to buy the latest smartphones rather than a desktop or laptop device.

Hence Mobile web development is here to stay and will perhaps wipe away desktop web access in the near future. It is backed by the fact that most countries have high-speed 4G and 3G broadband/Wi-Fi internet networks or are making efforts to introduce them. Mobile web developers will probably have many fruitful years as the browser-based internet access thing evolves everywhere in the world. All the same their role is intricate because mobile devices have the following limitations.

-Inflexible navigation caused by the fact they lack something like a computer mouse.

-Multi-tasking is difficult because a user can only display one or limited windows at a time.

-Screen size for mobiles is small.

-Most devices lack support for important client-side scripts that allow websites to boost user experience such the JavaScript. They also lack the cookie storage function.

-Speed of internet service is slow on mobile gadgets.

-The phones have low battery power, memory and bandwidth.

Mobile web development is about finding solutions for the above problems. Several developers are extremely good at the task of designing mobile websites. They can be depended upon to create new websites from scratch or to change an existing site so that it can be well-suited for the portable internet-enabled handsets. The latter can be difficult and time-consuming than the former. A developer has to start with the implementation of mobile style sheets to adjust the CSS layout for mobile gadgets. They use the following three methods.

User initiated technique – This is all about letting users or clients decide when they want to view the mobile version of their sites. To help this, a programmer does two things. First, he must place a link that points to the mobile version site in the footer of the desktop site. Then he must put a link that points to the desktop site in the footer of the mobile version site. This gives users a chance to choose the site they want to view.

Server-side technique – To offer this method programmers have to detect the user agent string via a server-side language. In other words, a site senses a mobile device and redirects the user to a mobile sub domain. This method is ideal for enterprise websites

Client side technique – It is about sensing a mobile device on a client side using two types of style sheets. These include the screen media and handheld media style. The proper approach is selected depending on the age of a gadget. Older version gadgets tend to go well with the handheld media type but the implementation process is different.

Mobile web development process is broader and complicated. While some developers are working on Android apps for their client or business, others create websites that look and act like apps when viewed on mobile devices. If you are using a CMS such as Joomla or WordPress, you can use their mobile extension that will do a lot of the work for you. Even though you can do it yourself, it is highly recommended to hire a reputable developer.

Over the last several years, the push for energy conservation has extended to nearly every area of society and business that you can think of. This drive to produce more energy efficient devices, systems and processes is often a featured aspect of what many have referred to as, “the green movement”. It has been argued by a great number of individuals that pollution, hyperinflation, and dwindling resources are among the most crucial issues that we face today as a global society. Given that IT assets are fast becoming the life blood that drives modern business, and the current model (grid computing / networking) is expensive and inefficient, alternatives must be sought out. This is of course, where cloud computing comes into the picture.

Let’s envision a fairly large company with extensive IT resources, and a network of several hundred user machines. As you are no doubt already aware, most organizations have this type of setup (either on-site or off-site). You’re probably also clued into the fact that it’s common for these “user machines” to stay powered on most of the time, even when no work is being performed. Needless to say, when you have hundreds of machines continuously sucking down power without producing anything of value in return, you are wasting energy. This same line of thinking can perhaps also be applied to how the IT department manages energy efficiency for networking. These systems (networking) might also be utilizing power in wholly inefficient ways that some might even say are counterintuitive.

Cloud computing, an energy and networking solution
Arguably, the most groundbreaking facet of cloud computing in general is the fact that it is not merely a new type of IT infrastructure, computing, or networking; it is all three. In the old model, you absolutely must have separate systems for each individual process. For example, one system is used solely for networking, and does nothing else. On the computing side of things, each individual user terminal, or machine, is entirely dependent on its own internal resources for processing power, storage, and the like. Under the current model, an entire IT / business operation is essentially made up of individual components. What makes cloud computing such a groundbreaking concept is that it effectively combines these areas into one infrastructure.

For instance, in a cloud computing scenario, there are no more grossly overpowered individual machines, operating systems, or storage; these items are all requisitioned facets of “the cloud” now. Try to think of it this way; it’s like removing all the processing and storage components from the hundreds of machines in your office and transferring them to a centralized cloud. This cloud in turn performs just like the internal components of your self-contained machine.

Why cloud computing is considered to be energy efficient
Simply put, cloud computing could also be called “remote computing”. Cloud systems basically use networking to deliver computing resources to its users. As previously stated, this is in essence, merely the combining of resources into one entity. This not only affords us the opportunity to manage energy efficiency more effectively, it also gives users the opportunity to requisition more resources (like processing power) as needed. All individual machines / terminals can be setup to simply turn off when inactive for a length of time. However, the real reason that cloud computing is more efficient than its grid counterpart has to do with the way the energy is used centrally.

If you can imagine all computing resources being resigned to one central location, and then in turn distributed to individual nodes, it’s not hard to see how more efficient distribution is achieved; but what about servicing it? This is yet another one of the great facets of cloud computing, its ability increase the effectiveness of IT. Because cloud computing is so highly centralized, there is no need for IT personnel to make constant trips around their company to deal with issues. This is because all the individual “systems” or “machines” are virtualized; now IT workers can basically do their job without having to leave their department.

Green clouds
All of the aforementioned items make cloud computing the ideal candidate for those organizations who are looking to both upgrade their technology, abilities, assets, and perhaps even become aligned with the green movement. The theory and application of cloud technology has been proven to be useful and highly efficient, all that’s left if implementation.

The solution for your organization
Having said that, the biggest stumbling block facing the green cloud movement is a lack of knowledge and/or experience in cloud computing itself. That’s right; the only thing standing between increased technological potential and significantly reduced energy expenditures is perhaps a lack of qualified personnel. Luckily, this is easily remedied with cloud computing training and certification.

Not only are most e-learning programs for cloud computing certification affordable, they’re also one of the easier ways to familiarize an entire IT team with cloud technologies (as quickly as possible). Additionally, these programs are often designed by true experts in the field who really know how to teach the subject matter in order to facilitate true comprehension. A great number of businesses these days are increasingly turning toward various cloud computing foundation programs (which teach the basic fundamentals). If that’s not incentive enough to jump on the cloud bandwagon, you should also know that there are deep discounts available for group licenses (group rate discounts).