Tag Archives: Amazon Cloud

Computers

Amazon Cloud is great, but not for business

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Amazon added a new element to its Cloud Drive service this week that expands it usefulness. The new Cloud Drive Sync app keeps files in sync across different devices and platforms, and pits Amazon Cloud Drive head-to-head against rivals such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple. However, businesses should steer clear of Amazon Cloud Drive.

The Amazon Cloud Drive Sync app is available for Windows or Mac OS X. Similar to other cloud file syncing tools, the app places a folder on your PC. Any files saved to the designated folder are automatically synced to Amazon Cloud Drive, and instantly available from any device that can access Amazon Cloud.

By default, the local Amazon Cloud Drive folder created on a Windows or Mac OS X PC includes sub-folders for Documents, Pictures, and Videos. Amazon doesn’t offer a very consistent experience across platforms, though.

The Kindle Fire stores and accesses the data through separate tabs of the mobile OS: Docs, Photos, Videos, and Music. It can get a little confusing because a JPG file stored in the Documents sub-folder on a Windows or Mac OS X PC ends up in Photos on the Kindle Fire, while a video clip stored under Documents will be found in Videos. It makes sense, logically, but may throw people off because the files are not located in the same place from device to device.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Computers

New security tool serves Amazon Cloud users

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For many IT managers, moving your company’s backbone to the cloud brings a certain sense of freedom. However, the task of caring for and protecting your assets remains. After all, the operative word in “virtual server” is “server”; virtual or not, it’s still a fully functioning server from an operational sense, carrying the same risks and vulnerabilities inherent in physical servers. You’ll need vulnerability management tools to ensure those servers are secure.

To that end, Qualys announced this week that QualysGuard—its cloud-based suite of security and compliance tools—now works with Amazon’s popular cloud services.

The rate at which new vulnerabilities are discovered is staggering. An estimate from 2010 put the figure at two per second. That may be on the extreme high end, but the point is that securing a server—virtual or physical—is a fluid, constantly changing process. You have to monitor regularly to determine which vulnerabilities your servers are exposed to, what the potential impact is, and what you can do to eliminate or mitigate the risk.

The new QualysGuard connector uses Amazon APIs to connect with virtual servers in the Amazon cloud. Businesses that use Amazon EC2 or VPC cloud services can use QualysGuard to conduct automated scans of virtual server assets, and generate reports to help IT admins address potential risks.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Automobiles

Report: Amazon looking to bring Kindle to your next car?

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By Zach Bowman

Kindle Buick

Filed under: Maybe so. The online retailer and digital media monolith recently announced the Amazon Cloud Player, an application for Ford Sync that allows users to stream media from their Amazon Cloud account directly to a Ford vehicle. This foray into automotive technology got the minds at Gigaom.com thinking about what could be next for Amazon. As Kevin Fitchard writes, the logical step is to make audio versions of your Kindle library selections available in your car. As he points out, Amazon has already laid the groundwork for such a move.

Amazon pulled the sheets back on Whispersync for Voice last year. The tech pairs ebooks with an Audible book for a small extra fee, allowing users to either read along with a narrator or switch between audio and text versions on command. Fitchard says it wouldn’t be some great leap to apply the same principles to a car, where voice recognition software would allow users to pause or select chapters without ever taking their eyes off of the road.

It all sounds just fine to us, but Amazon hasn’t said a thing about such a move. Still, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the company come down this road in the near future just the same.

Amazon looking to bring Kindle to your next car? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog