Keith Technologies Offline in Protest of SOPA/PIPA

Why Facebook Open-Sourced its Datacenter - An article that takes a look at the new open source initiative by Facebook. It's expressed as an attempt to compete with Google, who also engineers and manufactures their own servers. The difference between the two, is that Facebook has decided to publicize everything from designs to platforms, schematics to datacenter layouts. It may prove to be a boon for other companies to implement similar tactics.

Confused about what a Systems Administrator does? - The link above shows a plethora of the activities and jobs a general Systems Administrator may do--108 of them, to be exact. It ranges from installation of hardware to being an HVAC specialist.

Below are some of the top technology stories of the past month:

Google Challenges the US and World Trade Organization to combat Internet Censorship - Google has stepped up to the plate to explain the constraints that censorship is placing on American businesses and just how hard it is to do business in countries such as China, Turkey, Vietnam, and others that place censorship on the Internet.

Firefox add-on allows for passwords to be stolen when on a public network - A new Firefox add-on, named Firesheep, can be used to steal Facebook, e-mail, and Amazon login sessions, amongst others. The easy to use add-on allows anyone in a coffee shop with shared internet to snoop your Facebook messages, post to your Twitter feed, or buy some goods on Amazon.

The Beatles show up on Apple's iTunes and are welcomed by a resounding "yawn" - Apple touts an iTunes event that is leaked by the Wall Street Journal and effectively fizzles as a marketing move.

China effectively hijacks over 15% of all Internet usage for twenty minutes - For about 20 minutes in April, "The Great Firewall" of China, took over 15% of the Internet, exposing vulnerabilities in the underlying infrastructure of the World Wide Web.

Pictured: The First Internet Router[Flickr]

A couple of weeks ago, Google proposed an idea to "change search forever", is this what they've done, or are they simply making search messier and less convenient?

The idea of instant search through Google Instant seems like a great idea--it allows for the user to begin typing and see search results as they go. You might start with something like, "Golf" and find the next word to be "clubs" or "player" or "digest". Does this service go any further past the previous Google search, which allowed for suggestions, rather than automatic filling of search boxes.

Overall, the new feature isn't a revolutionary step forward or even so much as evolutionary--evolution requires a need to be solved--mostly, Google Instant is just a mediocre toy in the way of search. it doesn't cut time outside of the fact that the search results are already there. Google Instant may even go so far as to add distraction and confusion in the search process. The introduction of Google Instant also doesn't affect the searches that take place from within browser toolbars, address boxes, or dedicated search boxes.

Google Instant is available for Chrome 5 and newer, Firefox 3, Safari 5 and Internet Explorer 8. It will also be coming to mobile phones in a short while. To disable instant search, just click the link to the right of the Google search box.

Today we are very excited to announce the release of a new site for a client. Nickel Free Accessory approached us with an idea for a redesign of their website which they were successfully using to market themselves and sell various belts, accessories, and jewelry to a sizable percentage of the population that is allergic to the nickel content found in most metal products.

Together with the client, we worked to find a suitable image as well as implement a new logo and modernize their image as well as further their search engine optimization efforts.

What we did was analyze the content on their page and manage to break it down into four categories--Men's Belts, Women's Belts, Jewelry, and Nickel Test and Prevention kits. We implemented a system that allowed for Nickel-Free.com's products to each have a page with better descriptions and larger pictures. We also implemented the system to allow the staff at Nickel Free Accessory to update their site with new products on a regular basis to cut down on the cost of rolling out new products.

Overall, we want to thank them for the opportunity to make them another satisfied client of Keith Technologies, but most of all we're just happy that they're happy.

Social networking is an important tool for managing business relationships, as well as personal relationships. In a presentation from Harley-Davidson, they explained that they used to pay millions of dollars to public relations and marketing teams in order to get news of their products out to their loyal fans. They had to print up magazines for Harley Owners Group Members. Today, with the use of social networking, they have people who want to sign up to follow their brand on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter where they have a combined 950,000 members who voluntarily receive notices of new products, limited edition t-shirts, and events. All of this works two-fold, it brings in revenue in terms of sales, but it also makes the follower feel like they’re part of a special group and helps to grow brand-loyalty in a way the world has never seen before.

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