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The 2012 Prediction Show!

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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Yes indeed, we are taking another crack at predicting the future here on the Bella Buzz podcast.  Last January we put down our thoughts on the year 2011 and determined that we had been pretty accurate during our recent recap. Now we focus on what is ahead and hope to have the same prescience.

So without further ado, let’s get started.

1) The prominent selling feature for automobiles will become their level of internet connectivity.

It was a revelation to the automakers when they discovered that car buyers cared more about cup holders than they did the horsepower and fuel mileage rolling off the assembly plant lines.  We have reached another turning point in vehicle marketing as demonstrated by the incredible features built into the Ford Sync products.

When the next model year starts hitting the showrooms, auto shows, and prime time advertising slots, the focus will be on how well the vehicle is connected to the web.  We all have devices that provide GPS navigation, streaming content, and telephony, but rather than multiple devices why not have the car be a single device?

2) More consumer devices will be launching with social network connectivity

Along the same lines as the thinking about cars, we will find Consumer Electronics Show vendors demonstrating the value of connecting devices to the web.  Whether it be the refrigerator that maintains an inventory of items that need replenishment, the washer and dryer which is controlled remotely via smartphone, or the scale that incorporates peer pressure to help incentivize weight loss, we will see consumer products that incorporate the value of being connected.

One note regarding a topic that we have discussed before on the podcast. When we get to a fully connected world, we have to be even more vigilant about protecting the infrastructure that allows us to access the networks.  Any disruption in service becomes magnified exponentially as we rely on more connected devices.

3) By the end of the year we may be talking about the demise or sale of RIM / Blackberry

The company that once owned the corporate mobile space has tried to desperately to maintain marketshare, and is failing miserably.  Year long news coverage of the company and its products has sent RIM into a death spiral that may be impossible to pull out of. Whether it be a strange Co-CEO management structure or network outages or a bungled launch of the Playbook that saw the most important components of the Blackberry phone missing from the tablet, it was not a happy year for the company.

Version 2.0 has resolved the basic application problems of the Playbook, but stiff competition from the iPad and other Android devices will be hard to overcome.  The often overlooked functionality of these tablets is the built in ecosystem that they are connected to.  iTunes, Amazon and even Barnes & Noble allow a subsidized device to generate revenue from frictionless consuming.  It might take an acquisition from a company with an ecosystem to save RIM.  Best Buy?

4) An Internet giant will acquire an Internet provider and charge for access.

Will Google, Apple, or Facebook acquire an Internet service provider such as Comcast or AT&T as a way to control our connectivity to the web? There are already strategic relationships between these entities such as Apple and AT&T or Google and Verizon in wireless spectrum, which could be leveraged to advance their business interests.  Their business model would be some form of package deal that provides access and device preferences.

For this to come true, they would have to demonstrate that they are not going to infringe upon net neutrality rights.

5) The election year will elevate the discussion regarding proposed SOPA and PIPA legislation.

The 2011 legislative session almost saw the Stop Internet Piracy Act or its cousin the Protect IP Act slip through committee for enactment.  Due to a growing and vocal community of opponents, the calendar turned without approval.  That does not mean this legislation has gone away. The record and movie industries have put together a well funded coalition of supporters who might have intentions of stopping piracy, but lack a thorough understanding of how these bills would stifle technology innovation, destroy jobs, and in fact initiate more ways of causing damage to innocent people.

We are looking at clashing titans getting ready to do battle with the political machine right in the middle.  The 2012 election process will have to deal with this issue, and it may get worse for us before it gets better.

So …. what do you think?  Are you expecting something to happen during 2012 that we did not address?  We would love to have you leave a comment with your own predictions!

Happy New Year!

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Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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A Close Look at Your Business Web Site via Google Analytics

January 7, 2011 By 5 Comments
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As we turn the calendar over and start of the year of 2011, it’s always a good time to take a look at some of the basics and make sure that the foundation is solid for all of your future Internet efforts.  In that light, Desiree and Joe take a look at Google Analytics, but before that, we begin a new segment called  Weekly Tips.

Weekly Tip #1: Desiree was had a conversation last week with a high level business executive.  He said that when he sees anyone with an email address such as Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and most definitely AOL he stops taking them seriously.  His rationale is that it demonstrates a lack of sophistication and lack of business acumen.  Plus, it is so easy to set up an email address from your own domain, from a marketing perspective, it should be one of the first steps in corporate communications.

The biggest hurdle is usually familiarity with the email client that was set up when the account was first opened.  The applications can be set up to pull mail from virtually any mail server via the POP3 protocol, including the web based services like Gmail.  So no matter how many email addresses you have, you can have it all reside in one software system.

Also, if you insist on using a web based email client, then you can use Gmail to send and receive email from numerous accounts. Make sure that you set up your domain email address to forward to your Gmail account  set your reply addresses to the most appropriate one for that particular recipient.  Information about how to set that up can be found here.

Google Analytics Logo | The Bella Buzz.comMain Topic: It’s hard to imagine that we have gone through 64 episodes of The Bella Buzz podcast without discussing the use of Google Analytics.

We both find the information contained in this free online tool to be incredibly useful.  There is so much information available that it can give you a quick snapshot of what is happening on a web site, all the way down to granular data.  All of the information should be reviewed regularly, and actions taken if the data presents itself.

One of the first pieces of data that we look at is the Traffic Sources tab.  This is the information about where the traffic is coming from to the site broken down into three general categories: Search Engines, Referrals and Direct Traffic.

Other indicators might be something like Bounce Rate or the percentage that someone arrives at your site and immediately departs.  Since the information has great date range flexibility you can see for example if there are better or worse results from a new site design.  This is a measureable impact that can be derived from doing some deeper Analytics review.

One thing to keep in mind as the ability to track sources continues to change, currently the referral traffic that is coming from third party social apps such as Seesmic or Tweetdeck are placed in the Direct Traffic category and are not included in the Referral Traffic.  This means that the large increase we’ve seen from social networks generating traffic is even greater than it appears.   Here is a great article about Twitter traffic that refers to this very issue.

We discuss the ability of Analytics to set up and monitor goals. A goal might be visitors who complete a form on the site, or visit a page that is of high priority. By establishing the action that you want visitors to take and monitoring it, you can help craft better copy, better calls to action, even better site navigation.

Along the same front, ecommerce tracking can be included in Analytics and with the same account, an integration with the Adwords platform. With fine detail Analytics provides the measurements regarding the site’s ability to convert traffic into sales, the value of those transactions can be calculated and then with the Adwords integration can determine how profitable the advertising campaign is.

How much detail do you get into from your Google Analytics account?  The first of the year is a good time to give your account a good review and prioritize those areas that you believe could use some improvement.  Let us know what you like to look at and how it has been able to impact your overall business.

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Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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2011 Technology Predictions

January 1, 2011 By 7 Comments
2011 | The Bella Buzz

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2011 | The Bella BuzzRing in the New Year with our prediction show for 2011!  As a followup to last week’s look back at the predictions for technology in 2010, it’s time for Desiree and Joe to throw out some prognostications about topics we think we will be talking about throughout the year.

We invite you to share your own predictions in the comments.  Jot down a few ideas, listen to The Bella Buzz podcast in 2011, and in 12 months we’ll see how we all made out.

Without further ado, here they are:

1) Cloud computing will become even more powerful.

As expected, the Mac App Store will be launched on January 6, 2011. This form of distributing software has proven extremely successful on phones and tablet devices, so it’s only logical that a place for developers to sell their creations would work on the desktop.

Desiree explains an odd situation about accessing software from Microsoft upon becoming recognized as a Microsoft Partner, but the word going around is that they are also going to be looking at this form of distribution.

However, it’s not just getting your software from the cloud and doing away with the box and cd’s that we are talking about. We’re discussing the use of the cloud to actually run the software within the browser.  As an example, Quickbooks can now be fully functional in a web site instead of owning the software and loading it onto a hardrive.

Concurrently, the hardware that we are using can become very sleek since it will only handle the most critical computing requirements, allowing for extended battery life and drive speeds.  The announcement and beta testing of Chrome OS on various lightweight machines is pointed at this development.

2) Facebook will have numerous retail integrations.

Watch out eBay, Amazon, Buy.com and any other major online retail destinations, Facebook is coming!  With e-commerce solutions like Payvment ready to integrate into a Fan Page, the push is on to have a quick and easy way to convert individuals interacting with a brand into actual dollars.

Take a look at this page Grayce by Molly Sims.  Expect to see more and more merchandise for sale within the walls of the Facebook garden.  As an added bonus, by connecting with the Fan Page via the Like button, more discounts await.

3) There will be a growth of serious CyberCrime.

We never discuss the predictions in advance of the recording, and independently we both thought of this same, unfortunately distressing, expectation.

Circumstances of late seem to be pointing to the fact that there is a larger and larger element on the web who are willing to join in force for wreaking havoc.  The group that will go unnamed for fear of a simple Google Alert attracting the group to our discussion, and the ensuing retribution, has shown that they can bring even the largest players down.

The backlash over WikiLeaks, with threats for even more retribution, and even the announcement of hacking of user databases from Gawker Media give credence to the concern that we might be in for a bit of a bumpy ride.  It is up to every user to practice safe surfing habits in order to avoid getting caught up in the melee.

4) Many other social networks will appear.

Are they “Facebook light?”  The impact of social networking can be felt throughout our society, but in some cases a platform like Facebook can be too crowded, so requests for building niche sites has been pouring in.  Facebook Groups is a way to market to a particular set of people with common interests, but getting connected via other means could be upon us.

If the group has particular needs that cannot be supplied by a Facebook, such as security or privacy concerns, social networks catering to that niche will spring up.

5) Last but not least, by next Christmas web connected TV’s will reach critical mass in 2011.

We have started to see them come into the consumer electronics stores this past year, and even the Scales home is fortunate to have an Apple TV plugging into Netflix for the latest releases. Devices like the Roku box versus the Boxee Box versus Google TV are all devices that are trying to make their way into every living room.

The real challenge now is for the content producers to realize that by uncoupling their distribution from the current tiered packages of the large cable operators, they will actually be able to penetrate an audience better.  Good content will always win.  By eliminating the huge costs associated with the current models and focusing on the quality content that speaks directly to an audience, everyone has a better experience, from the advertisers to the consumers.

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Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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A Conversation about Our Upgrade to Windows 7 for a Happier New Business Year

January 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

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The first 2010 edition of The Bella Buzz Podcast of 2010 brings to light the computer operating system upgrades that both Desiree and Joe went through during the holiday break. Stemming from good advice accumulated over the years, reformatting the hard drive or conducting the manual process of updating the files and clearing the desk always makes for a fresh start to the new year. 
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This year, we both decided to upgrade to the new Windows 7 operating system as a next logical step during our holiday break. This also provides the opportunity to try out the Windows Office 2010 Online beta that is available which is free until October for anyone willing to be a guinea pig. (We can say it works very well.)

Desiree went through an upgrade from Vista to the 64-bit version of Windows, while Joe was jumping all the way from XP to the 32-bit version, which is simply a limitation of the software and hardware combination.

Both went through a full install process, in Desiree's case getting an entirely new hard drive that she installed into the computer case, while the installation process for an XP to 7 jump requires a complete formatting of the drive to complete. This can be a very scary process. The key is to make sure all of the important data has been backed up to an external drive, getting the system drive to a clean state, installing the operating system, and finally re-importing all Settings and Data.  All of the steps are clearly outlined in the accompanying documentation to Windows 7.

The real take away from our experience is that it CAN be done by anyone with a fair amount of know-how. (In Desiree's case, a screwdriver came in handy to take out the old drives and replace it with a new one.) Credit goes to the Microsoft team for making this a realistic process to successfully achieve.

NOTE: During the podcast we discuss the ability for Windows 7 to operate with a simultaneous Virtual XP mode. The reason as specified was to continue to use Quickbooks 2008.  Since the time of that recording I have been able to install and successfully use my version of Quickbooks within Windows 7.  The word from Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks, is that they do not "support" the version compatibility.

During this process, it was discovered that "it's not always what it seems".  Some of the challenges with the use of the computer in the past were blamed on the old operating system, when in fact it really was a result of putting numerous Add-Ons in the Firefox browser. These additional programs for the browser can have some great benefits and are written by some extraordinary coders. However, in various combinations and configurations it can greatly reduce the browsers reliability, and since an enormous amount of time is spent computing in the cloud, the speed of a browser can be a major factor in effectiveness.

If you are considering making this upgrade, we recommend that you pay attention to which version of Windows 7 is best for you amongst the Home, Professional and Ultimate editions.  They also have a nice three pack option which allows for upgrades to three machines with one license. 

Desiree gets into her use of Windows 7 new feature Home Group a little bit.  If you need to share files and printers among a group of computers using Windows 7, this option might be for you.

Please tell us about your experiences with upgrading to Windows 7. How did it go for you?

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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The Top Five Technology Stories of 2009

December 8, 2009 By 1 Comment

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During the month of December, it is appropriate to take a look back and a look forward. In this first part of our series, Desiree and Joe  talk about the five biggest technology news stories of 2009 that made a significant contribution to the technology map moving forward. We also discuss what they might mean as we move into 2010 in our next podcast.

This is in no particular order as per the importance of the topic.

1)  The rollout of Google Wave
Google_wave_logo
With much fanfare and hype, the developers at Google announced a new product that was going to be the "next generation of email!"  The technorati were in a ferver over getting one of the limited number of invites, some even looking to purchase invites on eBay.  Slowly but surely the invites were being distributed and people had a chance to get a look at what Google Wave was all about.

At this point Wave continues to be an enigma to even the most ardent supporters.  There is no question that it is still a work in progress so even something as simple as an immediate notification of a new Wave is missing. 

There are some applications that appear to be best use cases. For example, if there is a need for a collaborative environment where multiple people need to be passing information back and forth with a single final output. Desiree's nephew Kyle is attending The University of Illinois-Chicago and has determined that Wave can be beneficial in his study group, so we extend the invitation to him to appear on an edition of The Bella Buzz to give us a review of their usage.

2) Twitter as a news source

When the news of the Iranian election uprisings broke this past June, right here on the Bella Buzz we called Twitter_logo it possibly one of the biggest news stories of the year … and our prediction turned out to be correct. The story from our perspective is actually broader than just the population of Iran taking to the streets (and still in the streets), the story was more about how Twitter posts and cell phone video uploads distributed the coverage far in advance of anything that the mainstream media could provide. It was such a blatant shift in our expectations of news organizations, that actually CNN went on the air to defend their actions.

By the time of Michael Jackson's passing later that month, we had come to expect that the pervasive, simple nature of Twitter would be getting the message around quicker than a news report.

3)  Facebook reaching 350 Million Users

Facebook In an open letter from Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg at the beginning of December, he stated that "more than 350 million people around the world are using Facebook to share their lives online."

This might in fact turn out to be the year that really puts Facebook over the top.  What was once the playground of college students, then early adopters, has now extended to baby boomers and beyond.  Facebook has fast become the way to connect, re-connect and to stay in touch.

Part of the reason for the expansion is adding functionality outside of the walls of Facebook such as Facebook Connect.  By allowing web sites to incorporate a login function using Facebook credentials, it extends the content from the site back into Facebook.  Web site owners like the ability to build a community that will port their content in front of a News Feed of potentially 350 million, while simultaneously making it easy for users to sign up for a Facebook account.

4) NASA adopts Social Media
Nasa
Somewhere in the halls of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration there was a smart decision made. There was a decision to implement some social media strategies to help the general population rediscover the exciting missions taking place in our space program.

Programs that used these tools include the Mars Phoenix lander, sending out tweets during it's trips around the Martian surface and its demise.

There was Astronaut Mike Massimino, known as @Astro_Mike. He continues to use Twitter to distribute information about his endeavors. He is getting lots of votes currently on Mashable for his nominated Tweet of the Year.

The coolest implementation happened around the anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.  NASA developed an interactive web site, We Choose the Moon.org, complete with actual audio as it happened in 1969. They also established Twitter accounts for each of the parties as if they were using Twitter to communicate; Apollo CapCom,  Apollo Spacecraft, and the Eagle Lander.

Upon announcement of the 2010 NASA Budget, an additional $2 billion has been added to NASA's 2009 and 2010 budgets under the Obama administration.  President Obama nominated ="_blank">Charles Bolden as NASA Administrator.

5) Google Android Phones

The new open source operating system for mobile phones has reached the mass Google-android-logomarket.  The release of  the Droid phone from Verizon is the first in what will be a line of many phones that are incorporating the Apps and useability currently found in the iPhone. There is a now a decision to be made at the end of the AT&T contracts that users had to sign when they acquired an iPhone.  The decision now can be simply which carrier works best for me, which has the plan that I want, and which phone gives me the best value. 

Please let us know if we've missed any stories you would consider most important this year. Leave us a comment with any stories you think deserve a mention!   Look for next week's episode for the predictions for 2010 and beyond!

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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Improving Business Communications with Google Voice

October 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

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Voice_logo  It's all about Google Voice telephony service on the Bella Buzz Podcast today.  Hosts Desiree and Joe talk about their experiences using the free service that allows for phone calls to find them wherever they may be, using one phone number. 

This service was once called Grand Central until it was purchased by Google in the summer of 2007. They have refined and scaled the service so that it is becoming more readily available via invitation. (Complete this form here to get on the waiting list.)

With a Google Voice account you can have one phone number — forever.  As they say in the video below, the number is tied to you, not a device or a location. This free service can easily be set up to provide you with complete control over which phone rings and when it rings, voicemail transcription service, caller grouping that provides customized greetings, sms notification of messages and many more detailed functionalities.

Having a Google Voice number removes the concerns about losing contact with people who may have an old business card with an office number or a different cell phone number.

The biggest challenge out of the gate using a Google Voice number is getting all of your contacts and family to use it.  Of course the easy ways are to include the number as part of an email signature and business card, but you may also need some help with the process.  Here is a Lifehacker article about easing the transition.

There have been some regulatory as well as business relationship controversies about the service that we point out.  Initially battles developed over the use of Google Voice on the iPhone, with AT&T concerned over ability to text and talk for free via an App. The rationale behind the banning of the app is that the functionality is too similar to that of the iPhone. Google still continues to claim they've been banned, while Apple states it's under review.

Currently, the battle also incorporates Net Neutrality concerns regarding phone service getting blocked based upon specific locations.

For someone starting a new business, Google services provides you with a complete operational dashboard that includes phone, documents, email and the list goes on and on. It is a way to get off the ground immediately and just another way to keep your business in the cloud.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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Taking Your Business to the Cloud and Beyond

September 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

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This week the Bella Buzz podcast gets into the tools and technologies that can be classified using the term "cloud computing." Cloud computing moves the application or software off of the desktop and places it onto the internet where users interact completely through a web browser.  This technology has proven to be a very efficient and affordable way to ensure that companies have access to information wherever there is an internet connection.

The transition to cloud computing has been a slow but steady one as applications are built that can compete with the desktop apps in terms of performance.  Microsoft's Office suite with Outlook, Word, and Excel can be replicated entirely on line through the Google Apps engine which is where Joe has transitioned all of his email and documents.

The straw that broke the camel's back was the second crash of the Outlook PST file.  Another option needed to be explored and that lead to using Google Apps for the company document systems.  This allowed ultimately for Fluid Media to go to a virtual environment where there is no longer a physical office address with a networked server set up to share information within the company.  With a cloud computing setup, employees work from a remote office and access and collaborate on proposals, presentations, any type of document on the web.

Desiree uses the Google presentation application which is like Powerpoint, and can make the presentation via an internet connection on the spot.

Two common concerns among those considering whether to use cloud applications are usability and security. Usability continues to improve as features are updated and added bringing them closer and closer to the same user experience as the Office products.  You will still find a bit of adjustment to using them, but over time they become minor.  The security issue is truly the crux of the transition to more cloud based activity.

If cloud based applications are going to become the prevalent form of computing in the future, it is going to take diligence on the part of the providers regarding security.  The minute there is a breach of trust or a significant breakdown in protection of documents that are in the cloud .. the entire category could break down.  New adopters will be slow to come, large corporations will be hesitant and suspicious, and we will see a complete reversal of this trend.  With this in mind, it is fair to say that the focus for any company providing cloud based services is security.

There can be some confusion over which version of Google apps we are discussing.  What was once called Google Apps for Domains is a service that allows for mapping a domain main name to an account.  This provides a company with the ability to manage access, sharing rules, and sets up the account so that emails appear from the company's domain email address rather than the generic Gmail address.  Something that Desiree echoes as being extremely important for maintaining a business brand.

The future of the adoption of web based computing can be foretold in announcements about Google Wave and the Chrome operating system.

Desiree has had tremendous results from using Salesforce as a CRM (customer relationship management) tool.  She is able to manage her business leads to ensure that the proper team member handles the communication, follows up with the contact or numerous other ways to manage a customer through this cloud-based technology.

GoToMyPC is a great tool for those who need access to a remote computer. It may not necessarily be cloud computing by definition, but it's a great way to stay completely synched up with documents no matter what machine you are on.  Basecamp is a related project management tool that can help clients through a long development process. Desiree's clients love the fact that they know exactly what to expect during a project by using this tool to collaborate and set up a timeline that can be shared by everyone involved in a Bella Web Design project.

Jungledisk is a service that will allow you to back up data to the Amazon S3 service so that you have a backup tool in the cloud, especially if you have large files to work with like photos, podcasts, video files etc.. Could computing doesn't necessarily have to be apps in the cloud, it can simply be using the massive amount of storage capacity that is available to you.

How about you? Have you moved to the cloud or simply considering it? Drop us a note in the comments to let us know how you feel about the future of cloud computing.

Theme music for The Bella Buzz is Fallen by Digital Chemistry, available for download at the Podsafe Music Network.

You can subscribe to The Bella Buzz directly from ITunes by following this link, and we would be happy to receive listener feedback and ratings at The ITunes Store.

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