By Sarah Stokely, Builder AU
January 28, 2009

The uptake of cloud computing was rendering many traditional systems-administrator functions obsolete, tech author and Google sysadmin Tom Limoncelli told attendees at Linux.conf.au (LCA) in Hobart this week.

December 2008, NewsFactor Business

Opportunities for collaboration present themselves with cloud computing. Since files are stored remotely, and because with the right software they could be accessible by more than one person, it's possible to share your work with multiple authors. Cloud computing represents an opportunity to localize and secure the data that its employees create.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a group of two or more computer systems, typically connected to a private network, that communicates securely over a public network (typically the Internet). VPNs may exist between an individual machine and a private network (client-to-server or remote access) or a remote LAN and a private network (site-to-site).

Not everyone owns a laptop and even those who do, do not find it convenient to carry it everywhere. So there has to some way to access the files stored on your PC? Thankfully yes, Microsoft Windows XP and Vista come inbuilt with Windows Remote Desktop utility that lets you establish the same with much ease. To use this feature, the host PC must have Windows XP or Vista and both the PCs need to have access to an Internet connection.

October 2008
Teddy Bennett

Like many other democracies, the United States is addressing the need to improve its election process to ensure that all citizens can vote freely, easily, and securely.

During the past decade the world has experienced a significant focus on the process of voting. Many countries are using new technologies to select their leaders. Voters in India, the world's largest democracy, cast their ballots using electronic push-button technology, while voters in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, present a modern identification card with photo and thumbprint when obtaining their ballot.

Remote access software review
By Catherine Roseberry, mobileoffice.about.com

Mobile professionals must have the means to remotely access their work (in office) computer with minimal fuss and which can be installed and set up by themselves. Frequent long distance travelers don’t need the expense or hassle of relying on their tech people to talk them through remote access installations.

Before considering and deciding upon a method of remote access, there are some important considerations to keep in mind which can determine the remote access software which will be best for your needs.

Remote access software review
By Anton Levchuk

June 2007

It’s difficult for the IT industry to avoid charges of Big Brother-ism.  After all, George Orwell’s original creation, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, uses technology as a form of social control.  If you type Big Brother into Google, the stories are almost always linked to some form of technology innovation – unless they’re about racist housemates in the latest edition of the famous TV show.

So any technology that goes under the name of remote control is bound to raise eyebrows at the very least.

Fortunately, it is also known as the more benign ‘remote administration,’ which is a far more accurate representation of what this remote access software does.  Remote control is not about an Orwellian dystopia of mindless automata under the control of an all-seeing entity.  Instead it simply, and far more innocently, enables IT administrators and helpdesks to operate far more efficiently and effectively.

January 2008
Brandi Stewart, money.cnn.com

I have a business in two states, Connecticut and Florida. When I am in one office, I always need to access files in the other office. How can I access my other computer remotely to work on files and applications in the other office? P.S. I can't break the bank.

- John Tolson, Newtown, Conn.

Dear John: More and more business owners are working remotely, and tech companies have come out with a number of affordable ways to help the on-the-go entrepreneur remain connected to his or her files.

Dan Carpenter, vice president of IT services for computer consulting firm Miles Technologies, suggests that you "make the computer in one office a primary computer where you centralize your data. Then, use the computer in your other office to just connect into your primary."

June 2008
www.microscope.co.uk

Sticking with the theme of controlling access to data, after you have nailed down internal issues, another piece of the jigsaw is to look at remote access.

Surveys are coming out on a weekly basis showing that, for most executives, the question of allowing workers to access the system outside the office is one of their biggest concerns.

At the heart of it is the recognition that the weak point is likely to be around the gateway and controlling access.

Radmin is a remote administrator product that tackles one of the big problems with disparate workforces - how to access and work on a PC from numerous locations.