Microsoft has now come up with a surface tablet to compete with the Apple iPad. The Surface is the known as the ‘iPad killer’ and ‘Microsoft iPad’. Microsoft has stuck to production of software till date but this is one of its latest hardware devices that is expected to take over the Apple iPad. This is a new challenge posed by Microsoft to Apple.

            The Microsoft Surface saw its official release on 19^th June in the city of Los Angeles. It has made a great first impression and seems to be beginning a new start in the competition between the best tablets in the international market. It has 10.6’’ screen and a magnetic cover that can be used as a keyboard and also as a kickstand in order to place the device upright on tables. There has been a paradigm shift in Microsoft’s policy when it decided to do away with the tile-based Metro theme for its Desktop that is almost a trademark with it.

            There are many features that make the Surface more like a laptop than like a tablet- the most prominent one being the built- in keyboard that will be useful for business customers. As Microsoft Surface employs Windows 8 as an operating system, which is also used in its computers and laptops, it will be a lot easier for customers to switch among their devices.

            The tablet was announced by Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, in Los Angeles at a special press conference. It was hailed to be the first of an entirely new family of a number of devices being created and developed by the company. The Surface has a thickness of 9.3mm and weighs 1.5 pounds. It has a kickstand and keyboard for its cover. It is 0.1 mm thinner than the iPad 3, which is the latest iPad from Apple.

Cloud computing is the recent rage in the IT industry. According to the report by Forbes, the estimated global market for cloud computing is expected to reach $35.6 billion in 2015, from the $12.1 billion market of 2010.

How it began

The idea of cloud computing was inspired by the concept of “utility computing” which introduced the idea of computing using the virtual servers. These virtual servers do not actually exist anywhere physically and can be moved anywhere without causing any disturbance to the end users. Thus it minimizes the cost involved on the devices to a great extent and provides innumerable benefits to the companies that adopt this system.

Cloud Computing Types

Although reports made in May 2010 indicate that Android had outsold Apple iPhones, more recent and current reports of the 2^nd quarter of 2011 made by National Purchase Diary (NPD) on Mobile Phone Track service, which listed the top five selling smartphones in the United States for the months of April-June of 2011, indicate that Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS outsold other Android phones on the market in the U. S. for the third calendar quarter of 2011. This was true for the previous quarter of the same year; The iPhone 4 held the top spot.  The fact that the iPhone 4 claimed top spot does not come as a surprise to the analysts; rather, it is a testament to them of how well the iPhone is revered among consumers. The iPhone 3GS, which came out in 2009 outsold newer Android phones with higher screen resolutions and more processing power. The list of the five top selling smartphones is depicted below:

1. Apple iPhone 4
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
3. HTC EVO 4G
4. Motorola Droid 3
5. Samsung Intensity II[1]

Apple’s iPhone also outsold Android devices7.8:1 at AT&T’s corporate retail stores in December. A source inside the Apple company told The Mac Observer that those stores sold some 981,000 iPhones between December 1st and December 27^th 2011, and that the Apple device accounted for some 66% of all device sales during that period (see the pie figure below) . Android devices, on the other hand, accounted for just 8.5% of sales during the same period.

According to the report, AT&T sold approximately 981,000 iPhones through AT&T corporate stores in the first 27 days of December, 2011 while 126,000 Android devices were sold during the same period. Even the basic flip and slider phones did better than Android, with 128,000 units sold.[2] However, it is important to understand that this is a report for one particular environment at a particular period in time. As the first iPhone carrier in the world, AT&T has been the dominant iPhone carrier in the U.S. since day one, and AT&T has consistently claimed that the iPhone is its best selling device.

Chart courtesy of Mac Observer: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/iphone_crushes_android_at_att_corporate_stores_in_december/

A more recent report posted in ismashphone.com, dated January 25 2012, indicated that Apple sold 37 million iPhones in Q4 2011.  It appears that the iPhone 4S really helped take Apple’s handset past competing Android phones. According to research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s U.S. smartphone marketshare has doubled to 44.9 percent.[3] Meanwhile, Android marketshare in the U.S. dropped slightly to 44.8 percent. This report means that the iPhone has edged just a little bit past Android in U.S. marketshare. This is occurred after Apple’s Q1 2012 conference call, which saw themselling 37 million handsets. Meanwhile, it’s reported that marketers of Android devices, such as Motorola Mobility, HTC and Sony Ericsson saw drops this quarter.

With an ever increasing rise in the use of employment testing, certification testing and need to get a degree, I thought I would write this basic guide on how to study for exams.  Although it was originally written with the college student in mind, the fundamentals still apply to all of us in the workforce.

There are few things that strike terror into the hearts of students more than exam day, particularly if they have inadequate study skills. Perhaps these students study for hours and hours, only to discover that by exam time they've forgotten everything they've read. Below are a few study tips to help struggling students remember the information they've reviewed for their exams. 

-Use memory tricks. There are a number of memory tricks that you can use to help you remember large amounts of information. For example, the use of acronyms (such as Roy G Biv to remember the colors of the rainbow) can be very helpful. In addition, you can use visualization techniques, similes, and songs to assist you in recalling your study material.

-Don't cram. Your brain requires time to absorb facts. If you know about a test in advance, start studying right away for a little bit every day, ramping up your efforts as the exam approaches.

-Take frequent breaks while studying. It may seem counter-intuitive that spending less time studying might actually help you remember more of what you've read. But taking appropriately timed study breaks will keep your mind fresh and make sure you don't stress too much.

-Write it out. For many people, writing information down as they read it is the best way to learn it. Don't just write exactly what you read, however; by rewording the information or even drawing a picture or diagram you commit it to your memory in more than one way, allowing you to remember it easier later.

-Teach it to a friend. To remember information, you have to understand it. And in order to teach information, you need to understand it as well. Nothing tests your ability to recall facts better than teaching them to another person. Find a friend unfamiliar with your study material and teach them a lesson in the subject.

-Get plenty of sleep the night before the exam. Finally, be sure to get a good night's rest the night before you take the exam. Falling asleep at your desk will accomplish nothing. This will help you be more alert while you are taking your test, and will allow you to retain more information.