Practical Technology

For years, Google had multiple Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), instant messaging, and video-conferencing services. Now, Google is uniting those services under Google Hangouts. It wasn’t clear though  where Google Voice, its main VoIP program that crossed the gap between landline/cellular and Internet calls, was going to fit. We now know that it too is being integrated into Google Hangouts.

Google Voice integrating into Google Hangouts. More >

Perhaps no group has earned a borderline obscene pejorative as quickly as the wearers of Google Glass. I mean, the product, not due for release until early next year, is seen in the wild today only on the few thousand who are its early testers. And yet we already

have the term “glasshole.” Google Glass has also been banned ahead of its release. This all seems to stem from the belief, voiced by writers such as Jason Perlow, that Google Glass is evil, since “it’s a ‘stealth’ recording device.”

My advice to anyone freaking out over Glass: Get over it.

Google Glass will be a big deal, so deal with it. More >

OK, so by now you should know what a cloud really is — and at least one example of what a cloud really isn’t but you may still be wondering what specifically are all these cloud types floating about in the Internet. Well, let’s take a look.

Let’s start with the highest level and work our way down: public vs. private cloud. First, clouds are not this fuzzy magic thing that makes IT services happen. Behind all the technobabble fog, they’re servers in server racks, rooms, and data centers providing a variety of IT services.

Cloud Classification for beginners

The rumors appear to have been correct. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is reporting that on Sunday Yahoo’s board will approve buying Tumblr, the blogging and social networking platform, for $1.1 billion.

Yahoo pulls trigger on $1 billion-plus Tumblr buy. More >

A year after Google+’s  last remake, Google decided to give Google+ a radical new look and feel. Some users love it, some hate it, but no one’s indifferent to it.

Love and hate: The New Google+ look. More >