Oracle Magazine - July/August 2012

8 MashUp News. Views. Trends. Tools.

CHECK-IN APPS

12 percent 1 of U.S. smartphone owners use check-in apps—geosocial services
that allow them to announce where they are. Here are our favorites.
Facebook
Foodspotting
Yelp

Its huge user base
makes Facebook’s
check-in capability,
called Places, hard
to beat. This app
lets you tell people
where you’ve been,
where you are right
now, and where you
are going. You can
also check in other
Don’t just check in
at a restaurant—
check in and
snap pictures of
the dishes you
love. Share and
search for favorite
foods by location,
with maps. Free
(iPhone, Android,
BlackBerry,
Facebook users.

More than 20
million people
worldwide use
this app to check
in at restaurants
and other
businesses, get
recommendations,
connect with
friends, and
score special
discounts. Free
Free (iPhone,
Windows Phone).
foodspotting.com
foursquare

(iPhone, Android,
Android).
facebook.com

BlackBerry, Nokia,
With 66 million
users and 25
million reviews of
local businesses
in North America
and Europe, Yelp
lets users compare
and share opinions
on the places
they go. Free
(iPhone, Android,
BlackBerry, Palm,
Windows Phone).
yelp.com

Palm, Windows Phone). foursquare.com

“The average mployee spends about 15 hours a month complaining about his or her manager. That’s basically 24 days a year, a full month of workdays, grumbling and getting nothing done. Right now employee teams and entire organizational cultures around the world are crumbling from misunderstanding and neglect.”

—Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, authors of All In (Free Press, 2012)

Setting up a home or office video surveillance system is no small undertaking. Dropcam is trying to change that with Dropcam HD, a small monitoring camera that takes minutes to set up, is Wi-Fi enabled, and streams video to the cloud. With an account on dropcam.com, you can peek at live or recorded video using a computer or smartphone. Dropcam streams 720p HD video and has an 80-degree viewing angle. Cool features include infrared LEDs that let Dropcam HD see in complete darkness, and two-way audio so that you can actually hold a conversation with a person on camera from your smartphone or PC. US$149; viewing plans range from free to US$29.95/month. dropcam.com

STRESSED?
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
Ready to quit? 67% of
I T administrators have
considered switching
careers because of
stress. More than 200 IT
administrators in U.S. organizations with 10 to 500
employees were surveyed.

Source: GFI Software and Opinion Matters, bit.ly/Krfn WQ

Security Threats Rising

83% of business and IT executives surveyed believe information security threats are on the rise. And 70% rated security as a higher or upper-level priority in 2011, compared to 49% in 2010. Five hundred U.S. IT and business executives who set or implement information security policies and processes were surveyed online in November and December 2011. Source: Comp TIA’s Ninth Annual Information Security Trends study, comptia.org

SECURITY TOPS MOBILITY CONCERNS
A survey of 500 business and I T professionals in a variety of industries in the
U.S. revealed that for 70 percent of respondents, security considerations are the
greatest risk involved in supporting mobility. Respondents cited these concerns:

Source: Comp TIA’s Trends in Enterprise Mobility study, comptia.org

48% Downloading unauthorized apps 42% Lost or stolen devices

41% Mobile-specific viruses and malware 41% Open Wi-Fi networks

40% USB flash drives

40% Personal use of business devices

What mobile-related security concerns keep you up at night? Take our Facebook poll at bitly.com/oraclmagfb.

Typing on the iPad’s native keyboard is possible, but it’s not the most comfortable thing to do. Plus, the native keyboard covers half the screen, leaving very little real estate for you to work with. Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard Cover with Bluetooth technology addresses these issues and also doubles as an elegant and sturdy aluminum iPad cover. Thanks to a clever magnetic clip, the keyboard quickly attaches to the iPad. A built-in slot right above the keys lets the iPad stand at the optimal angle for reading or typing. The keyboard has a great feel when you are typing on it, and it makes functions such as text highlighting, copying and pasting, and searching a breeze. US$99. logitech.com WRITE ON