Dropbox a Scalable Solution for Storage

Scalability is a big factor now in the web, it enables the service to start small and grow with the usage. This means that the user can use the service as needed. Scalability in Web 2.0 applies to business models as well as technology. With scalability more can be done with less, more efficient usages. Also with this, grow will be gradual minimizing the cost and risk.

For this Dropbox is good example. Dropbox is a cloud web-based file hosting service. It was founded in 2007. The service provides a free online storage from 2 GigB. The idea of Dropbox that is a secondary file saving software that sync with all of the connected devices thru the internet, removing the need to move the data manually and versioning problems.

(1)    Scale with demand:

The Service provides storage as the user needs. The small user can start with 2 GigB, the much bigger user can pay the service for 100 GigB, and the Business can use unlimited space for users.

(2)    Syndicate business models:

Dropbox had provided an ecosystem of API that enable for plug-ins to be developed for other services enabling cross usage of several services. This creates a healthy development ecosystem that makes sure the usage of the service

(3)    Outsource whenever practical and possible:

Dropbox employs amazon s3 data hosting services to outsource their servers. Removing the need of their own server and focusing more on the services.

(4)    Provide outsource infrastructure, function, and expertise:

Dropbox enables the outsourcing of storages for personal user and business. Business can use Dropbox to store their data and sync with the worker.

(5)    Scale your pricing and revenue models:

The pricing of Dropbox is scalable that start with 2GigB for free. Than it scale for the 100GigB user for 10$, and several function can be activated. For business it’s 15$ per user of the service with unlimited storage and all function.

 (6) Market virally

Dropbox market their service by a referral scheme, for each user that referred Dropbox will add 250 MB. Also it enable the user to share data to friend and publicly. This makes the service used more widely.

Source

Lightweight Models and Cost Effective Scalability in Web 2.0

http://emanalshehri.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/lightweight-models-and-cost-effective-scalability-in-web-2-0/

Dropbox Main Page

https://www.dropbox.com/

What Is Web 2.0

http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html

DOTA 2, Perpetual BETA Game?

  

Perpetual beta, it changes almost everything we know about the web. It changes the way we view about software and services, where development doesn’t stop anymore, it continues following the changes of times. By ending the release cycle and taking the user input making them a co-developer in a sense enable the software or service to be updated and changed to suit the user. This is prevalent everywhere, from our email service (Google, Yahoo, Hotmail/Microsoft), social networking (Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn), even video and entertainment (YouTube, Steam, Vimeo). For me the term itself is strange, because the main part of this isn’t the beta but the development, changes, update that will span in an indefinite time span. The easier example of this is Google mail. The way I see it that it will never shed change its development cycle, the development will continue the way it is. It will keep changing it will keep evolving, following better design (hopefully) and trends.

On the other hand in the gaming industry this concept is taken for several kinds of games, for this post I like to talk about DOTA 2. Dota 2 or Defence of the Ancient 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game and it’s highly popular, but the interesting part of it is the development cycle. It’s never stop updating the game. Following the change log it dated back to 24 May 2013, this is because the game needs to balance the characters in the game and fixed the bug on the game. These changes also take the user input, balancing the variables of the player for everyone. This show that the game never stop the development cycle it keeps on changing, fine tuning in the game. This show the usage for perpetual beta, changing the cycle, not stopping the development prolonging the live of the game.  

This show that perpetual beta applies to a wider range of services and the beta tag does not mean much anymore. It enables the game to listen to the user base more creating a more immersive and fine-tuned game.

Sources :

End of the Software Release Cycle

http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=4

End of the Software Release Cycle

Leveraging the Long Tail in Gaming

O’Reilly said that Small sites make up the bulk of the internet's content; narrow niches make up the bulk of internet's the possible applications. With the increasing usage of the search engine searching the small market niche became easier. This made the, long tail possible.

The theory of the long tail that our culture and economy start to shift from a relatively small number of keyword hits at popular product (head of the curve) and start moving to the large number of small keyword (the tail of the curve). As cost for distribution and production became relatively cheap and the optimization of searches there is no need to put the entire product in one place anymore; it’s possible to spread the market to larger space.

Steam Logo

For this topic I’m going to talk Steam. Steam is a marketplace for online games. It revolutionizes the gaming marked by delivering and storing the game digitally. The data of the game is also stored online so the user can install a selected game only.

Steam has a big selection of big triple-A games and Indie games. The head of the curve is created by the big games and the long tail is created by the niche smaller indie developer, by inclusion of early access the tail is getting longer.  Early access is a program by steam to include in development game to be purchased, played, and tested by the user, effectively shaping the game and changing the form of the tail. It can fulfil a niche or create a niche by the user feedback.

This is my post about the long tail. So what do you think about the early access games? Does it have the potential of the longing the long tail? Or to shape the long tail?

O’Reilly-What is Web 2.0

http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=5

About the Long Tail

http://www.longtail.com/about.html

Steam

http://store.steampowered.com/

Beyond Single Device.

The world now is changing. Technology is more diverse. Changing the usage than the decade ago. Capable of doing more, much more. Enable us to connect to people that we don’t know in the other side of the world. The one that changing is not only the hardware but the software also. It’s don’t exist on the single device anymore. There are many service that is created in this design and also move to this design. Google drive, Office 365, ITunes and IOS, Evernote, Dropbox, and many more. This software or services is available to be used everywhere, from smartphone tablet pc laptop even the web itself.

The future is bright that the least I can say for us. The sun still shine and tomorrow will come, but for the future of software that is more interesting. It will change our life significantly, it will change the way we work, we play, we learn, and  our daily life. It already change how we work right now, believe it or not. The draft of this blog is written on a tablet in a library saving over the cloud. And I can open my work anywhere. Edit it everywhere. Several year ago this isn’t possible, the synching of data must be done manually for each devices and compatibility is a big thing. No more excuses for me for not doing my work because I’m not home yet.

Mr. O’Reilly have talked about the Web 2.0 concept Software Above the Level of a Single Device, He’s using iTunes as a good example. You can read the article here and here. The article explain the concept really nicely.

For this one I’m going to talk about the new Microsoft Office 365. The Office recently moved to a service provider. They don’t sell the software anymore but provide a subscription for the user, no more yearly (not really yearly but regularly over the span of several year) buying the new office product. This is a great move, because we don’t stuck with an old version of office because we bought the “number of year version”, the moving of the model mean we the user get the update to the latest version.

Let’s talk about the changes to the application itself what made it “beyond what device”, simply it really moved beyond one device. You can use the service on multiple device also and on the web (they have a web editor for the office). Just recently they also released an iPad version of the app, there’s the Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and SkyDrive (or now known as OneDrive) for the iPad. The interesting one here is the OneDrive, in my point of view it’s the heart of the whole service. It connect all the device thru the internet synching all the data, enabling the user to access the files on multiple device. For example the draft that I’m editing here is automatically synch with the file on the iPad there even a versioning system.

Collaboration I think is a big thing here, I’s very simple and easy to do, you just need to add a user to the file and he/she can change the file. The versioning tool is very extensive so we can see the changes by each user on the file. So now it’s easier to create work together on paper, essay and even presentation.

But There always a crack in the ivory. We can see that by moving to the subscription model that the user don’t own the app anymore. In the previous office version the app only need online authentication. If the authentication passed, that mean you own the app. But now you need an online account to access the service. That mean if you only can user if your id is valid. If it’s revoked that mean you can’t access the service anymore and that is bad, because the account is a Microsoft account that is used for your pc and devices.

After the changes that it takes the Office platform in my view is easier and pleasant to use. No more exchanging files on different devices, no more versioning problems, and access from multiple device. Fixing several problem and adding new things to the works.

So this is my take on the concept so what do you think about the new office? Is the sub worth it? Is the changes good? Do you use it on other device? Or even do you use alternate service or app? Please do comment and see you next week.

Link to read and references.

http://bit.ly/1gy62RC - Microsoft and the Commoditization of Software.

http://oreil.ly/1eGMI0D - What Is Web 2.0 - O'Reilly Media.

http://oreil.ly/RixVEv - Software Above the Level of a Single Device - O'Reilly Radar.

http://bit.ly/1gy6Sha - Can Mobile Move Beyond Hardware and Software? - Dice News.