Think you know what website usage dominates today's business users and which one takes up the most bandwidth?  Well, think again. While Google and Yahoo sit close to the top on both fronts, it's that gosh-darn Facebook ruling supreme for site visits and YouTube stealing first for bandwidth consumption.

Ann Bednarz summarizes nicely in a new article: "In recent research from Network Box, the company analyzed traffic to 19 billion URLs through its global security operations centers over a five month period. It ranked the top five Web sites visited from business addresses by volume of traffic. By its measurements, 5.8 percent of all Web traffic from business networks is to Facebook – which is higher than to any other Web site. Google ranked second at 4.1 percent, followed by Yahoo’s Yimg image server (3.1 percent), Yahoo (2.7 percent) and Doubleclick (1.7 percent).

Network Box also ranked Web sites by the bandwidth they use. In that tally, YouTube topped the list, consuming 7.8% of corporate bandwidth to download videos. That’s followed by Facebook (4.4%), Windows Update (3.8%), Yahoo’s Yimg image server (2.8%) and Google (2.7%)."

Does this demonstrate a total failure of usage policies in business today? Or, does is simply shed light on the fact that most businesses consider certain social media outlets acceptable destinations during business hours?  Don't lie, you're a member of Adam West's Fan Page... and how could you not be. He's super!



-posted by Justin

Confused by the world of phone applications? Are you constantly checking to see the latest free  apps for your phone?  Well, this new list from Sascha Segan, mobile editor for PCMag.com, sheds some light on the top 100 free applications for a variety of phones. Do you agree with his assessment?  Seems a little boring and safe to me!

"The popularity of Apple's App Store vaulted mobile apps to prominence, but techies know that mobile phones have been tiny PCs for years now. The difference today is the buzz and visibility around apps. The idea that you can add to your phone's powers has gone mainstream.

With 100,000 apps, the iPhone certainly has the most apps available, but there's no lack of choice on other platforms.Google's Android phones have more than 10,000. There are thousands for BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian phones, and a couple of hundred for the Palm Pre and Pixi. Even simple phones like the Motorola RAZR can get into the app game..."

To summarize...

iPhone:

1. AP Mobile 3.1

2. Chess With Friends

3. CNBC

4. Cube Runner

5. eBay Mobile

6. eBuddy

7. Epicurious



Blackberry:

1. AP Mobile News

2. BBNotePad

3. Bloomberg Mobile

4. Bolt

5. Facebook

6. Flashlight



Android:

1. Advanced Task Killer

2. AP Mobile

3. Astrid

4. Astro File Manager

5. Bonsai Blast





-posted by Justin

I came across this great chart that summarizes the evolution of storage.  Pretty fun to look at . How many have you worked with?  (Image courtesy of our friend in wireless, Keith Parsons.)



-posted by Justin

Recently, I made it out to the Seattle Auto Show, which featured hundreds of new 2010 cars in addition to some nifty concept vehicles and more. While there were a handful of some really groundbreaking cars like the Karma by Fisker and Tesla along with hybrids like the Ford Taurus, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids, for the most part I couldn't help but feel like I was walking through a soon-to-be graveyard of autos. Sure, people will be buying some gas guzzlers in the coming years, but I can't help but think... no HOPE... that in the not so distant future people will be turning to more environmentally-sensitive and less resource-draining vehicles. Unlike today where many of these cars take a good amount of cash, the next few years should bring a full lineup of new-age cars for both the haves and the have-nots. Sure, President Obama's new mileage standards may help fuel this drive for more efficient vehicles, but as an industry, I'm hoping the automakers realize it's not only the economical, but also the RIGHT thing to do. Auto show or car graveyard?




Karma by Fisker





Tesla Battery

-posted by Andrew