Organizations are gaining experience and confidence with cloud-based solutions. But are they getting the most out of their cloud investments? “Two or three years ago, we were hearing about data safety and overall control concerns, and companies were in the process of still determining what the cost benefits of cloud would be,” said Vijay Takanti, VP of security and collaboration solutions at Exostar , an aerospace industry cloud services provider. “Now there is a much higher knowledge level in the cloud, and most of these initial concerns, with the exception of security, have been resolved -- but there are still business processes that organizations are hesitant to put into the cloud. They are also not leveraging cloud to get the most out of the technology.”

About a month ago, a federal grand jury issued indictments against Megaupload Limited and seven of its principals on charges related to copyright infringement, racketeering, and money laundering. (See: Of SOPA, the DOJ, & Anonymous.) A couple of weeks later, law enforcement officials conducted a raid seizing the defendants' assets, copying files from Megaupload servers, and shutting down Megaupload.com and its affiliated sites.

So, you finely got your new smartphone. Shiny! (If you don’t get the reference to “shiny,” you’re not a Firefly fan, but I won’t hold that against you.) You waited patiently until your carrier offered just what you wanted -- with just the right features, at just the right price -- and your new phone discount was finally available again.

George Santayana said a great deal more than “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” but it’s probably the one quotation that nearly everyone in the security field will remember approximately verbatim.

While the Internet waits to see whether SOPA and PIPA are dead or just sleeping, a similar struggle is going on for access to scientific research.

I've become convinced that Reddit is now a major hub of Internet influence, about on par with Twitter and Facebook.

So, you finely got your new smartphone. Shiny! (If you don’t get the reference to “shiny,” you’re not a Firefly fan, but I won’t hold that against you.) You waited patiently until your carrier offered just what you wanted -- with just the right features, at just the right price -- and your new phone discount was finally available again.