This story takes you on a journey to the open cloud, through the eyes of one very proud dad, beginning with a light in a cave.

The Inspiration

We’ve all been inspired at one time or another. This story was inspired by Chipotle’s short film, Back to the Start, which I saw as a commercial that aired during the 2012 Grammy Awards. It’s a story told through the eyes of a farmer that follows the evolution of raising livestock. It begins with raising animals on open and free grazes to raising them in confinement with hormone injections due to the pressures of making profits. The story goes back to the start when the farmer realizes that confining animals and injecting them with hormones is not the right way and he frees the animals. Chipotle is leading a new revolution in farming — it is going back to the start. The story is about what Chipotle believes in.

The Story

Rackspace is changing how technology is built and consumed, and what we do powers the everyday things people do on the web. We had to tell this story to the world in a way that was easy to consume. We wanted to ensure that we kept the story simple, that it triggered an emotion and that it was shareable. Think about all of the memories you’ve chosen to capture. You’ll realize that they’re similar to the memories of others around you. As humans, we’ve captured memories since the beginning of time, but the ways in which we capture and share these memories has evolved over time. This story takes you through the evolution of that technology.

Learn more about the Rackspace open cloud: http://www.rackspace.com/oneveryprouddad/

During the recent Apple iPad announcement, Cloud Sites customer, gdgt.com, handled 55,697,141 requests for the event and over 110,000 concurrent connections. It’s examples like these that web agencies turn to Cloud Sites for the scalability and reliability of the Cloud Sites platform. Take a look at the numbers in the infographic below.

Click here to read the full press release.

Click image below for larger version.

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 <a href="http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/cloud_hosting_products/sites/"> Cloud Sites <img src="http://c179631.r31.cf0.rackcdn.com/Cloud_Sites_Final.png" alt="Cloud Sites" width="620" height="6015" /> </a> 

We challenged our Cloud experts to attempt to try new things like solving the Rubik’s Cube, playing the saxophone, shooting half court shots and even drawing a cartoon. Take a look at the results.

Do you have an expertise you want to show off?  You can show us by doing the following:

1) Uploading a video of you illustrating your talent to YouTube using “#ShowUsYours” in the description of the video.

2) If you use Twitter, be sure to tweet out the link with the hashtag #ShowUsYours.

We will be posting some of our favorite videos to our Facebook fan page so be sure to “Like” us so you can see all the talent coming in. We can’t wait to see yours!

To view the enlarged version, click here.

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<a href="http://www.rackspace.com/apps/email_hosting/"> Mobile Email <iframe style="height: 700px; width: 525px;" src="http://broadcast.rackspace.com/blog/InfographicMobileEmailFinal2/infographic.html" frameborder="0" width="525" height="700"></iframe>

Image via Wikipedia

Are you considering switching from a PC to a Mac? You might have an iPhone™, iPod™ or iPad™ and are ready to take the plunge on switching out your home computer.

You’re not alone. As of November 2011, Apple’s Mac has reached 5.2% of worldwide computer sales, and in the home segment, Mac’s growth was 25.6% versus 4% for the overall market.

Here are 10 things you should know if you’re making the switch or have recently done so:

1. The keyboard is different!

The keyboard is perhaps the most visible difference when switching to the Mac, and one of the trickiest. Long-time users have to overcome a certain amount of muscle memory and relearn commands and where the keys are placed. Many Mac keyboards don’t have some of the special keys, including forward delete, page up and down, home, and end. While there are keyboard commands to accomplish the same tasks, they need to be relearned.

Common keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl-S for Save and Ctrl-P for Print are available, but use the Command key (a cloverlike symbol or the Apple logo) instead of the Control key. The delete key on the Mac doesn’t delete files or icons on the desktop; press the Apple and backspace keys instead. Ctl-Alt to switch between open applications is Command-Tab on the Mac. The equivalent for the command CTRL-ALT-Delete that opens up Windows Task Manager is Command-Option-Esc.

The right mouse button doesn’t exist on the Mac mouse, but connecting a Windows mouse would work just as well on the Apple hardware. It’s also possible to bring up the menu associated with the right mouse button by holding down the control key when clicking on the mouse.

2. Installing Applications

A new computer, regardless of the operating system, means new software applications need to be installed. Macs come with the iLife suite, which means there are many applications already available on the base system, but users will still want to install new tools. Installation in the Mac world is very different from a PC; all users have to do is download the software, and then drag the icon that appears on the desktop into the Applications folder.

Apple also offers the Mac App Store, which works a little like iTunes for iPhone and iPad apps. Find the desired program in the Mac App Store, buy it, and the software handles the installation process seamlessly. There’s no need to worry about license keys or trying to figure out where it should go.

Un-installation is done by simply dragging the icon to the trash folder.

3. That’s fine, but where are my applications?

The best place to look for the applications is in the dock at the bottom of the screen. The dock displays the icons of programs that are used most often. You can add applications to the dock simply by dragging the icon into the area, while dragging the icon off the dock removes (but doesn’t uninstall the program). If a particular application is not in the dock, the easiest thing to do is to search for it using Spotlight on the top right corner. Some applications and tools can be found on the Apple menu at the upper left corner of the screen as well.

The Mac equivalent of the Windows Control Panel is called System Preferences, which is available either from the Dock or the Apple menu, and is home to most system configuration tasks.

4. Migrating your data

The introduction of iCloud has simplified the process of moving documents, images and video from a PC Mac (provided the PC has Windows Vista Service Pack 2 or Windows 7 installed). On the original PC, download the iCloud Control Panel for Windows from the Apple Website.  Launching the iCloud option from the Windows Control Panel opens up a configuration screen with a list of iCloud services that can be enabled. After entering the Apple ID that was used to create the iCloud account, Web browser bookmarks, images, contacts, calendar and e-mail can all be synced between the PC and the cloud service.

On the Mac, all the information on iCloud can be downloaded and synced automatically.

Older Windows systems that can’t support iCloud will need to use one of the many cloud-based storage services such as Jungle Disk or Dropbox. If all else fails, all the information can be copied onto an external drive which can then be connected to the Mac.

5. Running Windows on the Mac

Even as Mac OS X gain in popularity, there are still some third-party applications, such as printer drivers and games, that won’t run properly on Macs. And even though many things are easier on Macs, there are still certain programs that work better on Windows. Which means that some users will need to find a way to run Windows on their Mac.

There are several ways to do so, such as using virtualization software from VMware or Parallels, or using the Mac’s free Boot Camp software. Boot Camp 4 on Mac OS X Lion runs only Windows 7, so users would have to dig up Boot Camp 3 to run older versions of Windows, such as Vista or even XP.

Once Windows is installed on Boot Camp, the user can toggle back and forth by rebooting the box. VMware doesn’t require reboots as it runs Windows inside a virtual machine.

6. Keeping the system ready and up to date

Unlike Microsoft, which pushes out regular updates once a month, Apple has an erratic schedule when it comes to updating its software and operating system. Mac users should open the Apple menu and set up the Software Update preferences under System Preferences. The dialog box will allow users to specify how frequently to ping Apple’s servers to find the latest update.

7. Passwords?

Passwords are saved inside what is called a keychain, and prompt the user every single time you to install software. It makes the system secure, overall, since malicious applications can’t just install themselves.

8. Backups

Mac users have access to an application called Time Machine which, along with an external hard drive, can be used to back up important images, video and documents.  If an external drive is not available, Time Machine can look at local backups, or snapshots, to access archived or older copies of content.

Mac OS X Lion allows Auto-Save to be a system-wide feature, where applications hook into Time Machine to find copies of the document that had been auto-saved. It’s even possible to grab pieces out of that version instead of having to restore the entire file to an older copy.

9. File Sharing

Mac OS X Lion has a feature called AirDrop, which simplifies file transfers between two Mac users. AirDrop can create a secure peer-to-peer network between two computers if they are in close enough proximity to each other. The file is sent directly and the folders on the computer remain private.

10. Where are the files?

While it’s not important for Mac users to worry about the file structure on the computer, following certain conventions and saving to a consistent location simplifies matters when running Time Machine or using iCloud. Saving everything to the home folder instead of the desktop or somewhere on the hard drive makes it easier to keep track of personal data.

Instead of tossing out the PC when the new Mac arrives, it’s probably best to run them both side by side for a while and slowly wean yourself off of the PC. There are a few things to get used to, new keyboard shortcuts to learn and few tasks to complete before the switchover can be considered a success.

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Contributed by a writer at Contently.com. This is a guest post and the opinions of the author may not reflect those of Rackspace.

The survey results

We asked Rackers what they wish they would have known before they worked at Rackspace. Take a look:

Glassdoor’s list of top 50 “Best Places to Work” recognizes exceptional companies that have retained the support and commitment of their employees despite the tough economic climate, and the selection process is based solely on anonymous employee reviews and surveys.  Rackers provided positive feedback on several workplace factors including work/life balance, career opportunities, communication, compensation,  fairness and respect, employee morale, and senior leadership.

Click here to view complete list of the Glassdoor 2012 Top 50 Best Places to Work.

Problems happen and when they happen, you need someone you can call on to immediately help you fix it. That someone you call may not sit at your office, but good service delivery means having resources that are as available and responsive as the rest of your team. It’s from this perspective that we’ve committed ourselves to a service level that allows us to become part of your team, not just another service provider.

What is the Value of Our Commitment to Service?

Save Money

Our managed cloud hosting starts at $200 per month, or $2,400 per year, that can translate to a massive annual savings when you consider the cost of hardware and additional personnel to manage it. This allows small businesses and startups to get the quality systems they need without having to invest in extra labor and hardware before they can open for business. It also allows larger clients to focus their existing internal teams on core business activities while our team of 3,800-plus certified system administrators develop and manage personalized solutions. Hiring an equivalent internally would be incredibly expensive.

Insurance for the Unknown

You may not have the money to replace a car totaled in an accident. That’s why you buy car insurance to serve as a safety net to get you back on the road quickly. If you’re running your own infrastructure, do you have a safety net when systems go down? How long will it take to figure out what’s wrong, fix it, and restore functionality? Research states that businesses suffer about ten hours of downtime per year costing over $159,000. With that kind of money on the line, you don’t want to cross your fingers and hope nothing major happens when you can sleep well knowing you have a team of experts keeping you online and operational.

With a hosting provider like Rackspace, you have a built-in safety net consisting of 24x7x365 phone, chat or email support, proactive data center monitoring, and certified experts to troubleshoot and fix issues as they arise. Additionally, our data redundancy and disaster recovery processes provide multiple safety nets for client data.

Skip the Learning Curve

In some areas of the country, just finding the right tech talent is impossible. It can be expensive to hire an experienced admin, and bringing on a fresh graduate may mean a lower salary but an extended learning curve. Either way, you’ll also have to invest in training and managing your new employees. According to a study, organizations spend approximately $1,000 and 40 hours of management time per year per employee on training.

At Rackspace, our highly selective team is trained and ready to leap when you say jump. We’ve already amassed talent fluent in multiple technologies and business experts to help you figure out how to use it.

Any hosting provider can give you server space, but finding a provider that also understands the importance of service is a challenge. That’s where Rackspace rises above. Like the service commitments of companies like Apple and Zappos, Rackspace puts customer needs first so you can focus on your core business.

The Shift Of IT Responsibilities

As with any major transition, the move from traditional IT to cloud computing presents a massive opportunity for the IT department to add more value to its organization. This shift, however, has to be managed proactively to ensure it is smooth. The move to the cloud gives management the opportunity to build a more responsive IT department that fuels a more highly skilled workforce. This, in turn, can create a better overall organization.

The cloud offers business managers the opportunity to not only save money on hardware and capital expenditures, but it allows them to sharpen the flexibility and skills of their existing resources to ensure that business needs, and not standard day-to-day IT headaches and fire-fights, are prioritized.

Do you see service as something of value in the cloud computing world?

If yes, give an example of when you needed your hosting provider to be an extension of your team.

Related articles

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• Rackspace CTO to enterprise: “Wait Wait… Don’t Upgrade!” (wired.com)
• Technology v support: Amazon’s premium challenge (go.theregister.com)
• 10 Ways the Cloud Has Changed New Business (rackspace.com)