Salesforce's Database.com and Force.com: Differences? - PC Magazine

In a move that many are sure to see as direct competition against database heavyweight Oracle and Microsoft's SQL Azure platform, Salesforce.com on Tuesday unveiled its open, cloud-based database platform, Database.com.

Part of Salesforce.com's product arsenal already includes Force.com; its application development platform. So what exactly are the differences between Database.com and Force.com?

Database.com is a database. It will allow customers to develop applications for social, cloud, and mobile on the same platform on which Salesforce.com is built. The big advantage being cited is flexibility-applications can be written in any language and run on many different platforms including Force.com, VMforce, Amazon EC2, Google AppEngine, Heroku, and Microsoft Azure. Customers can also port existing databases to Database.com.

These apps can also run natively on any device, like an Android phone, Blackberry, iPad, or iPhone. These apps can all call the Database.com APIs securely over the Internet. These can be small apps needed by only a few users, or massive apps capable of scaling to support hundreds of thousands of users. User interfaces must be built by a developer using a platform of the developer's choice.

Force.com is an application development platform. Unlike Database.com it features point-and-click app development, has a home page, Chatter UI and other components for reporting and analytics. Salesforce mobile is also a component of Force.com. However, with Database.com, users can build native apps for mobile devices. Force.com and Database.com can be used together or separately.

Database.com is currently scheduled to be generally available as a standalone service in 2011. It will be free to get started. Basic Database.com services, including database access, file storage, and automatic administration, will be available beginning at: free for three users, and up to 100,000 records and 50,000 transactions/month; $10/month for each set of 100,000 records beyond that; and $10/month for each set of 150,000 transactions beyond that. Enterprises can opt for Database.com Enterprise services for $10/user/month which includes user identity, authentication, and row-level security access controls.

Salesforce is emphasizing the security. Database.com leverages Salesforce.com's global service delivery infrastructure, offering SSL, single-sign on, identity confirmation and anti-phishing tools. The platform has also received several certifications including ISO 27001, SAS 70 Type II and SysTrust. Users can give Database.com a try by signing up for a free Force.com account.

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Search continues for Ill. mom who vanished - msnbc.com

The search for an Illinois woman who vanished after her husband was killed in a car accident stretched into a third day on Tuesday.

Volunteers and officers on foot began searching at 9 a.m. and were expected to continue until dark, Keri Myers of the LaSalle County Sheriff's Department told msnbc.com.

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Tanya Shannon, 40, a mother of four, was last seen in a red dress and gray fleece hooded jacket riding home from a holiday party on Sunday with her husband Dale Shannon, 41, behind the wheel, authorities said.

Police found the car near Seneca, about 80 miles from Chicago, at 1:45 a.m. Sunday. They said the car spun out of control and the rear of it hit a utility pole, breaking Dale Shannon's back. He was found dead behind the wheel.

Evidence in the car indicated a second person was in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Tanya Shannon had disappeared. Footprints that investigators believed belonged to her, as well as a shoe, were found nearby, reported WMAQ TV, NBC's Chicago station.

"Tracks coming from the driver's side door of the crashed vehicle up to the road and a shoe, it was like a slip-on shoe, was recovered," LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said Monday.

Steve Smith of LaSalle County Search and Rescue told WSPL Radio that searchers on Tuesday were looking in an expanded area and probing snow banks with poles.

Authorities said Tanya Shannon may be dead and her body may be under the snow.

'Taking nothing for granted'
"We're taking nothing for granted," said Templeton said. "As long as we have the resources available, we will continue searching."

"They were having a great time. They were dancing together, laughing and very much in love with each other," said Dale's sister, Donna Shannon, WMAQ reported.

Since Sunday, thermal imaging devices, dogs, All-Terrain Vehicles and planes have been used by dozens of people looking for her.

Investigators told WMAQ they have only two working theories: that she was injured and disoriented as she went for help on the bitter cold, wind-swept road and collapsed somewhere in the snow, or that someone picked her up under the guise of offering assistance.

With repeated searches, they have all but disproved their first theory and have no leads on the second.

"Anything that's even remotely close has been gone over several times," Templeton told the Chicago Tribune.

Shannon's family and friends said they're holding out hope that the woman will be found alive, but with temperatures below freezing, time is of the essence.

Templeton said Shannon was a "dedicated, loving mother" who would have contacted her family if she could. He said the Shannons have four children, ages 3, 7, 10 and 13.

Shannon is described as 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing about 125 pounds, with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair and green eyes.

NBC station WMAQ and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Nexus S review roundup - Christian Science Monitor

The Nexus S arrives December 16th, but several outlets already have their hands on the new Android phone. Here are some of the early Nexus S reviews.

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The pitch

"Though not officially positioned as such, the Nexus S is an update to the now-retired HTC Nexus One," writes CNET in its preview. CNET likes to take its time with gadgets, so expect its review later this week. "Like its predecessor, the Nexus S offers the 'pure Google' experience without a disruptive manufacturer skin. That means you'll get direct access to a full set of Google applications.... It's the first handset with 'Gingerbread,' the next version of the Android operating system, and it offers a number of feature improvements like a Super AMOLED display with a contour design, an NFC chip, and a second camera. Not everything sounds promising--the Nexus S lacks a memory card slot and support for T-Mobile's HSPA+ network--but we're excited to see it just the same."

The NFC chip

"The much-touted 'Near field communication,' so far, is a let down however," says the UK Telegraph. "That's because few people - in the UK at least - are yet using it. But as with so many Google features it could, in due course, be revolutionary: payments, transport tickets and more could – and should – all soon be based on this technology. For now, however, it’s simply a way of taking people to websites quickly."

The interface

"The UI has also been nipped and tucked all over the place, with icons and navigational elements taking on more of a buffed glass feel," writes Engadget in its preview. "Google has made big improvements to the keyboard, copy / paste, and text selection options, bringing the on-screen QWERTY and its associated components much closer to parity with iOS 4."

The downsides

"The lack of a comma on the keyboard might sound like a little issue, but to us, it's massive and could quickly get annoying," pans Tech Radar. "The text wrapping on the internet browser was hard to get right too (although that could be simply due to the early software build, so we'll wait for judgement on that). The price [$199 on contract, $529 unlocked] is ridiculously high for the average gadget lover - sure, it has come neat features but we reckon that slightly curved display added a few quid to the cost of manufacture, and had it been flat the world would have simultaneously wept."

The final word
"The bottom line is this," states TechCrunch. "If you are an iPhone user this isn’t going to make you switch. If you’re an Android user you will want this phone more than any other. If you’re currently neither, we recommend that you go with the Nexus S. It is better than the iPhone in most ways. What you lose with the slightly less impressive screen and iOS’s slightly slicker user experience you will more than make up for with the Nexus S’s ability to actually make phone calls that don’t drop and Google’s exceptional Navigation and voice input applications. The fact that the phone is unlocked and can be used abroad with other carriers is also a very big plus."

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