Software as a service (SaaS) is an undeniably green alternative to traditional computing. It's one form of cloud computing in which people use software applications that are located on the Internet rather than on their own computers or networks. A very common example of it is web-based email. The green aspect of SaaS or cloud computing is that it shifts the computing power responsibilities to a relatively small number of Internet servers and can slow the continual demand for hardware upgrades to meet the needs of new software. Essentially, a software hosting provider can utilize a server more efficiently than you can in your office; it can also make setting up and managing your software a whole lot easier. As you rely more on the cloud, you may find that you rely less on an in-house IT person. It also usually lowers your upfront costs since you no longer have to buy and maintain the server or the software. But is it the right solution for you and your organization?

Risks

Since these services usually charge some sort of subscription fee, the lower upfront costs need to be balanced against the generally higher operating costs to determine what is right for your budget. Check out the thoughts and concerns of some of our forum users in this thread (read past the first few posts about the initial article to get to the real discussion). Their main concerns were around security, potential for data loss and availability. Major SaaS providers like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have had significant outages causing inconvenience to their users, but more importantly, one actually lost data in the process.

A couple of weeks back, I wrote a post to address some frequently asked questions about Windows 7 that opened with a plea for patience and understanding as our customer service reps work to dig out for the overwhelming demand for the new operating system. I'm gonna take a minute to expand on that request a bit.

Ya see, TechSoup is a nonprofit. I've spent my whole adult career working for nonprofits that I believe do pretty darn good jobs of serving the needs of their communities, providing valuable services, advocating and educating on behalf of important policy decisions, and do all around good work for the world. TechSoup is high on that list from my vantage point. If you don't believe me, check out the reach and impact we've had from 2008 alone. As much as we might want to be like Amazon.com, where you jettison through an order and get your package delivered the next day, it just doesn't work that way for TechSoup. And I'll explain why.

First, we don't "sell" the products listed on our site. We are the conduit via which those for-profit companies listed on our site distribute donated products to nonprofits and libraries. With being that conduit, we have a whole host of guidelines we need to follow to ensure that each organization that applies for a donated or discounted product actually meets the eligibility requirements set by the donor partner.

That means, we need to take all the info you give us when registering your organization, then get your IRS tax determination letter to confirm that you're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or a public library. Then, Adobe or Symantec can say that they want their donations to only go to organizations that work with, say, youth or homelessness. We need to sort through all of that in order to determine if your organization is actually eligible — based on those restrictions — to receive that donation. All that info is fed into a system that matches your organization type to which donated products you may be eligible to receive. Even if you're already registered, we still need to make sure the items you're requesting aren't exceeding any limits the donor partner sets and that you still qualify for an item you may have received two years ago (since our partners can change their restrictions at any time).

If you're not already familiar with the popular online customer relationship management (CRM) tool, Salesforce.com, you should get to know it. The software as a service (cloud) tool allows extraordinary levels of relationship tracking and management for companies and nonprofits worldwide. A few years back, the Salesforce Foundation started offering their services for free to nonprofits.

I was working at a small, but well-connected nonprofit at the time and we were an early adopter of Salesforce when it was very corporately modeled. Within a couple of years, Salesforce started offering a "nonprofit dashboard" which helped make the lingo a little more digestible for those of us looking for new members and to track existing supporters and donors, rather than the more standard "leads and opportunities" their system supported for corporate sales and support offices. Since then, they've made it even easier for nonprofits to embrace their donation by offering discounts on tutorials, online and in-person trainings, free weekly webinars on acquiring the donated license, and a bevy of resources to get started.

I've now worked with Salesforce in-depth at two nonprofits and have to say that it has every bell and whistle you could ever want (and maybe more than your organization might need), but most importantly for budget-conscious nonprofits, it's free.

Here's an interesting post by Jeff Atwood about solid-state hard drives (thanks David!). SSDs have been around in various forms for a long time, but only in recent years have manufacturers started seriously marketing them to consumers as an alternative to traditional hard drives. In early 2008, both Apple and Dell started shipping high-end laptops with SSDs only; others have followed suit since then. As Kevin points out in Should You Upgrade to Windows 7?, Windows 7 improves performance for solid-state drives markedly over XP and Vista.

A drive with no moving parts should be faster, more energy efficient, and less susceptible to failure, right? In theory, yes, but the reality might be more complicated. From Atwood's article:

I was an early solid state (SSD) drive adopter with my last laptop purchase, and it was a profound disappointment. Those first and second generation SSD drives turned out to be slower than their magnetic equivalents, despite the eager promises of vendors. On top of that, they were incredibly expensive, and of limited capacity. Running Windows Vista on an early 32 gigabyte SSD was an exercise in pain and frustration on so many levels. What's not to love? A lot.

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Since Windows 7 launched last week, there has been a flurry of activity from nonprofits and libraries looking to start using the new operating system. TechSoup has written a bunch of articles, blog posts, and forum threads to help people figure out whether to upgrade and how to do it. One thing we haven't really mentioned here yet, is the cool contest that Microsoft is hosting right now — specifically to benefit nonprofits and other social benefit organizations.

Organizations are encouraged to create a short video submission to tell the world how Windows 7 could help them change the world. For example, if you've got smoother running systems, maybe that leaves more time for you to do your real work of providing domestic violence counseling to women, children, and families in need. Or maybe upgrading the public computing lab you run for local lower-income community, will help people access job-hunt, language learning, and healthcare information easier. Whatever it is, tell your story. Here's more, direct from Microsoft:

On Wednesday, November 4 TechSoup Talks! will be conducting two webinars that highlight specific Microsoft programs or services useful to nonprofits and libraries.

This webinar, with environmental experts from Microsoft, will be broken into two 45-minute parts; one for small organizations and one for large organizations. These will help you learn how to reduce the environmental impact of your information technology and how to effectively use IT to improve your organizations' efficiency.

As many may know, Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system became available last week worldwide and through TechSoup's Microsoft Donation Program. Our customer service representatives have been plowing through the donation requests, helping nonprofits and libraries register and place their requests, and answering questions about whether to upgrade and how to do it. They're working as hard as they can to meet the demand and overflow of queries, so please be patient if you've called or emailed since they have a lengthy queue (even with additional staff support). Our community forums have also experienced a flurry of discussion on the operating system and lots of questions are being answered there.

To help bring some of the more frequently asked questions to the forefront (and hopefully answer some of your lingering questions), we've compiled this short list of Q&A to help you navigate.

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TechSoup is a nonprofit that partners with corporations to distribute software and hardware donations to nonprofits and libraries. You may already know about our donation programs that can save nonprofits and libraries approximately 90% on Microsoft products and Symantec's Norton Antivirus donations but did you know we offer a typing program, discount on Flickr, and more? Attend this free webinar at 11 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, October 28 and learn about TechSoup for Libraries and how we can help you offer more to your patrons and staff while saving money.

In case you've missed all the hub-bub in the mainstream media, all the tech junkies blogging their reviews of it, and the cutesy commercials touting the greatness of Windows 7, today is the day Microsoft's new operating system officially launched.

If your organization is an eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit or public library listed in the IMLS database, you may be eligible to request donated Windows 7 Enterprise or or Professional versions through TechSoup or to upgrade at no additional cost from your XP or Vista operating systems if you still have valid software assurance.

Check out the details of Microsoft's donation program and see a variety of reviews, articles, and resources to help you decide whether it's time to upgrade and whether Win 7 is the system you'd want to use. If you've already requested a Microsoft donation through TechSoup this year, you may be able to receive a special extra donation in order to request Windows 7 between now and January 31, 2010.

If you have questions about whether or not it's time for you to upgrade, how to request a donation, or want to share your opinions and thoughts on Windows 7, feel free to join the active discussion in our Software Forum.

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You may have heard about TechSoup's Digital Storytelling Online Event that's been going on all month. Well, tonight we're rolling out the red carpet for the finale where we'll be announcing the big winners! We received more than 100 submissions from nonprofits and libraries around the country (and world) who've shared their digital stories in video, photo, and GoldMail formats for the Digital Storytelling Challenge! These stories are being carefully reviewed by our esteemed panel of expert judges.

If you're in the Bay Area, join us at 7 p.m. Pacific at the TechSoup headquarters (525 Brannan Street, Third Floor) in San Francisco for the mixed reality awards screening party. If you're not in the Bay Area, you still join us by viewing the event in Second Life and follow the action on Twitter (hashtag: #tsdigs).

Whether you're a challenge participant or just interested in seeing the power of stories to help social benefit organizations convey their messages, don't miss this opportunity to mix and mingle with nonprofit colleagues, show your support, and see the winners! Our winners will be receiving some of these cool prizes. In the meantime, check out the challenge submissions below. See you on the red carpet!

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