An example of an application that does not work well in a simple cloud environment is a shared database, such as the typical Oracle database application, where the information is one big block of data that needs to be manipulated all the time by many computing processes and where access to the shared data needs to be synchronized and managed.

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Even with these safeguards, the Netflix app is an example of an innovative application that may both benefit and be handicapped by its ties to the iPhone.

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Mr. Braun also mentioned Flipboard as an example of a delightful application that aggregates content from various sources.

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It allows users to record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen - a demonstration of how to use an application, for example - and then share it with friends for comment, or just for fun.

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For example, Stacy Blackman, co-author of The MBA Application Roadmap and an M.

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For a more dramatic example, consider the following: An investment in Riverbed Technology (RVBD), a developer of software to accelerate application performance and data transmission speeds on WANs, would have generated a 6x return, versus an investment in Clearwire (CLWR), a provider of portable high-speed wireless broadband services, which would have generated a 0.3x return.

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