Amazon the new backbone of the internet?

What’s been exposed, however, is how much Amazon Web Services (AWS), of which EC2 is a key component, underpins the Internet as we know it today. I’d even argue that AWS directly boosts the economy by allowing entrepreneurs to get even the grandest computing plans off the ground quickly.

The fact you pay for only what you use with AWS, with no upfront fees, is in itself extraordinary. Prior to AWS, companies liked users to sign up for lengthy contracts and charge fees that reflected what they could get away with, rather than what things actually cost. AWS doesn’t play these kind of power games.

Few tech companies openly discuss their usage of AWS because that would be like the wizard revealing himself to Dorothy. Would you trust a service that’s essentially a few computer science graduates in a rented office with little more than a good idea and a few Nerf guns? But that’s what a surprising number of tech firms are. Services with tens of millions of users can be corralled by just a handful of guys overseeing an AWS Web control panel.

Thanks, Amazon: The Cloud Crash Reveals Your Importance – PCWorld Business Center

Comhems katastrofalt opålitliga bredband

Vårt internet från Comhem har varit väldigt skakigt i en vecka och denna graf över de senaste 24 timmarna visar hur bedrövligt det har fungerat.

Grafen över den senaste veckan ser inte heller särskilt rolig ut.

Jag har givetvis gjort en felanmälan hos Comhem men det verkar tyvärr som att de inte vet vad som är fel.

Jag tycker dock att det liknar problemen vi hade för 1,5 år sedan som jag beskrev i Comhem strul, Comhems nertid senaste 7 dagarna och Horribel vecka för Comhem med skillnaden att det då var många korta avbrott och det nu är färre med desto längre avbrott.

Loggarna i routern visar dock att det är problem med IP-adresslånets förnyelse vilket verkade vara problemet för 1,5 år sedan också.

Om man tittar på grafen över den senaste månaden så ser man klart att något har gått fel den senaste veckan. Dippen den 11:e April var när allt, dvs bredband, telefoni och TV, var nere i över 24 timmar. Efter att de åtgärdade det felet så har TV-delen i alla fall fungerat. Vilket är bra då det är Snooker-VM! Men bredbandet har inte varit sig likt.

Update: En Comhem-tekniker kom förbi igår och bytte kontakterna i huset och följde sedan kabeln längs gatan till första förstärkaren och där hittade han ett stort glapp som han var säker på hade orsakat störningen. Efter att han åtgärdade det så har bredbandet fungerat bra igen!

Neil Robertson out and O’Sullivan wins easily

Quite surprising that Neil Robertson lost to up-and-coming Judd Trump. Wasn’t Robertson in on trying to defend his title?

On another note it seems like Ronnie might finally be playing well again. It’s about time! The match against Shaun Murphy in the second round will be interesting to watch.

It’s official: Asia’s just run out of IPv4 Addresses | ZDNet

‘Considering the ongoing demand for IP addresses, this date effectively represents IPv4 exhaustion for many of the current operators in the Asia Pacific region,’ Wilson said. ‘From this day onwards, IPv6 is mandatory for building new Internet networks and services.’

It’s official: Asia’s just run out of IPv4 Addresses | ZDNet

Finally IPv6 might get some traction!

Fukushima: What happened – and what needs to be done

A month has elapsed since the emergency at Fukushima began. But what exactly has gone on there and what are the priorities now?

BBC News – Fukushima: What happened – and what needs to be done

A good summary from BBC.

Behind the special effects in Tron Legacy

I was tickled that I got emacs into a block buster movie. I actually do use emacs irl, and although I do not subscribe to alt.religion.emacs, I think that’s all incredibly relevant to the world of Tron.

jtnimoy – Tron Legacy (2010)

Fascinating to read how the computer generated special effects were made for Tron Legacy.

I still haven’t seen the movie though.

Wozniak: Tablet is the PC for ‘normal people’

Tablets are the culmination of what Steve Jobs wanted to create at Apple from the beginning, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said Monday.

‘The tablet is not necessarily for the people in this room,’ Wozniak told the audience of enterprise storage engineers. ‘It’s for the normal people in the world,’ Wozniak said.

Wozniak: Tablet is the PC for ‘normal people’:

It’s easy to say that tablets will change how we use computers but it’s much harder to say in what way the usage will change. However, that the tablet will get a more central role in our lives compared to a stationary computer or a huge laptop, just by being so easy to take with you everywhere around the house is a huge benefit.

Goce satellite maps the Earth’s gravity in unprecedented precision

A European spacecraft that skims the upper reaches of the atmosphere has mapped Earth’s gravity with unrivalled precision. The map shows how the pull of gravity varies minutely over the surface of the Earth, from deep ocean trenches to majestic mountain ranges.

The measurements have allowed scientists to create a computer model called a geoid that reveals what Earth would look like if its shape were altered to make gravity equal at every point on the surface.

Goce satellite maps the Earth’s gravity in unprecedented precision | Science | guardian.co.uk

Maybe this should be a factor for the World Records in track and field.

Bird

Samsung Plants Keyloggers On Laptops

“Mohammed Hassan writes in Network World that he found a keylogger program installed on his brand-new laptop — not once, but twice. After initial denials, Samsung has admitted they did this, saying it was to ‘monitor the performance of the machine and to find out how it is being used.’”

Samsung Plants Keyloggers On Laptops – Slashdot

It is mind-boggling to think that Samsung did not expect anyone to find out.

**Update: ** Samsung Keylogger Stories a False Alarm