Two weeks ago, Google announced a significant price increase for use of its App Engine Platform-as-a-Service. The increase itself was not a huge surprise. Google had been making noises that something like this was in the offing for a number of months. But the size of the increase shocked the Web development and cloud applications community. For most users, the cost of using the Google runtime environment effectively increased by 100% or more.

A huge online backlash ensued. For its part, Google put off the increase by a month and moderated some of the increases. But the whole incident brought many nagging doubts about the cloud to the surface. Said one poster on one of the many threads that lit up the Google Groups forums after the increase:

I like so many of us have spent a lot of time learning app engine – i have been worried like so many that using app engine is a mistake because any app you invest/build can only be run on… app engine.

Because the Google PaaS requires that developers customize code specifically to run in that environment and nowhere else, rewriting that code takes a lot of time, effort and money. With salaries for programmers hitting record highs in the Bay Area and recent CS graduates pulling in 0,000 or more to code, any big move that forced major code rewrites would ultimately wallop the bottom line. Ironically, these increases disproportionately affected numerous hobbyists and small developers running interesting applications – the creators of the next proverbial Google. Certainly corporate IT departments took notice, as well.

Vendor lock-in will make you vulnerable

Unquestionably, Google App Engine price increase revealed a key fundamental weakness of many cloud businesses.  Namely, vendor lock-in does exist in the cloud. This seems odd because one of the benefits of the cloud specifically was to obviate the advantage of vendor lock-in and make applications more portable. In that worldview, no cloud rules them all (not even Amazon) and companies operating applications in the cloud can quickly and easily port their applications to other PaaS offerings or to other IaaS providers.

With vendor lock-in comes vulnerability to price increases. In all likelihood, Google – a data-driven business if there ever was one – was rebalancing pricing to reflect its own need for profitability. But for developers and app makers, this drastic shift effectively turned their decision to go with Google App Engine into what may have been a “bet-the-company” decision without ever realizing it.  For the PaaS industry in general, the move raises significant uncertainty. If Google has to raise its prices this much, who’s next?

Start thinking defensively before you choose a platform

In a similar vein, developers who put their applications up on Heroku may not have realized that their business fate depended on the fidelity of the Amazon EC2 cloud. If a company had been planning a big sales event or promotion during the extended EC2 outage, those three days of hard downtime may have had an outsized impact.

So clearly the rules of the game have changed for anyone who wants to put an app in the cloud and run a real business. Defensive thinking is in order. Here are five key rules to avoid getting gouged by Google App Engine or eviscerated by an EC2 outage:

1. Avoid vendor lock-in at all costs. This is now a no-brainer. Make sure that your app can be easily ported to other clouds if you need to move due to service outages. If you must write apps that require serious customization, make sure you have a back-up plan and, if you can swing the cost, an alternative cloud running your code as a backup.
2.  Know thy PaaS. Spreading the risk among multiple PaaS providers makes a lot of sense – unless they are all totally dependent on one big cloud to deliver your applications and cloud business. Explore installable PaaS options that you yourself control. So ask pointed questions about where your PaaS is running and how they are managing their risks of failure of a big cloud.
3.  Ask hard questions about redundancy and system architecture. Deep under the covers of most clouds are core system architectures that may replicate single-points-of-failure. That’s because, at its core, the cloud infrastructure ecosystem is not a terribly diverse environment. Only a few hardware and software companies rule the roost. Similarly, ask your cloud provider to completely open their architecture and software kimono and let you examine everything. If they won’t, then you caveat emptor. If they will, you can judge their redundancy steps for yourself. So ask for specific architecture diagrams if you are going to be dependent on a cloud environment and its reliability. And get a network engineer or system architect buddy to review the diagrams. Think this is overkill? Ask FourSquare, Reddit and the other huge sites that have corporate backing or VC money and went down hard in the EC2 outages.
4. Pick code that’s easier and faster to modify. Not all runtime environments and frameworks are alike. Certain flavors and types of frameworks and Web scripting environments are more difficult to change in a pinch due to the core architecture of the way the scripting language works. Until recently, PHP was far harder to clean up than RoR, and Python, pre-Django, was more unwieldy.
5. The most popular code may not be the cheapest code. Think about the availability of coders. Many applications companies have a horror story about how their iOS app needed modifications and they either had to pay a high-end dev shop 0 per hour or had to wait for weeks to make the mods. At the same time, some runtime environments like Node.js can be built with Javascript code throughout the application stack. (We’re biased as we are strong backers of Node.js). That means you eliminate the need for differentiated front- and back-end coding teams, in a best case scenario. When building your cloud app, think hard about the code selection before you start filling up your GitHub repository.

By no means are these five steps comprehensive. And for the most part they are obvious. But in the cloud things move pretty quickly and sometimes slowing down to think about what your cloud application will be in six, 12 or 24 months is hard to do. So put on your crash helmet, watch your wallet, and be careful out there, people.

Alex Salkever is Director of Product Marketing at Joyent Cloud (@Joyent). He was formerly a technology editor at BusinessWeek.com.

Image courtesy of Flickr user kreg.steppe.

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• NewNet Q2: Google closes the quarter with a bang
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• Infrastructure Q1: IaaS Comes Down to Earth; Big Data Takes Flight

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The main aim behind the chrome OS is always to make the web, the working platform, so that it works on any unit supporting the browser. The Chromebooks are specifically developed and optimized mainly for the internet. It is actually essentially a pc that runs Google’s Chrome os.

The most crucial school of thought is to have the client’s come across more of web centric and enriching. In some ways it is similar to Apple’s iPad wherein the hardware is at the backseat. Google is boasting that the Chromebook doesn’t require virus coverage. It states that the os is versatile and easy to work with and have the self recovery features.

Samsung and Acer would provide the Google Chromebook with an inbuilt 2 G.B ram, 16 G.B SSD storage space. It truly is built around the Atom N 750 CPUs. The WI-FI enabled chromebooks, by Acer will come somewhere around $350. On the other hand Samsung’s WI-FI enabled chromebooks would come around $430.

Doubts are been continually presented on its cheap hardware, on its overpowering cost as compared to other laptops and on its not been as a exciting as an ipad. Answering on the topic of the specifications been slightly low, Google has reasoned that the web has more space for storing than almost every other computer system. The significant feature of a Chromebook is its cloud computing. Google’s operating system is the initially commercially accessible end user cloud centric os.

Other remarkable feature features of a Chromebook are; the Chromebook starts in barely about 7 seconds. It dishes out all day long battery life. A computer owner can access his stuff anyplace. The owner can gain access to the applications, settings and even his documents while using the Chrome browser.

It is actually been believed that the learning curve of the Chrome operating-system is straightforward. Then again there is the other side of the coin. Quite a few say that “The web is what you are making out of it”. What remains to be seen is how people will reply to the Google Chromebook. Let’s see whether or not the Chromebook is the next generation of computers or just a passing gimmick.

You may recall Intel’s 710 “Lyndonville” and 720 “Ramsdale” enterprise SSDs outted by a leaked roadmap back in April, but details were as thin as high mountain air. Luckily, German site Computer Base has obtained what appears to be a full spec sheet for the aforementioned drives. Starting with the 710, this 25nm HET MLC — a more durable variant of MLC — device will come in 100GB, 200GB, and 300GB flavors, and it claims to have read and write speeds at up to 270 MB/s and 210 MB/s, respectively, along with a 3Gbps SATA connection.

Things are a bit wild with the 720: not only does it have 34nm SLC chips making up the 200GB and 400GB versions, but it also boasts some truly insane read and write speeds of up to 2200 MB/s and 1800 MB/s, respectively. Yes, 2200 MB/s and 1800 MB/s, garnished by the fast 4K IOPs as well. We had our doubts initially, but looking at the 6Gbps PCIe interface and the much higher power draw, we think there’s a good chance for this to come into reality. Well, only time will tell if these numbers will stick around for the Q3 launch this year — not that our wallets will want to know, mind you. Hit the source link for the full lowdown.

Intel’s 710 ‘Lyndonville’ and 720 ‘Ramsdale’ SSDs see full spec leak well ahead of release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Had some doubts that Apple was heading skyward? Those lingering concerns can now be put to rest. Apple has confirmed that it will be announcing iCloud on June 6th, what it’s calling an “upcoming cloud services offering.” That will be part of the keynote for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, known to the cool kids as WWDC. This is, of course, where everyone has come to expect new iPhones to come to light, but this year we’re thinking the focus will be more on software, and indeed Apple’s event notice indicates that the big highlights will be Mac OS X Lion and the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5. This is a decidedly non-Apple way to announce something big like iCloud, making us wonder what other surprises Steve Jobs will have for us at the event — yes, he’ll be kicking things off. As ever you can find out as it happens here, live.

Continue reading Apple to unveil iCloud, iOS 5 on Monday, June 6

Apple to unveil iCloud, iOS 5 on Monday, June 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This warning is normally displayed when a virus is detected on your computer. Those alerts are doing the promotion of some fake security tool. It is not even a real threat. Many people become tricked thinking that Fire Fox is telling them to use the fake security program. This threat is dangerous only to your PC. This is all what this program is about. Check here Computer Repair to know more about a great Online Computer Repair service.

This fake program will try to block you from using some webpages. Besides, your computer won’t be able to use any executables (to run them). This program is basically trying to push you into some corner. It also tries to force the user to make a purchase of the “not real” security client. Be careful when you have doubts regarding such warnings, and look around about them.

When this message pops up, it says that possible reasons for you getting this message includes: spyware infection on your computer, complaints from other users about this site and many other reasons. Then you will be told to do things like a virus and malware scan on your PC.

If you have no idea what to do next when reading such alerts, first do not believe them at all. Then do not buy any products, like virus removal tools, via such alerts. This is not really a message from Fire fox itself, instead a scam!

You can play your slot cars any time you want. You’ll be able to listen to cheers and jeers as well as view laughs, smiles, and obvious thrills coming from their faces. At this point, what disappoints all people by far the most is whenever a car all of a sudden flies off and breaks. The track might also suddenly separate and ruin everyone’s mood. The good thing is, with Life Like slot cars the excitement won’t finish. The only issue is, you have to come across quality racers to drive quick, resilient and captivating slot cars.

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The Life Like Slot cars have a powerful “downforce” due to the 2 small neodymium magnets that are in the slot car straight above the track’s power rail. These keep your cars from flying up and away.

You need a simple to put together race track to keep your cars on the go. You can keep having fun knowing full well that it will stay joined up a result of the Dura-Lock system; in addition it contributes to simplicity of assembly and track security. With Life Like slot cars sets, you will get long and easy to put together tracks with lap counters to check your laps. Who says that racing slot cars is merely for the children? Everyone can enjoy Life Like slot cars sets.

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If you are searching for information in relation to Life Like slot cars and various other slot car models please visit us at http://www.myslotcarracing.com

Auto title loans, stands out as the solution for urgent cash on hand for those who are faced with bad . These loans can also be on behalf of any of your valuable assets, like a car or a house. What you have to do is to prepare your papers for the lenders in order to get these loans. On the other hand, you are not permitted to use of any house placed as collateral in other conventional secured loans. The loan amount from the title loans depends on the market value of the placed collateral.

However, it depends on the lenders how much they can approve for you. The title loans can also be used for long time and short time as per your need; nevertheless persons have to use these loans only in time of urgent need since they arrive using a greater interest rate. As an urgent case for money option, a car title loan may prove a rapid and correct alternative for most life circumstances. Just do some sincere research before selecting the perfect lender and terms for you personally prior to applying for loans from any lender to get the best feasible deal.

A new trader might be confused at first whether to settle with the expensive or the cheaper software alternative.That is understandable as you are just starting to learn about it. The main understanding is that it is better to go with the costly charting package since it is believed to be the most reliable one. But the fact is, these charting packages are almost functioning similarly and that even the most seasoned traders would know that based on their trading experience. You just have to remember that there are more considerations to think about aside from the price of the software alone.

Are you going to settle with the old or new software? Using an old software is generally viewed as more reliable and that it will stand the test of time. Indeed, you have to settle with the best chart software that is reliable and well supported even for the next coming years. You should remember this especially if you want something that will stay well developed through the years and has a strong back up system just to make sure that you will not need to use another one after sometime.

Also, it is worth noting to check whether the software is well recognized by a lot of traders, both new and seasoned ones. You can also check the charting package if there is a large community that supports it. You would know this just by checking out their forums and interacting with the other users of this charting package. You will be pleased to learn that you can get more news about the recent developments from these professionals who have been loyal into using this best charting software aside from the ones that you can learn from the developers themselves.

Does this software package allows you to be flexible or does it come as a pre-programmed one? You should be looking for one that will allow you to define both entry and exit criteria. This gives you much control in your trade, something that a pre-programmed one cannot do.

Does your charting package help you scan the market as you trade? That is because a good charting software lets you do that and it will make you see the market activity and is just easy to read especially for a new trader like you.

You should also remember that the charting package that you need to choose should also have a well known back testing facility within the package. Stay away from those that force you to use their data because you might be tied up in more expensive data plans. Thus, it would be best to settle for one that uses third party data plans instead.

In essence, if you need extra help in choosing the best charting software, you can easily reach out to others who can give you an expert opinion before you zero in on your choice. You can also benefit from the trial versions to see this package is the right one that you can use soon.

How outlandish is it to expect a disc to be returned intact and working? I know how truly upsetting having one’s disc damaged is. The reason that the scratched disc is more upsetting than other things broken is that the scratch, and ultimately the end of the disc, sometimes goes unnoticed for a while.

Therefore you let your friend borrow your full collection of the O.C discs. Now, unknown to you, one of those 16 discs returned is marred beyond restore. You’ll discover that the disc is ruined and ultimately an O.C season is ruined, as the show is largely serialized, until you choose to sit down and watch all four of those seasons.

It will not happen until you’ve grown apart from said friend and are ill in bed with sinus problem or something like that. When you discover the ruined disc you choose to call the former friend. Her number is disconnected and you wish her just the worst. Your next move is the most risky and most far-fetched: the DVD scratch remover.

You’ve seen this advertised before therefore you bundle up, have a pull from the cough and sinus decongestant, and visit the store. After buying the DVD scratch remover you sit at your tiny desk and place the disc in the machine and follow the directions. You look at the supposedly fixed disc and it does look shinier and new, but does it work?

You throw it into your DVD player and press play button and you hear the Phantom Planet music you’ve been longing for. Thank you disc scratch remover! You had your anxieties regarding this all, you had your doubts regarding this former friend and start to hope she has merely changed her number and the most terrible of fates has not found her.

You start to understand that life is not so horrible after all, I mean life isn’t that bad in Orange County, therefore how could it be that bad in Madison, Wisconsin? You take another pull from your cough and sinus decongestant and fall into a peaceful preparative slumber.

Gadgets Are The Best Gifts

All of us buy gifts for our near and dear ones on different occasions and special days. Whenever we want to gift something we start up with unusual gift ideas and different thoughts come across our mind. Now the problem is when we have so many different gift ideas and do not know which one to be gifted. Then arises other question that if we buy this particular thing the other person will like it or not. In short we can say that buying a gift is really a difficult job and being successful at this job is very rare. But there is one way by which you can be sure that the other person will like it. You can think of buying unusual gadgets which always prove to the best choice for any person irrespective of age or gender.

When you have make up your mind that you want to buy some gadget as a gift then go out and explore for the latest electronic gadgets. If you are gadget freak then you will not face much difficulty while choosing a gift. If you are not a gadget freak then also you do not need to worry as there are many other sources to help you out. You can take help from any of your friends to accompany you to the store from where you are thinking to buy the gift. If not then you can take help from the salesmen present at the stores. These people have all the knowledge about the gadgets and their popularity and you can ask them in case of any doubts. If you do not find even this kind of help convincing then take out some time and search on internet. It is the best way to get information about anything in this universe. You can search for latest electronic gadgets available in the market and their variations. Not just this you can also find comparisons between similar products from different brands. With all this information the choice for a gift becomes pretty easy.

There are some gadgets which are all time popular and are cell phone, MP3 player, robotic reading light, golf scope, iPod, USB massager and lots more. When you go out for buying the gift just keep in mind how much money you can spend on it. If you do not want to go out then there is available the option of online shopping.

In brief we can say that whenever you got out to buy a gift be a smart shopper. The best thing which can be gifted is an electronic gadget which can be anything from a cell phone to a laptop. You can buy these gadgets either by visiting the stores or on internet.