When an availability zone in Amazon’s U.S. East data center complex went down, Netflix was able to circumvent cloud outages. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Netflix’s maneuver could serve as a model for other companies dealing with potential outages.
Netflix had experience with outages in the past and has run evacuation drills to prepare for such an event. The company noticed issues with Amazon Web Services U.S. East on the Monday before superstorm Sandy. “Amazon was also able to confirm that the degradation was limited to a single Availability Zone,” two employees wrote in a blog. “Once we learned the impact was isolated to one AZ, we began evacuating the affected zone.”
“Netflix’s Asgard technology helped in this effort,” GigaOM writes. “Asgard, which Netflix open sourced last summer, is a web interface (once known as Netflix Application Console) that engineers use to deploy code changes and manage resources on Amazon. According to Netflix, the technology lets engineers track multiple AWS components — Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), EC2 instances, etc. — used by their applications and manage them more efficiently than Amazon’s own console allows.”
Using Asgard, Netflix was able to evacuate the troubled zone in 20 minutes and restore service to all users.
“So far, AWS U.S. East has not exhibited problems associated with the massive superstorm [Sandy],” GigaOM reports. “But given past issues — and the fact that other east coast data centers have crashed – companies that rely on Amazon’s cloud are (or should be) scrambling to find ways to mitigate outages and performance problems.”
Apple’s iPad mini announcement overshadowed another Apple product – the “fourth generation” iPad which has a faster A6X processor and a Lightning port. “The 1.3-pound iPad’s 2048 x 1536 Retina display is still among the best we’ve seen on a tablet.” The new iPad comes just a few months after the “new iPad,” writes The Verge.
The new iPad’s A6X processor launches apps and Safari noticeably faster. WiFi performance is improved and Facetime’s video is sharper. Game graphics are “smooth no matter how detailed, everything’s incredibly responsive, and I saw nary a skipped frame or stuttery animation.” LTE data numbers are “off the chart.”
The new processor does not decrease battery life, which is an important aspect of the update. Maintaining battery life is crucial, writes The Verge.
The connector “means that any docks, cables, or accessories you had for your iPad are now useless without a $29 adapter that’s currently all but impossible to find anywhere,” writes The Verge. While they is critical of the adaptor, it does note that “Lightning’s clearly the future for Apple’s products.” Apple wants to get as many products on the market with Lightning adapters so people begin to make the switch to the new adapter.
Following the lead of Walmart, Amazon, eBay and the U.S. Postal Service, Google is launching its own same-day delivery service, according to two anonymous sources.
For some Google employees and their friends in the San Francisco area, the service has gone live. They can “buy a product, using their phones or computers, and have it delivered to their homes in a matter of hours,” reports The New York Times.
Same-day delivery has been in the works at Google for more than a year. “Though the service propels Google into commerce, the company does not intend to operate warehouses or a shipping service but to team up with retailers and delivery companies,” the article explains. “Several San Francisco retailers, including national chains, are participating in the program already.”
At least one national apparel chain is involved, the sources say. The program is promising for physical retailers facing pressure from e-commerce companies that are taking away brick-and-mortar’s last advantage: same-day ownership.
It’s not clear why Google is investing in same-day delivery, but NYT notes that the company has been facing increased online competition. Consumers are more frequently bypassing the search giant altogether and going straight to e-commerce sites such as Amazon for their searches.
“Additionally, Google has been trying to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds to better understand and profit from mobile ads,” the article explains.
“On computers, Google and advertisers know if a user clicks on an ad and visits or buys on another Web site. But they lose track of customers who look up a business or product on their phone and then put their phone away, walk into the store and buy something. Online ordering and delivery could help solve that problem.”
On an average day, the word “sandy” is mentioned 3,000 times on social media. The Wall Street Journal reports that on Monday, the word was mentioned 4.8 million times across various social media sites as people looked to Twitter, Facebook and other networks to get information on the storm.
Manhattan resident Naomi Ben-Shahar tracked Hurricane Sandy news on social media after she lost power Monday night. “As the power flickered off in millions of homes around New York and New Jersey, many like Ms. Ben-Shahar had been forced to give up on television and radio and rely almost exclusively on social media, where the storm played out on the tiny screens of mobile devices in a hugely fast-paced alternative narrative of destruction.”
Citizen journalists took to Instagram to post pictures of the storm’s progression, from people prepping to the hurricane’s aftermath.
“As the frenzy for information grew with the storm, some disinformation creeped into mainstream outlets,” the Journal reported. “A false rumor claiming that the floor of the New York Stock Exchange was three feet under water, found its way onto CNN and the Weather Channel.”
Also, many online news sites went down as East Coast data centers flooded. Datagram, a center in Lower Manhattan which hosts the Huffington Post, Gawker, BuzzFeed, Mediate and others, went down Monday evening when it was flooded.
Ben-Shahar says social media presented its own challenges. “I feel so disconnected. I’m trying to read only reliable tweets,” she wrote in a Facebook message, adding that “It was frustrating to feel so stuck with my 5-year-old and read about normal life continuing elsewhere.”
AU Optronics is making a 65-inch TV panel that it says will offer 4K TV resolution while consuming less power than current screens.
The company has developed an “IGZO panel that wields the very light-friendly technology to reach 4K resolutions without the usual penalties — as the screen doesn’t need much backlighting to illuminate all those pixels, it can stay slim and keep the shocking energy bills to a minimum,” reports Engadget.
“The smaller size and miserly power draw also leave a real chance that any pricing will be closer to the mere mortal realm than current 84-inch behemoths,” comments the post, referring to early Ultra HD offerings from LG and Sony.
The AU Optronics’ panel uses indium gallium zinc oxide as its semiconducting material. However, it has yet to be announced whether there are deals in place for companies to use AUO’s display.
Additionally, “the Taiwan firm has simultaneously developed a more conventional, 55-inch 4K screen with a wide color range as well as a 50-inch, 1080p panel with an extra-skinny 0.14-inch bezel,” notes the post.
“It’s at least good to know that there’s already competition for technology that’s just getting started,” suggests Engadget.
IBM researchers have developed a new technique that greatly enhances the efficiency of silicon replacement technology based on carbon nanotubes.
“Carbon nanotubes are very small structures made of a lattice of carbon atoms rolled into a cylindrical shape, and a team of eight researchers have figured out a way to precisely place them on a computer chip,” reports CNET.
IBM researchers used advanced chemical processing to fit 10,000 carbon nanotube transistors onto one chip.
This marks an increase of 100 times in density over previous attempts — or the equivalent of 1 billion nanotubes per square centimeter.
“The new technique helps improve the nanotubes’ chances in the hunt for alternatives once today’s silicon transistor technology runs out of steam,” explains the article. “Today’s chips are made of tiny electrical switches called transistors, and carbon nanotubes are a potential substitute for the silicon channels that carry electrical current in those transistors.”
Although IBM has yet to commit to a commercial version, it is worth noting the new process is compatible with today’s chipmaking technology.
“This new placement technique is readily implemented, involving common chemicals and processes, and provides a platform for future CNTFET experimental studies,” the paper said. “Furthermore, these results show that CNT placement via chemical self-assembly is a promising approach for developing a viable CNT logic technology compatible with existing semiconductor fabrication.”
Chinese telecom giant ZTE plans to release a line of HTML5 set-top boxes that will support 3D TV and video calling over Google’s Android platform, which powers 90 percent of the company’s smartphones.
“The announcement comes after ZTE reached agreement allowing the company access to the digital TV systems of Kudelski SA’s Nagra division,” reports Bloomberg.
“The agreement enables the Chinese company to sell intelligent set-top boxes to customers of Nagra, which has a 70 percent share of Europe’s market for cable TV devices, and 18 percent globally, ZTE said.”
The company also plans to launch a new mobile operating system with Mozilla, developer of the Firefox browser, to lessen its dependence on Android.
“ZTE’s shares traded in Hong Kong fell 6 percent, the most since August 27, to close at HK$12.60, while the Shenzhen-traded stock gained 2.6 percent to 11.45 yuan,” notes the post.
“A U.S. House intelligence committee report to be released [October 8] says the company poses a security threat,” notes Bloomberg, “and ‘cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence,’ according to a draft provided by the panel.”
Yahoo announced on Friday it will not support Microsoft’s “Do Not Track” feature on Internet Explorer 10 since the anti-monitoring signal is activated by default.
“All other browsers require users to turn DNT on themselves — which is just how the advertising industry likes it,” reports Digital Trends. “Do Not Track is currently an option in all major Web browsers. When turned on, DNT tells websites’ third-party advertisers that the user does not what his or her Web activity monitored for the purpose of receiving targeted advertisements.”
However, only a fraction of users take advantage of DNT. Since IE10 automatically turns the DNT signal on, Yahoo is “calling foul.”
“Recently, Microsoft unilaterally decided to turn on DNT in Internet Explorer 10 by default, rather than at users’ direction,” wrote Yahoo in a blog post. “In our view, this degrades the experience for the majority of users and makes it hard to deliver on our value proposition to them. It basically means that the DNT signal from IE10 doesn’t express user intent.”
Therefore, Yahoo will ignore any DNT signal from IE10 “in order to preserve that coveted personalized user experience,” explains the post.
“Our users have come to expect a personalized Yahoo! experience tailor-made for their lives — whether they’re checking local weather, sports scores, stock quotes, daily news, or viewing ads on our site,” wrote Yahoo. “We fundamentally believe that the online experience is better when it is personalized.”
“Just because the signal is turned on doesn’t mean that a consumer wants no services that involve tracking,” countered Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith.
Instead, Digital Trends recommends installing third-party tracker blockers such as Privacy Fix, Ghostery or Do Not Track Plus.
After a year of producing concert videos, episodic content and documentaries, BAMM.tv is releasing an iPad app for its content, which was previously only available on the company’s website.
BAMM.tv offers over 70 hours of music videos from 175 artists and a “rundown of all the artists and different genres,” reports TechCrunch. Consumers can watch the videos for free, but the iPad app is ad-supported. BAMM.tv may also expand to include in-app purchases of merchandise or exclusive content.
“The app is designed to look like a virtual music venue, allowing users to watch videos, learn more about different bands, engage with musicians via social media, check out tour schedules, and even purchase tickets to upcoming shows,” the article explains.
“The app allows users to navigate through various playlists curated by the BAMM.tv staff, and there’s a gamification aspect that lets users unlock content like exclusive audio tracks or videos by engaging more with the content. They can also create their own playlists — or playmixes, as the app calls them — of their favorite songs or videos.”
BAMM.tv has deals with both advertising companies and global distributors to offer content overseas.
“While most video sites today pay upfront for licensing rights to video content, BAMM.tv is trying to establish a new model for partnering with and paying artists,” the post states. “It works like this: BAMM.tv has negotiated global rights to the performances and other content from performers. In exchange, BAMM.tv will share all profits that it makes, dividing those proceeds based upon the number of views that various performers get on the app and on its website.”
While the app does have a lot of interesting content, the user experience is convoluted, making interacting with the music and videos difficult, TechCrunch comments.
The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) in northern Chile has compiled the most comprehensive, detailed catalog of stars to-date by creating a nine billion pixel image of 84 million stars.
If the image were printed on paper, it would be something like 30 feet wide and 23 feet tall, reports The Atlantic. For this reason, most researchers will need to use computers to access all 108,500 by 81,500 pixels.
“The image contains both visible and infrared light, which allows astronomers to document stars normally obstructed by gas clouds,” notes the article.
The data is offered to the public domain via the observatory’s archive, “so that in the months ahead astronomers can pore over them, searching for clues as the formation, evolution, and structure of our galaxy, and looking for stars that might be good candidates for more exoplanet discoveries,” writes The Atlantic.
The post includes a short video that illustrates the gigapixel view of the Milky Way.
The Windows Phone 8 hopes to reverse the current trend in the smartphone market whereby Windows Phones have received critical acclaim, but not market share. Currently, Windows Phone has only a 3.5 percent global market share, while iOs and Android have 17 percent and 68 percent respectively, reports Wired.
The Windows 8 phone features the tile-interface that is now featured in Windows 8. The phone has a customized experience and features tiles that fill the entire screen, whereas older versions had a black rail along the right side of the screen.
The Wired review prefers the Windows interface to Android’s, and says it can see people switching to Windows Phones.
Non-Nokia Windows phones do not have public transportation compatibility on the maps application, but do have turn-by-turn directions. The phone also features multitasking, and apps run smoothly in the background, according to Wired.
But while the Windows Phone has a plethora of good features, it is still limited by the small number of apps for its platform. The lack of Instagram and other “killer apps” will limit the number of users who switch from other smartphones.
Wired summarizes that the Windows Phone has a “slick, intuitive interface with nice animations that just works,” along with “customizable live tiles and lock screen.”
The negatives: “Key apps are missing. Windows Store is cluttered, with reviews appearing in different languages. Rooms is useless unless you know a lot of Microsoft employees. Multitasking has some strange behaviors.”
A new iPhone app called Threadlife wants to be the Instagram of video sharing, enabling users to create three-second clips and thread them together in private or public streams to create social video reels.
The service was created by Zappos founder and former CEO Nick Swimrun along with Ken Martin, co-founder and CEO of design company BLITZ Agency. It launches today as invite only.
“What sets Threadlife apart from other video apps, its creators say, is that its three-second limit eliminates any need for editing, a major obstacle for the success of video-sharing,” CNET writes. “It’s much easier to apply filters on photos to make them look better than it is to edit a long video clip. The three-second clips are more like photos that can be strung together, Martin said.”
Public threads can be shared through Facebook, Twitter or the Threadlife network. There’s no limit on the number of clips or “stitches” that can be threaded together; users can sort clips by date or creator. Clips can also be moved to different threads.
The app also allows private threads for personal conversations between friends.
“Eventually, the Threadlife team hopes to incorporate tagging and location-specific information, and adding ways to make money off the service, like inserting video ads into threads or charging for extra storage space,” CNET writes. “Martin said there’s also plans to expand to other devices to desktop.”
In the last 12 months, Apple has sold 5.3 million Apple TV devices while Roku sold 1.4 million set-top boxes. Boxee has lagged behind both its competitors, selling only 120,000 of its devices last year. However, a new deal with Walmart could dramatically boost Boxee’s sales.
“Starting tomorrow, the world’s biggest retailer will exclusively sell the new $98 product, called Boxee TV, in more than 3,000 U.S. locations during the holiday season,” Bloomberg reports. “Walmart will set up displays and send out marketing materials for the device, a small black box with a remote control that can access free TV broadcast channels as well as Internet content.”
Boxee CEO Avner Ronen says the retail partnership is a “big launch” for the company and its products. “There’s a big difference between having your product being carried by retailers, where it sits on the shelf, and getting real marketing behind it,” he says.
Boxee provides access to Internet content like Pandora and Netflix while also capturing over-the-air TV signals.
“You turn on the TV, and it’s a familiar ground,” Ronen says. “We don’t believe the future of the TV is going to be a future filled with apps. When you turn on the TV, you don’t want 60 icons. You just want to watch something.”
“Included in Boxee TV is a service called No Limits DVR,” Bloomberg explains, “which lets customers record unlimited broadcast TV shows to the cloud and access them from the set-top box or from a computer, smartphone or tablet. It will be available in about eight of the largest U.S. cities to start, Ronen said.”
Google signs a deal with Warner Music Group which will bring artists such as Green Day, Madonna, Neil Young, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and hundreds of other acts to its Play store.
“We’re now working with all of the major record labels globally, and all the major U.S. magazine publishers, as well as many independent labels, artists and publishers,” – Andy Rubin, Google’s SVP for mobile and digital content.
Google’s music store will open in Western Europe on Nov. 13 and will introduce a “scan and match” capability which matches songs on a customer’s computer to a master database on Google’s servers eliminating the need to upload every single song. This feature will later come to the U.S.
Warner, which comprises 15 percent of the world’s recorded music market, is the last big music label to be added to Google.
David Carr of the New York Times has written a fascinating piece in which he discusses how he used Twitter during Hurricane Sandy to “see” what was happening around him as it was happening.
“Because my Internet connection was poor, so much of the rich media — amazing videos and pictures documenting the devastation — was lost to me. In true media throwback fashion, Hurricane Sandy was something I experienced as a text event, but I don’t feel as if I missed much. The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel inundation, the swamping of the Lower East Side, the huge problems at New York hospitals, the stranding of the holdouts in Atlantic City, all became apparent on Twitter in vivid detail.”
There were tweets from Reuters, NPR, the New York Times and many others, as well as, those from friends distant and down the street. There was also misinformation and rumors spread and discounted at Internet speed.
“Margaret Sullivan, the public editor of The New York Times, said in a message on Twitter that whatever the quality of the feed at any given moment, it was riveting: ‘Impossible to tear one’s eyes from, with occasional nuggets of helpfulness amid constant stream of flotsam and jetsam.’”
“It was hard to resist. Twitter not only keeps you in the data stream, but because you can contribute and re-tweet, you feel as if you are adding something even though Mother Nature clearly has the upper hand. The activity of it, the sharing aspect, the feeling that everyone is in the boat and rowing, is far different from consuming mass media.”
Twitter became “a great place to laugh, cry, argue, sympathize together.”