MapleCity Blog

Sales Guy vs. Web Dude

wbullockiii — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:02:21 +0000

This is purely hilarious! If you’ve ever had to deal with less tech savely folk, you have to see this.

Equinix Data Warehouse Is Awesome

wbullockiii — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:00:04 +0000

I just came across this video tour in which CNET News.com’s Neha Tiwari reports on the massive data warehouse of Equinix. Equinix serves companies like AT&T, MCI, Verizon, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google. It blows my mind that there are over 200 networks in one of these data warehouses.

Equinix is sophisticated in what it offers, so much so that many large banks trust mission critical systems to these data centers. The security aspects are not taken lightly, Margie Backaus the chief business officer of Equinix says, there are 5 levels of biometrics just to get into the data warehouse. The data warehouse in this video is approximately 160,000 square feet and uses 10 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power a small community, according to Margie. If the power ever goes out on one of these data centers there are diesel generators to keep all the servers powered up until electricity is restored, Margie claims that Equinix can maintain 10 megawatts of load for two whole days on generated diesel power.

The video below is taken from the C|NET tour of Equinix.

Development Visualization: Apache & Python

wbullockiii — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:30:52 +0000

I am a fan of both Apache and Python. I just came across this interesting visualization about developers committing to the code base of open source projects. From the site:

This visualization, called code_swarm, shows the history of commits in a software project. A commit happens when a developer makes changes to the code or documents and transfers them into the central project repository. Both developers and files are represented as moving elements. When a developer commits a file, it lights up and flies towards that developer. Files are colored according to their purpose, such as whether they are source code or a document. If files or developers have not been active for a while, they will fade away. A histogram at the bottom keeps a reminder of what has come before.

Python:

code_swarm - Python from Michael Ogawa on Vimeo.

Apache:

code_swarm - Apache from Michael Ogawa on Vimeo.

Firefox 3

wbullockiii — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:02:33 +0000

Even though Firefox holds only 20% of the browser market it has been on a steady up-rise, second of course to Internet Explorer. On June 17th Firefox will be officially released and Mozilla Corp is hoping to set a 1,000,000 downloads in one day record. Rafe Needleman points out that Google actually foots the bill for the download bandwidth on the 17th and every other day that someone downloads Firefox, so Mozilla Corporation has nothing to lose by pushing this record.

Firefox is a shining example of what Open Source software can become (i.e, support for features that are developed by many such as plug-ins) so on the 17th help Mozilla break the 1,000,000 mark and download Firefox 3. You can keep track of whether Mozilla breaks the 1,000,000 mark at Webware.com

In anticipation of Firefox 3, CNET News.com’s Kara Tsuboi and Webware.com’s Rafe Needleman discuss what users can look forward to with the new browser release.

The Twitter Addiction

wbullockiii — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:04:51 +0000

I use twitter on a daily basis, but if I ever get this addicted I need to seek help ASAP!

Steve Jobs In 60 Seconds

wbullockiii — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:59:32 +0000

This is great, being able to watch the WWDC Steve Jobs keynote in 60 seconds versus 1 hour and 47 minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I think Steve is a very influential speaker, but there’s just something about getting it all in such a short span of time that appeals to me.

Internet Weaponry

wbullockiii — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:24:25 +0000

Josh Davis from Wired Science takes a closer look into the world of high tech crime. Very fascinating video.

Easier Than Ever To Jailbreak Your Iphone

wbullockiii — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:50:20 +0000

BBtv has a good episode on very simple Iphone Jailbreaking. Damien Stolarz says “It started out very complicated, but these days uh… if you’ve ever heard of a script kiddie, uh… hacking your iphone has gotten to script kiddie simplicity”

It turns out that with the click of a mouse using an application on a computer you have connected your iphone to you too can unlock your iphone. The application you’ll need is called iLiberty+

Iraq Voice Response Translator

wbullockiii — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:15:19 +0000

I always enjoy technology/gadget reviews that Joel Johnson produces for BBtv. His review of the Iraq Voice Response Translator is priceless.

Google Street On Android

wbullockiii — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:26:51 +0000

I’m am super impressed by the built-in compass feature of Android, especially when combined with something like Google’s own street view. Just watch the video to judge for yourself.