sneakyBlog

Got this in my mailbox from Amazon this morning:

…

Just as Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) enables storage in the
cloud, Amazon EC2 enables “compute” in the cloud. Amazon EC2’s simple web
service interface allows you to obtain and configure capacity with minimal
friction. It provides you with complete control of your computing resources
and lets you run on Amazon’s proven computing environment. Amazon EC2
reduces the time required to obtain and boot new server instances to
minutes, allowing you to quickly scale capacity, both up and down, as your
computing requirements change. Amazon EC2 changes the economics of
computing by allowing you to pay only for capacity that you actually use.

…

This will definitely result in some very nifty new apps: no more fixed server costs, but truly dynamical, based on the amount of traffic you get. Every one says Google is the most innovative company when it comes to new web services. To the end-user, that’s perhaps the case. But I think Amazon is definitely surpassing Google when it comes to providing the services necessary for creating The Next Web 2.0 Killer app. First S3, now EC2. Amazon does have other web services available, but I think many will agree with me that these are the most revolutionary ones.
The main difference with Sun’s Grid Compute Utility is the scale: Sun’s Grid Compute Utility is basically ‘rent-a-grid’ on demand, while Amazon’s EC2 is more ‘rent-a-server’-esque.

Unfortunately this is a limited beta, and I was too late… I will definitely track EC2, also here at my blog. I bet it will be very beneficial for Amazon in the end! (In let’s say 5 years from now.)

UPDATE
I forgot to mention one of the main features: the price. The price is very reasonable (as is S3’s pricing scheme): $0.10/hour. That’s only $2.40 for a day. I’d say that’s incredibly cheap for keeping your website online during a traffic peek!

Technorati Tags: web 2.0, amazon, amazon ec2, computing on demand, web services

Valve’s next game will be built around a - at the least - very interesting concept. Be amazed by this demo!

via

Technorati Tags: concept, valve, portal

Imagine a review with a general tendency like this:

Imagine a desktop publishing program or word processor that allows only a single document. Now imagine that document doesn’t exist. This is the document model for iWeb.

With this final conclusion:

Four big problems and a handful of smaller ones means iWeb 1.1.whatever gets a 5, but it could have been worse. It could have been Aperture 1.0. Does it suck? Yes, iWeb kind of sucks, but it sucks like ingesting smoke from a torch while calling forth the spirits of beasts to hunt by placing them on a wall. It sucks, but it sucks in the way of the worst program you have ever loved, the one that lets you create.

Just go on and read the review for fun… it’ll definetely make you laugh

Technorati Tags: arstechnica, iweb, apple

Once more a superb macZOT offer! This time it’s all about HoudahSpot, an application that uses the Spotlight API. It allows you to enter a complete set of conditions, in much more detail than Apple’s Spotlight allows. This allows even faster searching of specific content! If you remember the filename, you’re fine with Spotlight. No need for anything more advanced then. But when you need to find an image file, don’t remember its name and only remember that the resolution is 1600×1200 for example, then HoudahSpot is certainly a must-have! See the screenshot below to see what kind of filters you can set (yes, that’s right, you can set any filter!). It’s like Apple’s forgotten missing link between fast and advanced searching of (local) content!

If it’s still the 16th of June when you’re reading this, you might be able to get a free copy of HoudahSpot at macZOT!

Technorati Tags: mac os x software, spotlight

Probably you’ve already heard of Apple’s Sudden Motion Sensor (if the description “I keep track of everything with ‘Apple’ on it” fits you), a very useful feature built into Apple’s notebooks (both the MacBook Pro’s and the MacBooks, and the last generation of the PowerBooks). It allows your notebook to shut down your HDD whenever it detects a sudden motion, hence its name. It prevents major damage to your HDD. But Apple has provided an API that allows 3rd party developers to use it as well.

After iAlertU and MacSaber, I present to you: the SmackBook. I know I’m a bit late with this post, but I’ve been very busy with my DriverPacks project, which has since 2 days its own forum, with already 50 members and about 150 posts at the time of writing.

No more dawdling, here’s the superb trailer!

Yesterday, somebody asked me if I could write a small batch file that compresses all files in a certain folder using CAB compression. It was finished in about 10 minutes… You have to set the folder manually in the .cmd file and you can set your own exceptions (files not to compress). I hope this will be useful to someone!

Download!
(SFX archive; contents: CabAllFiles.cmd & makecab.exe (makecab.exe must be in the same directory as CabAllFiles.cmd))

Here you should set your folder:
REM +=====================================+
REM + Folder +
REM +=====================================+
SET FOLDER=C:\test
REM +=====================================+

And here your exceptions:
REM +=====================================+
REM + Exceptions +
REM +=====================================+
IF /I "%FILENAME%"=="dontCompressThisFile.exe" GOTO END
REM +=====================================+

UPDATE

It seems there was some unclarity about this script. So here are some more details:

• it should work on any Windows platform better than Windows 95 (except for the 64-bit editions);
• the included makecab.exe is UPXed;
• it CABs each file into a CAB that contains only that file, e.g.: wannabee.txt becomes wannabee.tx_.

I hope that’s enough information, if you have more questions, ask them in the comments!

Today I noticed Google had released its Google Pack. Most of the software included in that pack was already installed on my system (Firefox) or was simply unnecessary in my eyes (Ad-aware, Norton AV, etc.). Only one application (if you could name it that) could please me: Google Pack Screensaver. It creates a collage of pictures. I tried it and I really like it! Only one thing annoyed me: the Google logo in the upper right corner…

ResHack to the rescue! I’ve attached a modified version of the Google Pack Screensaver that does no longer have the Google logo.

download
Just copy the file to %windir%\system32, right click it and install it. That way you won’t need the Google Updater or anything else of the Google Pack if you don’t want it. I’ve updated it: now you are downloading a .zip file instead of a .scr, which might hold back some users because .scr files are executable files on the Windows platform, which makes them a possible security problem. In that .zip file I’ve a

And it also works superb on a dualscreen setup: it won’t just clone! A screenshot to show it:

Technorati Tags: google, google pack screensaver

This newsitem at Slashdot did not stay unnoticed: “Ajax Sucks Most of the Time“. It quotes an article at Usability Views.

I strongly disagree with the Jakob Nielsen, the author. He does not write from a truly professional point of view and over-simplifies the entire matter. In fact he assumes everybody who’s currently using AJAX technology in his/her website, does it only for the bling-blang and does not think of the negative consequences.

(more…)

Every once in a while I feel this ‘urge’ to submit or complete an article about unattended Windows installations at uAwiki.org. Today I had that feeling . I’ve completed one of the articles I started: the article in the unattended Windows XP section of the uAwiki that explains how you should use GUIRunOnce. I’ve added an in-depth explanation about the syntax and the identifiers and added alternative methods of using GUIRunOnce: through .inf and .reg files. Hopefully some people will find this article useful.

Technorati Tags: deployment, guirunonce, windows xp, unattended windows