5 Big Ideas with 5 Big Speakers Discuss Next-Generation DC Infrastructure

I think this will be the fifth GigaOm Structure I am attending.  People ask if I am going to any of the data center conferences and the only ones I consistently attend are 7x24 and DCD.  Why?  Because I find spending two days at GigaOm Structure are more forward thinking.  I might be a speaker/moderator at the conference, and will be there helping out the staff.

So who is speaking at the next event?  GigaOm’s Stacey Higginbotham posts on 5 big ideas and 5 big speakers.

The first one, even though it names one, Google’s Urs Hoelzle, also mentions Facebook and Microsoft.

1. An application that lives in every time zone

Over the years Google has driven the technology behind distributed computing with technologies such as Map Reduce and Spanner. It is clearly thinking about how to build applications that aren’t isolated in one data center or even one time zone. This type of distributed thinking is behind its latest networking investments and is why Urs Hölzle, SVP Technical Infrastructure and Google Fellow, is speaking at the Structure. But we’re also bringing in others who understand these problems including Facebook’s Jay Parikh and Microsoft’s Scott Guthrie.

Urs Hölzle

The list goes on and you read the rest of the five.  Here is a conference schedule if you want to see the rest of the speakers.

Disclosure: I work freelance part time for GigaOm Research and many of the staff are my friends.

Get your Kids a PRE TSA # for free, Nexus Card for under 18 is free

***Warning this is a suggestion for those of you who live near a Nexus Enrollment Center which are places with US Customs and Canadian Customs staff.  Luckily there is one in Seattle so it is close.***

I’ve been able to bring my kids with me through pre TSA lines, but this applies for children 12 and under.  My daughter turns 13 in Sept so she will soon have to get in the regular passenger lines.  I’ve got my wife in the queue for her Nexus/Global Entry card so she’ll get pre TSA.

There are three options to enroll in Pre TSA.  I’ll start with the most expensive.

1)  Global Entry works for those of you travel International and want pre TSA.  It cost $100 and requires you to go to an interview center where Customs Official are.  Children pay the same $100 fee.

It's easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Apply Online: Fill out an online application and pay the $100 non-refundable application fee.
2. Schedule an Interview: Once your application is reviewed, you will receive a message in you GOES account instructing you to schedule and interview at one of the Global Entry Enrollment Centers.

2)  Pre TSA enrollment centers of course get you enrolled in Pre TSA, but don’t help you with entrance into the US Customs process and cost $85/person including children.  Is it worth $85 to get in shorter lines with not taking your shoes, coat, laptop, and liquids out of your bag.  Maybe not if TSA keeps messing with the Pre TSA lines by adding newbies to sell them on the benefits which slows the process down.

• Interested applicants must visit an enrollment center to provide biographic information that includes name, date of birth and address. An applicant will be fingerprinted and will be required to provide valid required identity and citizenship/immigration documentation. An applicant also has the option to pre-enroll online to provide basic information and make an appointment before visiting an enrollment center. There is a nonrefundable application processing fee of $85.00.

3)  Nexus enrollment centers gives you the benefits of Global Entry and Canada Border entry and pre TSA.  It cost $50/person, but kids under 18 are free.  Yes, kids under 18 can get Global Entry benefits, Pre TSA, and Canada Border expediting lines for free.  Yes!!!

The application-processing fee of US $50 or CAN $50 is non-refundable per applicant. The membership will be valid for another five years. Children under the age of 18 must also apply but, if eligible, are admitted to the program free of charge. For more information regarding the program requirements, please visit the NEXUS Program page.

I had been holding off on enrolling the kids in Nexus because I thought it cost another $50 person every 5 years which isn’t that bad.  Last night I started the enrollment process because we cross the Canada-US border at least once a year so it is worth it.  When I finished the registration I realized there was no charge for children.

Hope this helps those of you who travel with your kids and are close to the US Canada border.

My Ideas Suck, Yeh, Let's fix it, Give up your Space

I am having a blast reading Creativity Inc. by Ed Catmull.  The point I read today is how Ideas for Movies suck at the beginning.

early on, all of our movies suck. That’s a blunt assessment, I know, but I make a point of repeating it often, and I choose that phrasing because saying it in a softer way fails to convey how bad the first versions of our films really are. I’m not trying to be modest or self-effacing by saying this. Pixar films are not good at first, and our job is to make them so— to go, as I say, “from suck to not-suck.” This idea— that all the movies we now think of as brilliant were, at one time, terrible— is a hard concept for many to grasp.

Catmull, Ed; Wallace, Amy (2014-04-08). Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (Kindle Locations 1425-1429). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Today I finally pulled together a short description of a service today and sent it around.  Normally I would be looking for approval.  But, today I said this is my first draft.  It sucks.  I need to fix it.  One of my friends sent great comments.  Sent another response with other ideas.  Those suck too.  OK. Let’s keep moving.  Let’s see if I can come up with another idea that sucks.

This technique reminds me of something I figured out training in Aikido.  Everything gets so much easier if you “Give up your Space.”  So many times you stand firmly in your spot and try to do your technique with your feet planted, trying to make others move around you.  If you “give up your space” let others have your space, then techniques happen with much less effort.  

If you accept your ideas suck, then you can listen to feedback with less effort.  It is hard to listen to feedback if you are firmly planted with your ideas.

IBM vs. Dell, Public vs. Private, who will make the most progress?

IBM is under pressure to improve its financial performance with eight straight quarters of no revenue increase reports the WSJ.

International Business Machines Corp. IBM -3.25% on Wednesday reported its lowest quarterly revenue total in five years, putting more pressure on Chief Executive Virginia Rometty to show progress in her effort to transform the company.

IBM's first-quarter revenue shrank 4% to $22.5 billion, as the company's hardware, software and services business all disappointed. It was also the eighth straight quarter the company failed to show a revenue increase.

Meanwhile Dell is quiet this time of year because it is private.

Dell is now a private company.

On September 12, 2013, Dell stockholders approved the proposal in which Michael Dell, Dell’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, will acquire Dell in partnership with global technology investment firm Silver Lake Partners. The merger transaction closed on October 29, 2013, and the company has commenced the process to delist its common shares from the NASDAQ Stock Market. Per the merger agreement, Dell shareholders are entitled to receive $13.75 in cash, in addition to a special dividend of $0.13 per common share.

As a private company, we are going back to our roots, to the entrepreneurial spirit that made Dell one of the fastest growing, most successful companies in history. We’re unleashing the creativity and confidence that have always been the hallmarks of our culture. We will be able to serve our customers with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will change our world for the better.

Both IBM and Dell are under pressures with hardware sales slipping.  The Cloud going like mad.  Amazon, Google, Microsoft and so many others commoditizing the servers in data centers.

This may go down as the most pressure IBM has felt on its services.

West Des Moines Public Disclosure, Project Alluvion is Microsoft Data Center

KCCI News 8 broke the news on who in behind Project Alluvion.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa —The company behind Project Alluvion in West Des Moines is -- Microsoft.

West Des Moines city officials and Gov. Terry Branstad made the official announcement during a news conference Friday morning.

Microsoft said it will build a new $1.126 billion data center along Highway 5 near Willow Creek Golf Course and just east of the South Veterans Parkway, which used to be known as the Southwest Connector.

FYI here is a tip as part researching the news on Project Alluvion.  Look at went the news was posted.  I choose to reference KCCI new given they broke the news first.

Updated: State approves incentives for $1.1 billion Microsoft data center in West ...

DesMoinesRegister.com - ‎1 minute ago‎

Iowa's economic development board approved incentives for the data center today and officially unveiled Microsoft as the company behind "Project Alluvion" -- the project's codename. Combined with Microsoft's current data center in the city, the Alluvion ...

 

Officials announce plan for Microsoft data center

Businessweek - ‎4 hours ago‎

Terry Branstad joined with local officials to announce Microsoft's so-called "Project Alluvion," which is expected to total more than $1.1 billion and create more than 80 full-time jobs. West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer said construction will happen over the ...

 

A lot of soft money will come to Iowa: Microsoft will build $1.1 billion data center

Muscatine Journal - ‎3 hours ago‎

... Wash.,-based corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a range of services, devices and software products for a wide variety of devices, will receive local and state incentives totaling $87 million to locate its “Project Alluvion” in West ...

 

Microsoft to Build New $1.1 Billion Data Center in Iowa

Data Center Knowledge - ‎4 hours ago‎

The announcement ends the suspense about the identity of the mustery company behind Project Alluvion, the latest in a series of stealthy “codename” projects that have made Iowa a major data center destination. Combined with the existing Microsoft data ...

 

Officials announces plan for Microsoft data center in Iowa

Dubuque Telegraph Herald - ‎5 minutes ago‎

Terry Branstad joined with local officials today to announce Microsoft's investment in so-called “Project Alluvion,” which is expected to total more than $1.1 billion. A data center completed in 2010 resulted in about a $900 million investment from the company.

 

Mystery company behind West Des Moines project revealed

KCCI Des Moines - ‎7 hours ago‎

In March, the West Des Moines City Council approved support for a project code named Project Alluvion that had a $255 million value. The developer was asking for financial incentives and infrastructure improvements to help with the project. Tax increment ...

 

Microsoft Announces $1.1 Billion Data Center in West Des Moines

Iowa Public Radio - ‎6 hours ago‎

Formerly known as Project Alluvion, the 154-acre site will house servers and computer equipment to operate web portal services like the Cloud and XBox Live. Completion is expected in early 2021. West Des Moines mayor Steve Gaer says the 154-acre site ...