Now that Thanksgiving is almost here some things slow down and it is a good time to take a break. So I'll be taking a short break from blogging until next week. Family will be happy that I spend a bit less time on the computer.
Take the Web IQ test, what is your score?
Pew Research has a Web IQ test that the conducted and you can take it too. Before you read and get hints try taking the test here.
“What Internet Users Know about Technology and the Web
BY AARON SMITH
TAKE THE QUIZ
Before you read the report, test your own Web IQ by taking the interactive knowledge quiz. The short quiz tests your knowledge of questions recently asked in a national poll. After completing the quiz, you can compare your score with the general public and with people like yourself.”
I took the test and got my score. 12 out of 12. Outscored 99.8% of population, but bet you lots of my friends can get 12 out of 12 too.
Qualcomm's Future Data Center Efforts built on Mobile
Barron's had reported on Qualcomm's announcing its data center effort in its latest analyst call.
“Perhaps the most interesting and surprising part of Mollenkopf’s presentation was his discussion of how the company is finally entering the server market, riding the wave of implementations of new kinds of data centers, where entities such as Google (GOOGL) build their own servers. That should bring Qualcomm into direct competition with server-chip Titan Intel (INTC).
Said Mollenkopf, the kinds of requirements that have nurtured the architecture of mobile device semiconductors is becoming more and more relevant to the way server chips must be designed. “The high end of the smartphone and the tablet really are starting to merge with what would be feasible in the data center.”
In addition to the architecture of mobile coming to servers, Mollenkopf sees an advantage in servers in the fact that the company can get its chips made in the most advanced semiconductor processes. “Our ability to go to the leading node puts us in a unique position.”
“It will take us awhile to build this business, but we think it’s an interesting business.””
And the rest of the tech media referenced this post and one image. Turns out there are 4 slides from the investor meeting. Let's start with one way far at the end slide #76 that shows where data centers are in other initiatives at Qualcomm for future growth.
As Dileep Bhandarkar presented in August 2014 on his life from Mainframe to Mobile, there is a movement from below to disrupt the data center industry.
Here is another slide from the investor review that shows Qualcomm's plan to come from its strength of high volume smartphones and move into mobile computing and data centers.
In this slide Qualcomm identifies the markets it sees for ARM - The cloud era and software defined data center.
And the last slide. Well this isn't actually the last slide. It is the 2nd slide in the deck that mentions "data center", but so many times I find the order in what gets presented misses the opportunity to tell the story.
This slide explains the vision of an integrated cloud. It does make sense that an ARM mobile environment could support the development of an ARM server cloud environment.
There are some of you who are going to blow this off as just another anti-Intel (x86) initiative.
Here is something to think about. What Qualcomm is explaining as the integrated cloud is being built by Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Samsung.
“iCloud
iCloud connects you and your Apple devices in amazing ways. It makes sure you always have the latest versions of your most important things — like documents, apps, notes, and contacts — on whatever device you are using. It lets you easily share photos, calendars, locations, and more with friends and family. It even helps you find your device if you lose it. And iCloud does it all automatically. Just like that.”
Remembering a Great Thought Leader in DC Industry, Olivier Sanche - a water well was built
4 years ago at this time of year we lost one of great thought leaders way before his time was to depart us. Olivier Sanche was a dear friend and passionate about data centers and the environment. One of things Olivier's family did in memory of Olivier is sponsor a water well in Mali.
It is in this desert area that the well bearing Olivierʼs name has been built because ” Water is the Source of Life”.
Here is some background on the well that Karine Sanche, Olivier's wife shared.
- The well was Bernard Sancheʼs idea ( Olivierʻs dad) because he wanted to honor Olivier with something useful and that would last.
- He shared this idea with Olivierʼs mom, his brother and myself and we all agreed that instead of having people bring flowers to Olivierʼs funeral, we would have a fundraiser for the well instead and we ended up raising 4500 euros ( almost 6000 dollars).
- The idea of building a well came to my father-in-law because he had been doing humanitarian work in the Northern Mali since 1984. His associationʼs main goal was to help the Touaregs ( nomad populations) and he knew that one of their biggest problems is having access to drinking water. In an area ( the size of Belgium) called Adeil.hoc, some people must travel over 18 miles to get water to drink, to cook and to give to their herds. It is in this desert area that the well bearing Olivierʼs name has been built because ” Water is the Source of Life”.
- The exact location of the well has been decided by a local mayor ( the mayor of Abindnage) because he is a liaison with the association; this location was found to best serve the local populations. It was a difficult project because of the wellʼs location which is at 2 days of the nearest town meaning that all the building supplies ( gravel, ciment, steel, the molds ( form work) for reinforced concrete etc...) had to be transported through the desert.The well is 72 feet deep and has several “bowls” so several herds can drink at the same time.
- Olivier was closely following his dadʼs efforts to help the Touaregs in Mali. These efforts include the construction and/or repair of 180 wells, the construction of schools and infirmaries in the bush, as well as the training of several bush nurses. The association also bought a truck to transport feed from Gao ( over 310 miles away).
Here are a few more pictures showing the construction of the well.
Amazon cranks the numbers and... Yes, they decide 100% renewable for AWS
Amazon is a company that always runs the numbers on whether something makes sense. For years, Amazon didn't think it was worthwhile to have renewable energy as part of its data center portfolio. In 2011, though AWS had its first renewable energy site in Oregon, and they have added two more.
Options for Customers Seeking Carbon-Neutral Cloud Infrastructure
AWS introduced its first carbon-neutral region – US West (Oregon) – in 2011. Today, AWS offers customers three AWS Regions that are 100% carbon-neutral – US West (Oregon), EU (Frankfurt), and AWS GovCloud (US).
And now Amazon has announced it plans on being 100% renewable.
In addition to the environmental benefits inherently associated with running applications in the cloud, AWS has a long-term commitment to achieve 100% renewable energy usage for our global infrastructure footprint.
I've been blogging on the idea of a green data center since 2007 and things have come a long way with Google, Apple, Facebook, and now Amazon amongst many others who have decided 100% renewable energy is a good choice.
Being 100% renewable is a milestone, but not the end. Having a sustainable strategy for data centers is more than the energy consumption. There are so many others things to work on to green a data center.
The nice thing is I don't have to focus on the renewable energy part as the media has caught on to the concept.
Amazon Vows to Run on 100 Percent Renewable Energy
Wired - 12 hours ago
Over the past few years, Apple, Google, and Facebook pledged to run their online empires on renewable energy, and considering how large these empires have become—how many data centers and machines are now required to keep them going—this was ...
Amazon Vows to Run Its Cloud Entirely on Renewable Energy
TIME - 2 hours ago
Amazon on Wednesday vowed to run its cloud-computing division completely on renewable energy, following in the footsteps of tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook in making a comprehensive environmental pledge regarding its data services.
Amazon will run all its data centers on renewable energy...eventually
GeekWire - 18 hours ago
AWS-Logo-Orange Environmentally-conscious cloud users got good news today: Amazon has pledged to get all of its data centers running entirely on renewable energy. In a new post on the AWS website, Amazon said that the company has made a ...
Amazon Joins The 'Race To Build A Green Internet' With A 100% Renewable ...
International Business Times - 2 hours ago
The group estimated that Amazon Web Services gets only 15 percent of its energy from renewables such as wind and solar power, while the rest comes mostly from carbon-intensive sources such as coal-fired power plants. In an April report, Greenpeace gave ...
Amazon promises to run entirely on renewable energy... finally
ZDNet - 18 hours ago
amazon-hero (Image: Amazon via CNET). Amazon has promised to achieve 100 percent renewable energy usage for its global footprint, the company announced on Wednesday. No firm deadline was given, but it's likely to take many years. Perhaps even ...