AMD and Oil Money - Finally sustainability for the Princes…maybe
November 22, 2008
We’re all aware that AMD is planning to spin off into separate companies in order to reduce debt and increase their growth option. But where do these large sums of money magically come from?
Oil baby, Abu Dhabi oil! In these trying economic times who else has the resources to fund a potentially dead and extremely expensive (operating, R&D, Fabs) company. Consider that in recent quarterly releases the most profitable companies were all oil based. Exxon, Shell, etc… To help put this in perspective, take a look at this:
“Exxon’s $40.6 billion profit in 2007 is roughly equal to receiving “$30 for every person in China and $132 for every U.S. resident.” Another way of looking at it is that Exxon made $77,245 per minute in 2007—that’s more money generated per minute than 70 percent of Americans earned all year, according to the Census Bureau.
Shell also had a record breaking year. Its $31.3 billion 2007 profit set a new company record, and was 23 percent higher than its $25.4 billion profit in 2006.” — American Progress
So, what’s in it for the Abu Dhabi Government…long-term sustainability! You didn’t think that the princes of the middle east were just going to role over and die once the oil dried up did you?
Washington & GE have their heads in the clouds…MS where are you?
November 22, 2008
First of all, what is Cloud Computing?
These days, there is so much buzz around cloud computing! The problem is that majority of people out there talking about it can’t define it. They refer to terms like “distributed,” “clusters,” “parallel processing” but ask them to define the purpose and you’ll have them at a loss. FYI Buzz word killers - The purpose of cloud computing is to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software.
Definition of Cloud computing from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia…
Cloud computing is Internet-based (”cloud”) development and use of computer technology (”computing”). The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet (based on how it is depicted in computer network diagrams) and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals. It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided “as a service”, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet (”in the cloud”) without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. According to a 2008 paper published by IEEE Internet Computing “Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centers, table computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, sensors, monitors, etc.”
Cloud computing is a general concept that incorporates software as a service (SaaS), Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, in which the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. For example, Google Apps provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.
So where does Washington & GE fit in?
Currently, more than 500,000 business and organizations utilize a cloud computing platform for SaaS & Utility Computing. And Washington has decided to ink a deal with Google that plans to move 38,000 municipal employees over to Google Apps. The agreement was signed in June 08 at an estimated cost of $500,000 per year. Included in this all-access-pass for Washington - Gmail, Google Docs, Google Video (for business…yeah?) and Google Sites.
Meanwhile, GE inked a deal with ZOHO (http://www.zoho.com) for use of their collection of online apps.
The real question that you should ask - where does Microsoft stand and what do they have up their sleeve? While the big dog (MS) may be content with the success of their offline Office Suite, right now, what’s going to happen if ‘Cloud Computing’ continues to take off like we all hope it does?
Google’s iPhone Speech Recognition App
November 16, 2008
Google has developed an app for iPhone which gives advanced speech recognition. The app is able to answer location related questions (For Example - “Where’s the nearest Tim Horton’s?” or “How tall is CN Tower?”). It can also give directions, and answer generic questions.
“The thing works by recording the soundbite, uploading to Google’s servers which will crunch the data and return an answer “within seconds on a fast wireless network”.
Google being Google, will be releasing this as a free App for all iPhone users. Oh Google, you spoil us you know…much love big G.
Look for it on November 17th 2008.
Got an iPhone - Get Fastlane Street Racing
November 15, 2008
Fastlane Street Racing Features:
• 8 Punishing city routes
• 2 High speed racetracks
• 6 Fiendish challenge tracks
• 5 Game modes
• Save and review replays
• 10 Original cars (including unlockables)
• Unlockable cars, skins, and modes
• Amazing graphics and effects
All-new 2009 Nissan 370Z
November 15, 2008
Isn’t she pretty…
Using a revised G37 3.7-liter V6 engine Nissan is looking to deliver between 330 and 350Hp. Along with replacing the 350Z’s 3.5-liter engine, it has undergone some styling tweaks. It’s a rear-wheel-drive beauty with options for both a manual and automatic transmission.
The unveiling of the 370Z is expected to take place this fall at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19.
Watch out she has curves…
- pics from www.gtr-world.net
Woopra Analytics - Full review
November 13, 2008
Intowit.com is the lucky recipient of a Woopra Beta Invite. We will be releasing a full review of the fancy new analytics program shortly.
Nvidia’s 4GB Quadro FX 5800 - World’s First
November 13, 2008
“The size and complexity of data is growing at an exponential rate. The challenge for today’s professional is to make sense of the mountain of data by distilling it into a form they can comprehend, analyze and use to make impactful decisions,” said Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional Solutions, NVIDIA.
The NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 graphics will be priced at $3,499 via the company’s channel partners, which will include PNY Technologies, Elsa and Leadtek.
Specification:
• 240 CUDA Parallel Processor Cores
• 4GB Memory Size
• 102GB/s Memory Bandwidth
• 1 DisplayPort
• 189W Maximum Power Consumption
