Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 Review

I'm going to keep my final post of the year brief for a few reasons -- one, I waited until the very last minute to write it, and two, everyone is probably tired of 2009 reviews and 2010 predictions.

First - stocks. After over a year of manually tracking my own data center stock index I'm going to stop (actively) tracking it. I have found some amazingly cool Google Finance formulas for Google spreadsheet and should be able to create it on the fly when or if I want to. Check out this link to see the Google Finance snapshot of the stocks in my index currently. Another tool joining my arsenal is Wolfram Alpha. This site has some pretty awesome compute power for any number of search/compute queries. For instance - check out this comparison of Equinix, Terremark, Savvis and Internap stock information. Additionally, for the web geeks - check out the website data Wolfram Alpha generates - for instance, on equinix.com

The other Google tool I like to use this time of year is Google Insight. Check out this graph showing Worldwide web Search Interest for colocation, "data center", "cloud computing":


Here is an insight graph for search terms Equinix, Savvis, Terremark, Switch & Data and Digital Realty Trust:


My take on the biggest story for 2009 is tours of mega data centers such as Microsoft and Google and the planning of a $1 billion Apple data center. I (continue) to think that container data centers are a valid architecture, and not just for the big companies. Hey Microsoft - if you need me to go move some dirt to get the Des Moines, Iowa data center moving I'll do it. :)

The only prediction I'll make for 2010 is that it will be a breakout year for desktop virtualization. We'll finally come full circle from the green screen dumb terminals that talked to the mainframe, with virtualized desktops talking to the cloud.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2010!
Posted by John at 11:44 PM 1 comments

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Review of 2009 Smart Grid News

Smart Grid is a topic captured my attention late last year and I have been (loosely) following the topic ever since. A Google Insights graph shows that I am right in line with everyone else and that 2009 was a big year for smart grid. In April 2009 I started collecting a few links on smart grid and this past summer I had every intention on posting a few links out to the things I had been reading. Well, the year just got away from me and later in the year I decided to do this 2009 roundup of news, sites and various links of interest. I know there is much more than what I have listed here, but these are my bookmarks.

Security in the smart grid is of particular interest to me. I've been in IT long enough, and have read Christopher Hoff's blog long enough now that I know security aspects of this technology can NOT be underestimated. Earlier this month President Obama appointed a new Cybersecurity Coordinator, Howard Schmidt. Let's just say I bet/hope security aspects of smart grid technologies are on his short list. Below is my list of smart grid websites about companies, products, projects and government related information. After that I'll list my news bookmark collection as 2009 progressed.

Smart Grid Companies / web sites / projects / government


2009 time line of events and news about smart grids.
Interest in the topic peaked in April when the U.S. power grid being hacked was a big story, and then again in October when President Obama announced $3.4 billion in funds to enable the "largest single energy grid investment in U.S. history." I have a few news stories about the current power grid, but (to me) they are related to the smart grid.

and in 2010....
Finally - my twitter list for SmartGrid
Posted by John at 10:15 PM 0 comments
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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Writing For Data Center Knowledge

Over a month since my last blog post .... wow. Between the holidays, being busy at work and busy at home, I just have not found the time to blog. However, one main reason I haven't posted much here lately is the 'other' blog I write for. If you follow the data center industry then surely you have seen -- I am a contributor to the editorial team at the one and only Data Center Knowledge blog.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing for the site and while much of what I'll cover is a roundup of news in the industry, I also have covered various topics or news more in-depth; such as:

The Data-Crunching Powerhouse Behind 'Avatar'
Blue Waters and the Supercomputing Frontier

I will continue to write 'other' stories here as I see fit.... although I also intend to just tweet them out if time does not permit a full blog post. I also intend to do some end of the year items regarding 2009 review, 2010 predictions and a final edition of my data center stock index.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Posted by John at 2:27 PM 1 comments
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