BlueNosedDog

Finally, after a couple month of beta, Amazon have launched their version of a Content Deliver Network, or CDN.

For those that don’t know, a CDN is a series of “edge” servers which host a copy of a central file and delivers the version of the file which is closest to the user which theoretically makes everything a little faster.

I works alongside S3, amazons storage network, with your S3 bucket holding the original file. This S3 bucket can be assigned an Amazon URL (123xyz.cloudfront.net) or you can CNAME from your own domain, and replicates through several edge locations basically caching your file for speedier delivery to your users.

The network has a couple of problems, unlike Limelight and the like, Cloudfront caches a copy of your file for an unspecified period of time, so isn’t useful for delivering content which changes often. It also has a limited number of edge locations, for now, meaning that - especially for those in the far east and Australia - the nearest location to you may not be much closer than the source.

For those in Europe and North America however, coverage is much better, meaning that for static files (such as the images in this post) someone in Germany will be receiving a different version of the file to sommeone in New York and different again to someone in San Francisco. This means that page load for all three of these users will be less than through the hosting this site is primarily on - good times.

The pricing is based on the now famous Amazon PAYG formula.

Pricing

Pay only for what you use. There is no minimum fee.

United States Edge Locations

Data Transfer
$0.170 per GB - first 10 TB / month data transfer out
$0.120 per GB - next 40 TB / month data transfer out
$0.100 per GB - next 100 TB / month data transfer out
$0.090 per GB - data transfer out / month over 150 TB

Requests
$0.010 per 10,000 GET requests

European Edge Locations

Data Transfer
$0.170 per GB - first 10 TB / month data transfer out
$0.120 per GB - next 40 TB / month data transfer out
$0.100 per GB - next 100 TB / month data transfer out
$0.090 per GB - data transfer out / month over 150 TB

Requests
$0.012 per 10,000 GET requests

Hong Kong Edge Locations

Data Transfer
$0.210 per GB - first 10 TB / month data transfer out
$0.160 per GB - next 40 TB / month data transfer out
$0.140 per GB - next 100 TB / month data transfer out
$0.130 per GB - data transfer out / month over 150 TB

Requests
$0.012 per 10,000 GET requests

Japan Edge Locations

Data Transfer
$0.221 per GB - first 10 TB / month data transfer out
$0.168 per GB - next 40 TB / month data transfer out
$0.147 per GB - next 100 TB / month data transfer out
$0.137 per GB - data transfer out / month over 150 TB

Requests
$0.013 per 10,000 GET requests

We charge less where our costs are less, thus some prices vary across geographic regions and are based on the edge location where your content is served. Usage tiers for data transfer are measured separately for each geographic region. The prices above are exclusive of applicable taxes, fees, or similar governmental changes, if any exists, except as otherwise noted.

Origin Server
Amazon CloudFront uses Amazon S3 as the origin server to store the original, definitive versions of your files. You will be charged separately at regular rates for Amazon S3 usage, including “origin fetches” - data transferred from Amazon S3 to edge locations.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Amazon Takes on Akamai with CloudFront Delivery Network
• Amazon’s cloud spreads into content delivery
• Amazon CloudFront: Outlook for CDN Is Cloudy (and That’s Good)

Featured, Online Amazon S3, Australia, Content delivery network, Europe, Germany, Hong Kong, New York, United States

Instead of fighting a losing battle, the Monty Python team have decided to not only compete with the thousands of fans that upload their videos, but to do so on their terms. Monty Python have launched their own youtube channel, which features high quality versions of all their shows and sketches with the hope that these unlimited assets (which everyone seems to be sharing anyway) may lead to sales of their DVDs and other items from PythonLine, their online shop.

Now the Python guys can explain a lot better than I can, so give the following a quick watch.

Featured, Online

Just a quick note to let you know that you only have around a day until the start of our next live video show, so get your questions, comments and opinions in now to studio@bluenoseddog.co.uk, wayne@bluenoseddog.co.uk or phone in one UK - 0203 239 9472 or NA - (914) 410-6799.

[fergcorp_cdt]

Featured, Online

So, do you love Tech? Do you feel as though you can communicate that love well? Why not prove it by freelancing at BlueNosedDog.co.uk.

We’re currently looking for blog authors and video contributers to join the team and we’re willing to pay. Because these are two very distinct roles there are two very distinct ways of submitting your content.

If you wish to write for the blog, just sign up. It’s really that simple. When you have signed up, you are automatically given the rights to submit content, which will be reviewed before being published. If your content is published you will be paid $1.50, but in the near future that will be $1.50 plus a little extra per 1,000 page views (we’ll work out what that extra is when we work out how much we make). The content doesn’t have to be exclusive, but it does have to be your own work, all payments will be made via paypal at the end of the month so please use a paypal friendly email address when signing up. You will not get paid for content which isn’t yours or for content which isn’t published.

If you’d like to contribute stories, opinions or reviews to our weekly video show, the procedure is slightly different. Again signing up would be your first step, so that we can attribute the video to the right person and also post it under your name. Posting a video would be the same as contributing a text article except that you would attach the video along with a synopsis - the video needs to be either 640×480 or in special circumstances 320×240 and can be submitted in any popular format. Obviously videos will take longer to publish, but we pay $3.50 per video with writeup or $2.50 for just the video, so we try and make it worthwhile. Video’s need to be presentable, exclusive to BlueNosedDog, must not include any advertising or onscreen logo’s, should have no bad language and no longer than 10 minutes. We’d also appreciate you use your real name and give a city close to you for your intro, but that is optional. If you’d prefer not to sign-up, or have issues with uploading video’s you can email them to show@bluenoseddog.co.uk. Payments will again be by paypal at the end of each month, and will only be given to videos which get published.

Every now and then we will have a theme we’ll ask you to report on, for both post and videos, but these will be communicated ahead of time - otherwise the big bad world of technology is your canvas.

Featured, Online Advertising, Arts, E-mail address, Recordings, Shopping, Technology, Uploading and downloading, Video

Today in the canteen, instead of worrying about the current state of the Automotive industry (which my company supplies), lunchroom debate was on a topic which seemed to draw me in. Should people be allowed to post anonymously on the internet?

My initial reaction was yes, of course people should be allowed to remain anonymous when interacting on the internet, it allows poeple to talk freely and express themselves without fear or prejudice, but more than that, anonymity makes the internet what it is - if you were to make poeple declare themselves, how long before they’d start wanting proper credits or renumeration for their work online?

But what if my initial reaction is wrong, and wrong because of the argument I’d made. Several others seemed to think differently to me, and although I had initially shrugged off their concerns initially as scaremongering, Daily Mail type worry, or simple nannyism, I actually decided to think about what the net would be like without the anonymity.

I don’t think anyone on the net should have the ability to track you down individually, but if you had to use the same unique alias on every site - lead a real second existence - how much different would everything be. Well for me, not very. I already post everything under one of two aliases, my real name or Cymru2000. Because of this I already check my actions, I don’t act as a troll or viciously attack people because, for me, there is a recourse. Because very few people use the same name as me online (there are a few) if I act like a complete idiot on one site, I’d be treated as one on another.

A few years ago I ran a very popular UK based WWE site (I’m not proud of it, but nor am I ashamed), the fact that I ran that site as I did, with proffessionalism and an even hand, when I started visiting other sites I was very quickly given moderator or enhanced priviledges because people knew who I was. Now if I was an idiot, maybe I would have instantly been sent to coventry and although that would have been a bitch for me, the rest of the internet would have benefited.

So maybe a unique ID, which cannot be changed and can only be you is a good idea. Not just from a Police-tracking-paedophile perspective, but from an accountability and more importantly a social one too. It is the fact that the internet has no social anchor, no recognised decorum and more importantly no recourse for your actions that makes some sites extremely hostile and less useful than they may be - maybe if people had to act in a more responsible manner youtube’s comments system wouldn’t be such a nasty place to be?

Featured, Online Daily Mail, Google, Identity document, Media, Photography, Politics, UK, United Kingdom

Microsoft have responded to complaints about XBox live bannings by unleashing Major Nelson and setting him off in his own blog. Complaints started trickling in from sites such as Xbox-Scene.com about people being unaboe to play their games online anymore because of the consoles being banned from the live service.

Some went so far as to complain that they could no longer play “Gears of War 2″ or “Call of Duty: World at War” which does nothing for their credibility as both games were at the time unreleased, and so to be playing them you must have pirated them.

Microsoft has taken action against a small percentage of Xbox 360 consoles that have been illegally modified in order to play pirated games… to keep gameplay safe and secure for our community of more than 14 million members… You should know that modifying your Xbox 360 console is also a violation of the Xbox LIVE terms of use, will void your warranty and result in a ban from Xbox LIVE.

How many false positives were caught in the crossfire is unknown, but I think we’re all agreed, banning pirates is no great shame.

Featured, Gaming, Online

Sky have decided to launch their Sky Player (Sky’s answer to the all conquering BBC iPlayer) to non-Sky customers as well as those of us who already have the service.

To keep everything fair though, non-Sky customers will need to pay a fee to watch programs, whether this will be subscription based like Setanta Sports online offering, or pay per view or maybe a mixture of oth is yet to be seen. At least it seems as though UK TV companies are embracing new technology, even if it is currently through their own individual packages.

Featured, Online