Monthly Archives: March 2012

GoDaddy 4GH Extreme Hosting Review!



Over the past 3 months we have essentially stress tested a GoDaddy 4GH hosting account beyond what would ever be considered acceptable use! Let me state this upfront our utilization case was a special one, and not what I would recommend anyone else do without permission. We did this “with permission” from GoDaddy as part of their sponsorship for CES 2012. I wanted to prove how good or bad GoDaddy 4GH service really was. Our use case was beyond what would be considered acceptable use on any hosting service!

The end goal was to serve our CES media fast and stay online with no down time. We knew our utilization would be “considered a worse case scenario for any web site hosting provider“.

We proved over a 90 days that a GoDaddy 4GH hosting account can ramp up automatically when needed and sustain “extremely” high traffic loads, extremely “long persistent media connections” and handle  “outrageous bandwidth usage”.

Here is what we subjected a $9.99 per month hosting account to: We uploaded 350 video media files ranging in size from 250mb to 2gb in size. We then linked that media to as many as 6 external sites including Geek News Central,  Fortune 500 sites that were covered in the content, cross-linked back to this same media adding more load.  That media was also served to Google TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Boxee, iTunes, Zune Market Place and was accessed by over 160 different media devices over the 90 day period.

Our biggest traffic day we served over 400,000 video views, and “many terabytes” of data .We kept track of site up time, with 5 separate tracking and data download performance services. Over the test period, GoDaddy maintained 100% up time, we did have data downloads slow down during some peak periods, but all videos played back at real time with little or no buffering.

I will be honest, I was worried that the the 4GH hosting would survive the load, as we had destroyed a not to be named vendor in 2011 who said they could handle the traffic load. Some of you are going to say that GoDaddy did something special. After direct discussions with lead engineers at Godaddy, who are engineers first and not marketing guys. I am confident that we got a fair shake on a standard 4GH account, although I am pretty sure there was some nail biting on their end, because we where watching the traffic wondering ourselves if we would melt down some servers.

I am confident enough in telling you this story, that if you go a buy a GoDaddy 4gh hosting account, you are going to be very happy with the service. As a disclaimer here, GoDaddy has been a sponsor of this website for a long time, this site is hosted on a “dedicated” GoDaddy server that I pay for and independently maintain, I do not host the media on this server as it could not possibly handle the volume I move daily.

I have always been objective in reviewing GoDaddy services laying out concerns where appropriate, and knew their was considerable risk in serving all of our CES 2012 media from a $9.99 per month 4gh hosting account which is not normally subjected to such punishment with their permission we did so and I am very pleased with the results.

You can be assured, when you put up family videos, pictures, or even the rare video that goes viral the 4Gh service is not going to fall over. It will scale as the demand needs, and includes a long list of features that lead the industry.  I will let you review all the features on your own at the GoDaddy site. In closing let me congratulate the GoDaddy 4GH team on surviving our extreme use case!

Disclaimer: What we did in this test case was Extreme and with GoDaddy permission! While I have not read the Terms of Use of a 4gh account, I would suspect that what we did would be way beyond acceptable use of a $9.99 per month hosting account. Which is why I am confident to reveal what we did here to any and all readers of this article as very few people are in a position to do what we did in the manner we did it.

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Todd Cochrane
Executive Producer
Geek News Central


Proof of Insurance – Coming Soon to Smartphones?



Drivers who get pulled over by police might soon be reaching for their smartphones, instead of their glove compartments. A bill has been introduced in California by Assemblyman Mike Gatto. If the bill becomes passed into law, it would allow drivers to present their proof of auto insurance to law enforcement by showing the police officer their smartphone.

Other states, including Arizona and Idaho, have made some efforts towards creating similar laws. At this time, there aren’t any states that have officially approved this change to the way proof of insurance is presented. The California version of the bill will go before the Assembly Insurance Committee later this month. If this bill becomes a law, it could set a precedent for other states to create similar laws.

The exact details about how this all would work are a bit fuzzy at the moment. There is the potential that an app could be created that was specifically designed to display a person’s proof of insurance. Right now, there are plenty of apps that have been introduced by insurance companies that display customer information. However, none of them currently will show proof of insurance.

It seems that to make this work, it would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide registration papers to consumers electronically. Right now, this is not something that the DMV in California will do. They do not provide scanned copies of documents to customers.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto notes that this could work without the creation of new app. He points out that drivers could scan their own insurance forms into their smartphones themselves. When a traffic stop occurs, the driver could easily bring up that information on their smartphone, and hand the device to the police officer.

There are some advantages to being able to present a digital copy of your proof of insurance. You wouldn’t have to dig frantically through your glove compartment, searching for those important papers, while a police officer waits. It would be harder for you to accidentally lose your proof of insurance. If your car gets stolen, the thief wouldn’t be able to find your insurance card, and learn where you live.

On the other hand, some are fearful that handing your smartphone to a police officer could open you up to revealing more than you really wanted to. There would have to be privacy laws in place that would prevent officers from looking through your smartphone for more information about you, that you did not consent to give out.

Image: Traffic Stop by BigStock


GNC-2012-03-08 #748 Apple TV Fail



What the heck was Apple thinking. The Apple TV update was the weakest hardware update in Apple’s history. Lots of great tech today and luckily I do not dwell on the Apple news.

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Dear Netflix, Please Be Careful. Signed – A Faithful Subscriber



Oh, Netflix.

Still staggering from the one-two punch of the infamous 60 percent price increase for unsuspecting users in July, followed by a sloppy September move to break off its mail order business and call it Qwikster – Netflix has been looking a little weak in the legs.

Angry subscribers and jittery investors do not a good combination make.

Let’s hope their latest announcement – conveniently broken the same morning as the Apple show was dominating another couple of news cycles – isn’t the knockout punch.

According to Reuters, “Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings has quietly met with some of the largest U.S. cable companies in recent weeks to discuss adding the online movie streaming service to their cable offerings, according to sources familiar with matter.”

Most see these talks as a short term development in a long-term conversation that could bring Netflix to cable television as an on-demand choice. Some even see Netflix as a future rival to HBO. Perhaps Netflix is feeling the heat of a crop of competitors with deep pockets (Google, Amazon and others).

But whether it’s a bid to regain lost confidence or a nod to future partnerships aimed at satiating shareholders, Netflix might just be ignoring the one party that made this all possible – current subscribers.

Should talks with cable companies lead to cozy deals, maybe customers who likely view Netflix as the best option for “cutting the cord” will head elsewhere for streaming content. In other words, simply associating with the cable monopolies will taint the flavor of the entire service.

Last year’s debacle cost Netflix 800,000 subscribers (although they gained back 600,000 by year’s end). They got raked over the coals in a very public way by subscribers, industry watchers and more. Combine that with the fact that you could fit the number of people who feel love for their cable provider in a bouncy castle and you’ve got Netflix looking like they might be poised to step in it again.

Here’s another potential deal that might look great for the bottom line, but alienating to the subscriber base. A subscriber base (myself included) that knows the future of video content and entertainment streams wirelessly across the living room – not through a cord.


Apple Pursues Perfection



Apple iPad 3As the Apple roadshow rolls out of town for another few months, I doubt anyone will claim that this was a classic performance. Even the most zealous worshipper has to admit that it was a straightforward and by the numbers presentation with no real surprises. You might even argue that there have been two mediocre events in a row and while it was easy to give Apple a bye last time because of the death of Steve Jobs, this time there’s no such luxury.

What did Apple announce today? An improved set-top box, a faster tablet with a better screen, an OS point release and some jazzed-up software. Hardly big news – Samsung had a better showing last week at MWC by miles.

So what’s gone wrong? Resting on their laurels and counting their considerable cash pile? In a previous post I mentioned that Apple was about perfection, not innovation and today’s event backs this up. Nothing ground-breaking but good solid improvements which undoubtedly will sell well. Not a mis-step, but not a stride forwards either.

To be fair, it’s easy to be armchair critic without contributing anything – what would I’d have considered as new innovations from Apple?

  • iOS Apps on the Apple TV. Not unique to Apple but an interesting step forwards with great potential.
  • Full control of the Apple TV from iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. What you see on the TV, you see on the device in your hand, making it easy to control.
  • Similar situation but in reverse. Show off your photos or movies from your iPhone or iPad on the Apple TV without cables.
  • Pass running apps between iOS devices. Playing Angry Birds on your iPhone but now want to play the iPad? Pass it on over and continue playing from where you left off.
  • (Inductive charging would be nice, too.)

This would create an even more tightly knitted hardware ecosystem that would encourage owners to be all-Apple, rather than the existing media-orientated ecosystem.

Apple, while you might be raking in the cash, you need to and can do better. Next time round, let’s see some real innovation. Perfection is boring.


Apple TV Update Disappoints!



We where all waiting with baited breath today for Apple to announce the new Apple TV aligning with other Apple products in having access to the App Store. Sadly they did not add this functionality. It has left me wondering what Apple’s end goal really is for the Apple TV.

I guess Apple wants everyone to buy gaming and productivity Apps on $500 to $900 iPads, and not on a $99 Apple TV.  I can think of no other reason for the new Apple TV not to be breaking new ground.

So for at least the time being no Angry Birds, or Media Channel apps on the Apple TV! Once again the Roku, Boxee, Samsung Smart TV team can sigh a breath of relief!

 


My Initial Thoughts on the New iPad



Just finished purchasing the new iPad. I purchased the White 16GB Wi-fi version. I had the original iPad version and did not up grade to iPad 2, so I was ready for an update. It is definitely a want purchase and not a need. I am sure the retina display will look amazing and I am looking forward to playing with the iPhoto app. Although I am not sure how often I will be using it as a camera. The problem with using it as a camera is not so much looking like a dork, but bringing it up and putting it down every-time you want to take a picture. I think it will work better as a video camera, because that something you would be holding up for a while anyway. It will be interesting to see how well the dictation works on the iPad. I have dictation on my Android phone and it never works well. I not sure if it is me or the device.

I do think the fact that they did not name the new iPad something different is going to be confusing to some consumers. Not so much if you buy through the Apple Store, but if you buy through a third-party vendor or especially if you are buying through Ebay. As someone said today, this is a great chance for people to be swindled on Ebay. I am glad they are still going to make the iPad 2, I think this is important for school. With the announcement Apple made last month, they were definitely targeting the secondary and college market. They had to figure out a way to keep prices low enough for schools to be able to afford them. Unfortunately even at this price this will be a device maybe out of the range of all but the richest school districts. The question becomes will Amazon fill the gap for those school districts can’t afford the iPad, I hope so. My final complaint is that Apple knows that their store is going to be hammered on the date of a release, especially when they release in multiple countries on the same day and yet they never seem ready. For a company which has as much money as Apple does, they should be able to rent more servers on such a day. Despite these complaints I am looking forward to getting the new iPad and will do a full review once I receive it.