Archive for January, 2009
Steve Jobs Presents an Open Letter Addressing Health Concerns
Posted by: | CommentsIn an open letter to the public, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, discussed his continued health problems, Macworld, and his duty as CEO.
Jobs cites a hormone imbalance for “robbing” him of proteins and thus causing him to lose weight. The drastic loss in weight has made many question if Jobs is still healthy enough to be the CEO of Apple. In his letter, Jobs stated that he “will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO.”
The open letter also discusses how he mishandled his health problems as far as the Macworld keynote speech. “Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed,” said Jobs. Indeed, many news outlets have been discussing whether Jobs has cancer or if Apple will collapse if Jobs passes away. These rumors have fueled a reduction in the value of Apple’s stock since early last summer.
VPS and Virtualization Come of Age
Posted by: | CommentsVPS and virtualization are still relatively young technologies in the grand scheme. Here’s what I mean:
In 1776 the first steam engines were installed and working in commercial enterprises. This technology development leads to the Industrial Revolution.
In 1870 the Second Industrial Revolution commences. Developments from the Second Industrial Revolution include the introduction of steam-driven steel ships, the development of the airplane, mass production of goods, mechanical refrigeration, and the invention of the telephone.
In 1945 the world’s first true computer debuts. ENIAC or Electronic Numerator Integrator Analyser and Computer can perform an equation of 5,000 additions. It weighed 27 tons.
In 1969 the ARPANet went live, with communications between the University of California in Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute. The network is the precursor to the modern Internet.
In 1974 Robert P. Goldberg, publishes a paper titled: Survey of Virtual Machines Research. The paper describes virtualization as a ”framework or methodology of dividing the resources of a computer into multiple execution environments, by applying one or more concepts or technologies such as hardware and software partitioning, time-sharing, partial or complete machine simulation, emulation, quality of service, and many others”. By all accounts the first mention of VPS.
In 1983 the TCP/IP protocol is introduced, which is still the Internet standard used today.
In 1991 CERN introduces the World Wide Web (www) which incorporates the HTML computer language. Shortly thereafter the very first web hosting companies emerge, renting shared space on centrally located servers.
On February 8, 1999, VMware introduces the first of a line of x86 virtualization products which creates the ‘VMware Virtual Platform’. Shortly thereafter mainstream hosting companies begin offering VPS hosting products similar to those we know today.
So VPS hosting has been around less than 10 years and really has gotten traction in the past 5 years. The technologies are now beginning to really take hold and become a true force in web hosting. For example, there are now over 5,240,000 results in Google for the search term: VPS hosting.
Here’s what Rob Lovell, an outreach specialist with virtualization company Parallels sees for the near term future of VPS hosting, ”Web hosting for the consumer will continue I think to consolidate and commoditize. the big few really are now established and entrances to the market from Yahoo, Google and Microsoft will impact the lower end of the hosting market considerably. I think web hosters in the small business area will see a dramatic expansion of their services away from just web hosting and domain names, to software and services. Low attrition services are required for companies to continue to grow rapidly in the industry, and with hosting companies already having a huge network of customers, they can simply add-on services to suit.”
Daniel Foster, co-founder of VPS and UK hosting company 34SP.com saw these trends in virtualization, ”I expect to see more companies moving to virtualised platforms in 2009 to enable them to rapidly adapt to the needs of their customers. We’ve seen virtualisation start to take hold of the industry, and this is set to continue throughout 2009. The fundamentals will still apply in 2009. Customers will still expect great service, great value and great hosting. If you’re not already doing that, make sure you’re moving in the right direction; customers expect it all!”
Mr. Lovell added, ”Hosting companies are in a fantastic position to start to offer more than just web and email, but focusing on line or business applications which almost all businesses use – and have to buy and support. Hosting companies already have an infrastructure and people to deliver these services and i think with higher margins on offer, this will be seen as a much more common option. For Parallels we will continue to address our service provider partners, focusing on enabling them to tackle the next step services such as Software as a Service and VOIP.”
This content was written by Derek Vaughan exclusively for WebHostBlog.com.
Superb Internet’s HQ Moves to Hawaii
Posted by: | CommentsWeb host Superb Internet Corporation has opened new corporate headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii and brought in new Senior Management members, it was reported recently. The company, which bills itself as "one of the oldest and most reputable web hosting companies in the world", is moving into the First Hawaiian Bank Tower, in "the heart of Honolulu’s financial district".
According to the company, the move is central to its strategy of "attracting and retaining key talent". As a result of the move, the company has already managed to fill "multiple key senior management positions with extremely experienced and talented individuals".
"We are pleased that in an era of economic uncertainty we are in a position of continued strong growth, remain profitable and are (as we always have been) 100% debt free," explained Superb Internet’s President and CEO, Haralds Jass. "We are very pleased to offer our valued employees an alternative to the normal benefits associated with corporate life. The health and well-being of our employees is very important to us, and we are confident that the move to Honolulu will have a significant effect on productivity, innovation and team cohesiveness – and will also accordingly result in an even higher level of service for our customers. "
With headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii, Superb Internet Corporation was established in 1996 Superb Internet and offers a complete range of managed web hosting services, "from virtual hosting through to high-volume, mission-critical dedicated service solutions". The company serves a global customer base in "over 150 countries worldwide" and has operations in McLean, Virginia, USA and Seattle, Washington.