links for 2009-03-08

Quick examination of the three models of Cloud Computing: 1. Renting raw hardware: compute processing, data storage and networking bandwidth. 2. Leveraging an integrated application development engine. 3. Ordering an application.

Neokast was a peer-to-peer live video streaming application whereby “…the more people who watch your Neokast the more efficiently will your server bandwidth be utilized....under normal circumstances the server bandwidth should plateau at 3-4 times that of a single stream NO MATTER HOW MANY VIEWERS ARE BEING SERVED... So if Neokast’s claim is valid, it would be possible to broadcast American Idol or the Super Bowl or friggin’ CNN worldwide for $7 per month.” Cringely says someone bought it. And Microsoft is his top guess.

Nick scores points against Eric Schmidt vis-a-vis Is Google Making Us Stoopid. Bravo! But I still don't share the concern.

In his new book, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don't Know About Them), Bart Ehrman says each Gospel writer had a different message — and that readers should not "smash the four Gospels into one big Gospel and think that [they] get the true understanding."

In the Gospel of Mark, for instance, Jesus dies in agony, unsure of the reason he must die and asking why God has forsaken him. But in the book of Luke, Jesus prays for forgiveness for his killers. The two stories offer very different accounts, says Ehrman, yet many people tend to merge them.