Refresh Houston/Ruby on Rails User Group -- Special Event February 28, 2007

Amazon Web Services (Thanks to Refresh Dallas for the stolen meeting description)

What's possible in a post Web 2.0 world? Innovation continues at a mind-bending pace, and this presentation will showcase some thought-provoking new directions that Web Services are headed in. The presentation will provide an overview of Amazon Web Services, including a Web Service named Mechanical Turk that allows computers to make requests of people, an online storage service, a Virtual Server service, and more. There will also be a demo showing how to set up the virtual server. But mostly this will be an opportunity to have a discussion about innovation and entrepreneurial tools.

Amazon spent ten years and over $1 billion developing a world-class technology and content platform that powers Amazon web sites for millions of customers every day. Most people think "Amazon.com" when they hear the word; however developers are excited to learn that there is a separate technology arm of the company, known as Amazon Web Services or AWS. Using AWS, developers can build software applications leveraging the same robust, scalable, and reliable technology that powers Amazon's retail business. AWS has now launched ten services with open API's for developers to build applications, with the result that over 200,000 developers have registered on Amazon's developer site to create applications based on these services.
About the Presenter

Mike Culver joined the Developer Relations Group of Amazon Web Services in May, 2006. Mike brings with him fifteen years of technology leadership experience, including at companies such as Microsoft. In addition Mike has a strong background running an IT organization, with several decades of experience in the Electrical Wholesale Distribution industry. As a Web Services Evangelist at Amazon, he helps developers take advantage of disruptive technologies that are going to change the way we think about computer applications, and the way that businesses compete.

Official Website: http://refreshhouston.org/