back to article Microsoft researcher obsessed with white trash data centers

A Microsoft researcher has provided his seal of approval to the white trash data centers promoted by Sun Microsystems and Rackable Systems. Windows Live architect and former DB2 lead architect James Hamilton has pumped out a presentation, detailing reasons why data centers in shipping containers make sense. While thin on …

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  1. John Hinkle

    Mobile Data?

    Given this model, a man with a Semi can give a new definition to data theft. Some people just don't give the mob credit.

  2. Paul Featherstone

    Its a good thing

    As someone who has just completed a data centre build project - it could have been so much easier with these bits of kit.

    Forget about design and build and suppression and everything else, it starts to turn bespoke into 'off the peg'.

    Long may it continue

  3. Jodi

    We need more data centers

    One step closer to a real world star craft. Great idea though.

  4. Ilya

    Here's an idea for a startup

    Rent a huge cargo freighter ship (buy a nuclear-powered Russian one if needed), fill it up with them datacenters and send it travelling around the world.

    First of all, there's a hosting company in neutral waters and with no jurisdiction for you. A safe haven, so to speak, for all those seeking freedom of speech or royalties for copyrighted material.

    Also, as everybody knows that sometimes you can achieve more bandwidth by shipping a load of DVDs rather than by using Internet connections. Just think of a shipful of datacenters in that respect. Multitudes of terabytes of, say, CIA's surveillance data on EU citizens, all transferred into US in a matter of weeks!

    I know the idea seems stupid, but hey - some people once raised 1bln dollars for a spaceship-to-the-Moon project, so who knows, maybe the stupid VCs are not all extinct yet.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What happened?

    I seem to have woken up in a world where it's suddenly ok for computer manufacturers to go on about 'white trash'

    What happened? It's offensive isn't it? Of all things to apply the name to - an allegedly 'environmentally friendly datacenter'?

    Let's face it - if it were any other racial group than white, quite rightly you wouldn't dream of using the term 'trash' would you?

  6. Ian Michael Gumby

    Talk about disaster recovery...

    As much fun as it is to call this "white trash", its actually a very good idea.

    In situations where you need to have some form of command and control and you don't have the necessary communication infrastructure, you can drop one of these babies in and then wire up some temporary communication infrastructure.

    Take the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The US govt could have set this up in their command center. Have one sat connection between the center and the rest of the world, and then set up a temporary network of radio towers so that teams with laptops could be in communication.

    In addition, they could have handled the processing of people easier and faster. An example would be capturing biometrics of people who attempted to get the cash cards. This would have reduced the overspending and identity theft.

    So as much as you joke, its definitely an option.

    One also has to wonder why you don't pick on GE for developing and deploying MRI units in trailers to hospitals .... thats been going on for years.

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