Daily Archives: June 28, 2023

Is a Dukes of Hazzard reboot coming to Netflix? – Dexerto

Posted: June 28, 2023 at 12:32 pm

Kayla Harrington

Published: 2023-06-28T15:39:47

Updated : 2023-06-28T15:39:58

Thanks to newly circulated images of a potential Dukes of Hazzard cast, fans have wondered if a reboot is in the works at Netflix.

According to some people, it looks like those damn Duke boys might be at it again as fans are now speculating that Netflix could be cooking a new Dukes of Hazzard reboot.

The Dukes of Hazzard was a TV show that started in 1979 and ran for seven seasons. The show followed the lives of cousins Bo and Luke Duke who live on a family farm in fictional Hazzard County, Georgia. They were known as troublemakers as they raced around in their customized 1969Dodge Chargerstock car, which was nicknamedThe General Lee.

Article continues after ad

The show was later turned into a film in 2005 and starred Johnny Knoxvilleand Seann William Scottas the Duke cousins along with Jessica Simpson as their cousin Daisy.

No other addition has been added to the Dukes of Hazzard brand since the film debuted, but now, thanks to some images circulating online, fans are wondering if a Netflix reboot is around the corner.

At this time, no plan for a Netflix reboot of the Dukes of Hazzard has been announced.

Article continues after ad

But, fans thought a reboot could be in the works thanks to some A.I. generated images that have been making the rounds online depicting an all Black cast including the Duke cousins, Daisy, and their nemesis Boss Hogg.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.

Some people were excited about the fake images as an all Black version of the Dukes of Hazzard would be seen as the ultimate middle finger to the brand thats all about the Confederate flag and all the worst parts about living in the South.

Article continues after ad

However, and unsurprisingly, some people didnt react kindly to the mere thought Black people being in the Dukes of Hazzard as they claimed the hood of the car would feature a Black Lives Matter flag or the episodes would be a minute long as the Black Duke cousins would immediately be arrested by the police.

It should go without saying, but the color of a characters skin doesnt matter unless its directly tied into the story. And as the Duke cousins are just Southern boys who drive a particular car, having them be Black wouldnt be such a big deal.

Article continues after ad

The idea of a Netflix reboot of the Dukes of Hazzard may be fact, but peoples bigotry definitely is alive and well.

You can check out some of our other Netflix hubs below:

The Night Agent Season 2|The Gentlemen|Sex Education Season 4|Beef Season 2|Monster Season 2|Will there be Ginny and Georgia Season 3?|All the Light We Cannot See|Stranger Things Season 5|The Witcher Season 3|Chicken Run 2|Heartstopper Season 2|Florida Man Season 2|Obsession Season 2|The Sandman Season 2

Article continues after ad

Read more:

Is a Dukes of Hazzard reboot coming to Netflix? - Dexerto

Posted in Black Lives Matter | Comments Off on Is a Dukes of Hazzard reboot coming to Netflix? – Dexerto

How ‘Swagger’ Raised Its Game – The New York Times

Posted: at 12:32 pm

The first season of Swagger, a sports drama set in the high-stakes world of high school basketball in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Seat Pleasant, Md., was released in fall 2021 to moderate critical acclaim. The creator, Reggie Rock Bythewood, and his cast and crew were proud of what they had accomplished.

But for the shows second season, which premiered on Apple TV+ last week, Bythewoods ambitions were much bigger. He wanted the narrative to be more complex. He wanted the basketball to be more exciting. And he wanted to use the story of a prep school sports team to make a statement about the country.

There is that athlete mentality of wanting to be challenged, Bythewood said in a recent video interview. He put the challenge like this: How do you take Season 2 of Swagger and hold up a mirror to America?

The series is about Jace Carson (Isaiah Hill), an elite high school athlete who is ranked among the top basketball players in his region and is expected to land a college basketball scholarship and, eventually, a spot in the N.B.A. Over the course of the first season, Jace both clashed and bonded with the people around him, including his single mother, Jenna (Shinelle Azoroh); his lifelong best friend, Crystal (Quvenzhan Wallis); and his demanding but supportive coach, Ike (OShea Jackson Jr.). The second season jumps ahead to Jaces senior year as the demands of budding fame and the pressure of mounting expectations reach a fever pitch.

Carson is based loosely on Kevin Durant, the Phoenix Suns power forward and multi-time N.B.A. champion, All-Star and M.V.P. who has been one of the leagues best players throughout his 16-year career. While Swagger is set during the present day Durant attended high school in the early 2000s much of Carsons biography is inspired by Durants own, including his having been raised by a single mother and having been a top prospect coming out of Seat Pleasant.

The concept of a show based on Durants life originated with the man himself, along with Rich Kleiman, his manager and business partner. Rich Kleiman and I had had the idea for a while to do something that was based on my earlier years and centered around the world of AAU basketball, Durant wrote in an email. We got connected with [the producer] Brian Grazer a few years back.

When Grazers Imagine Entertainment first approached Bythewood with the pitch, It didnt really sound like something I wanted to do, Bythewood admitted. But at that time Durant was still playing for the Golden State Warriors, based in the Bay Area, and Bythewood, in Los Angeles, figured it couldnt hurt to hop on a plane and take a meeting.

I met with the guy and talked to him about his life, and I found my own emotional connections to his story, he said.

Bythewood first developed an interest in acting as a high school student in the Bronx in his senior year, he landed a part in the NBC soap opera Another World. His soap stardom offered a window into some of the pressures a top athlete thrust into the spotlight from the middle of Seat Pleasant might face.

It was this idea of being an environment where suddenly all eyes are on you, he said. I really related to the plight, the joy, the challenges, all of it. Bythewood added his own perspective to Durants story, and from there Swagger was born.

The shows contemporary setting has allowed it to address modern political issues. In the first season, the characters dealt with Covid protocols and participated in Black Lives Matter protests; this season, Bythewood wanted to touch on the shift in the country away from the reckoning with racism and people wanting to re-examine themselves that came out of the Black Lives Matter movement. Now, he said, critical race theory is seen as one of the biggest enemies of the country.

He used the seasons predominately white upper-class prep school setting as a microcosm of the nation, depicting imbalances of power and the unique hardships faced by the Black students.

Bythewoods north star in Swagger has always been authenticity, he said. Given the serious nature of the subject matter off the court which also touches on a broad range of social issues including sexual assault, violence and homophobia he wanted to make sure that the sports action was as compelling as the drama.

When you do something that heavy, the basketballs got to be dope, he said. You cant tell the truth about society and then lie about the basketball.

From the beginning, Bythewood has refused to cheat or make compromises when shooting the game sequences in Swagger. When somebody dunks, theyre really dunking on a regulation hoop; they dont lower the rim or let the actor jump on a trampoline. Season 2 includes even more high-level, athletic court action. You will never see somebody on our show shoot the ball and then we cut to the ball going through the rim, Bythewood said.

That commitment to realism was demanding on the cast, which mixes veteran actors with amateurs from a basketball background. The actors had to learn to play convincing ball, and the ballers had to give convincing performances.

Wallis, the youngest best-actress Oscar nominee in history (for Beasts of the Southern Wild, in 2012), said in a recent interview that she didnt really play basketball before working on this show and couldnt do much more than dribble the ball. Her role as a top female basketball player with hopes of becoming a McDonalds All American required Wallis to do months of intense training, always in the gym, training with the boys, training by myself, doing free play, playing for realsies, she said.

Jackson said that while he had grown up playing basketball and remained a dedicated N.B.A. fan, he still underwent considerable training to sharpen my tools a little bit and get my handles right. As a coach, his character isnt asked to play as much full-on basketball as some of the younger players. But his skills were still regularly put to the test, as in a striking long take in the Season 2 premiere shot without the aid of invisible edits or C.G.I. in which Ike and Jace have a heart-to-heart while shooting free throws and making every one.

Reggie was like, Please let it work, Jackson said. Im like, Reggie, we got you man.

For Hill, who came from a basketball background and had never acted before being cast as the star of Swagger, the test was reversed: Dunking came more naturally to him than dramatic monologues. He said in a recent interview that seeing the other cast members work super hard giving it all on the basketball court was what had kept him motivated to work hard on his acting.

Some of them didnt know how to dribble three weeks before shooting, and in Season 2 theyre doing reverse layups and Euro steps, he said. Seeing them raise the stakes on the court every day made me want to raise the stakes on the acting side.

Bythewood noticed the effort. Isaiah did a great job in Season 1, he said. But at the end of Season 2, hes no longer a basketball player who can act: Hes an actor who happens to play basketball. The level of growth hes shown has been exciting.

Durant, too, has been impressed by the progress of the series.

Its cool to see how the relationships between the characters have evolved so much through Seasons 1 and 2, he said. The story has taken on a life of its own. I can definitely still see a bit of myself in Jace, but his character is absolutely his own person going through his own challenges in todays world.

Originally posted here:

How 'Swagger' Raised Its Game - The New York Times

Posted in Black Lives Matter | Comments Off on How ‘Swagger’ Raised Its Game – The New York Times

Why Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing Still Matters – MovieWeb

Posted: at 12:32 pm

Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee shook the world with the summer release of his 1989 drama Do the Right Thing. For those unfamiliar with the picture, Do the Right Thing follows Mookie Blackmon, an employee of Sals Famous Pizzeria, as he spends one hot summer day delivering pizzas throughout New York Citys Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn neighborhood. While making his deliveries, Mookie encounters and interacts with the neighborhoods colorful characters in a thoughtful examination of race and class. However, despite Do the Right Thing being considered one of the greatest films of the 1980s (specifically the best film of 1989 by acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert), the Academy Awards opted to award the Bruce Beresford-directed period dramedy Driving Miss Daisy, a less controversial film, with the Best Picture honor at the 1990 Academy Awards.

Among the films brilliant acting performances is Lee as Mookie, the late Danny Aiello as Sal, frequent collaborator Giancarlo Esposito as Buggin Out, John Turturro (another of Lees frequent collaborators) as Pino, Rosie Perez in her feature-film debut as Tina, and the late Bill Nunn as the unforgettable Radio Raheem. As is often the case when artists tackle sensitive subjects like race and violence, Do the Right Thing received high praise and severe criticism from critics for its portrayals of people of color, race relations, and a memorable ending that forces audiences to consider whether Mookie did, in fact, do the right thing.

With Do the Right Things thirty-fourth anniversary occurring on the thirtieth of this month, well examine why Lees Do the Right Thing is a significant film and why its themes and messages are still relevant thirty-four years later.

A prominent theme in Do the Right Thing is the relationship between law enforcement and people of color specifically African American males, and even with both sides feeling threatened by the others mere presence, their relationship is contentious at best. However, as the day marches on and the already hottest day in New York heats up even more, the police and civilians of Bed-Stuy become increasingly more agitated with each other. This agitation and stress eventually and unfortunately culminate in a riot between Sals Pizzeria and the primarily Black inhabitants of the neighborhood and before anyone has the time to process whats happening, Radio Raheems murder by members of the NYPD.

Related: The Best Spike Lee Movie of Every Decade

On July 17, 2014, life would imitate art when footage of members of the NYPD murdering Eric Garner, an unarmed Black man, via chokehold in broad daylight surfaced. The situation and its eerily similar circumstances were not lost on Lee as the filmmaker would splice footage of Raheems death with footage of Garners, along with scathing remarks against the officers involved. Despite the many claims of police brutality against African Americans being a thing of the past, weve all bore witness to many instances of such still occurring throughout the nation.

Most recently, the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020 reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and the I cant breathe rallying cry started by Garners murder. Despite the tragic and racist circumstances that have led to these notable references to Do the Right Thing, they have exposed newer generations to the film and its anti-racist themes and, thus, will hopefully contribute to our society doing better.

Do the Right Thing is regularly screened and studied in college and university courses thirty-four years after its initial release, thus solidifying its status as a significant piece of art. Moreover, this film and the rest of Lees career have inspired many generations of filmmakers notably acclaimed writer-directors M. Night Shyamalan and Barry Jenkins. AFI included Do the Right Thing in its 10th Anniversary AFIs 100 Years 100 Movies list at number ninety-six, and New York Times film critic Wesley Morris has cited Do the Right Thing as his favorite film.

Related: John Turturro's Best Performances, Ranked

The respected film preservation company, The Criterion Collection, has restored and re-released the film twice once on DVD in 2001 and again on Blu-Ray in 2019 to coincide with the films thirtieth anniversary. Additionally, Quincy Street and Lexington Avenue, the neighborhood where the film is set, was renamed Do The Right Thing Way in 2015 after Robert Cornegy Jr. pushed for the New York City city council to honor the film and its legacy with the initiative.

Do the Right Thing is objectively one of the most influential films ever made, and its status as such is primarily due to Lees thought-provoking script, masterful directing, and notable usage of Public Enemys Fight the Power. The film offered insights on controversial topics from a rarely heard or seen perspective and concluded on a somewhat ambiguous note, leaving fans and critics still pondering its ending. Whereas a film like Miss Daisy played things safe, Do the Right Thing was provocative and insightful, challenging its audience to consider their biases, politics, and environments.

While Lee has gone on to have an exceptional career with follow-up classics like Malcolm X, Clockers, Bamboozled, 25th Hour, Inside Man, and BlacKkKlansman, Do the Right Thing will likely go down in history as the auteurs finest work chiefly because of its themes, cinematography, and social relevance across multiple generations.

Original post:

Why Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing Still Matters - MovieWeb

Posted in Black Lives Matter | Comments Off on Why Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing Still Matters – MovieWeb

The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism – TIME

Posted: at 12:32 pm

The more often the word woke is invoked, the more elusive it seems to become. Since the right began to use it as a war cry, many progressives have argued that the word is empty, merely a way to attack people of color, feminists, and members of LGBTQ communities without being directly offensive. Yet the fact that woke has become a slur in the hands of people like Ron DeSantis, Marjorie Taylor Green, and right-wing politicians across Europe should not prevent the rest of us from examining it. Even when they decline to say it publicly, for fear of giving aid and comfort to the radical right, most progressives I know are deeply uneasy about the turn taken in Western cultural politics of the last few years.

Whether you think woke is a curse or a blessing, youre likely to share one assumption: woke is left, or far-left, or hard-left. What makes woke positions hard to define is that theyre fueled by all the emotions traditional to most progressive views: sympathy for the marginalised, indignation at the plight of the oppressed, determination that historical wrongs must be righted. Those emotions, however, are derailed by a host of assumptions that ultimately undermine them. We rarely notice the assumptions now embedded in popular culture, for they are usually expressed as self-evident truths.

Even those who never read a word of Michel Foucault or Carl Schmitt, godfathers of many woke intellectuals, have imbibed conclusions from their views: justice is a concept invented to disguise claims to power; there is no common humanity; tribal connections and genetic interests determine our actions; most attempts at progress turn out to be subtler forms of domination, like the use of reason itself.

Its the mismatch between progressive emotions and reactionary assumptions that makes woke so hard to define. The idea of intersectionality might have emphasized the ways in which all of us have more than one identity. Instead of examining the wealth of identities all of us have, the intersectionality discussions often reduce all our identities to two. Race and gender are not only the most marginalized identities, but they are also those over which we have the least agency.

Woke emphasizes the ways in which particular groups have been denied justice, and seeks to repair the damage. In the focus on inequalities of power, the concept of justice is often left by the wayside. For ideas of justice, as Foucault and his heirs argued, are often used as smokescreens to disguise demands for power. Why not be honest, cut out the middleman and simply demand power for your tribe? Woke demands that nations and peoples face up to their criminal histories. In the process it often concludes that all history is criminal. Yet if we cannot acknowledge that progress has been made in history, we are unlikely to believe it can be made in the future.

Read More: Why Woke Is a Convenient Republican Dog Whistle

Defining woke, then, requires us to acknowledge the split between progressive emotions and reactionary theories. Its not surprising that woke intentions are at odds with their assumptions when many of the latter come from thinkers who were outright Nazis. You need not have read a word of Carl Schmitt or Martin Heidegger to have imbibed their views: liberal ideas of justice and democracy are empty, outdated husks of the Enlightenment, itself a scam by European powers bent on imposing their values and regimes on others.

In fact the best tendencies of the woke, like the suggestion that one view the world from more than one geographical standpoint, come from the intellectual movement they most despise: the Enlightenment, which invented the critique of Eurocentrism and was the first to attack colonialism on the basis of universalist ideas. When contemporary postcolonial theorists rightly insist that we learn to view the world from the perspective of non-Europeans, theyre echoing a tradition that goes back to Enlightenment thinkers, who risked their livelihoods, and sometimes their lives, to defend those ideas.

This is not merely a historical argument, for in misunderstanding progressive history, many contemporary voices have abandoned the philosophical ideas that are central to any liberal or left-wing standpoint: a commitment to universalism over tribalism, a firm distinction between justice and power, and a belief in the possibility of progress. All these ideas are connected.

What distinguishes the left from the liberal is the view that, along with political rights that guarantee freedoms to speak, worship, travel and vote as we choose, we also have claims to social rights which undergird the real exercise of political rights. Liberal writers call them benefits, entitlements, or safety nets. All these terms make things like fair labor practices, education, healthcare and housing appear as matters of charity rather than justice. But social rights are codified in the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While most member states ratified it, no state has yet created a society which assures those rights. To stand on the left is to insist that those aspirations are not utopian.

You need not study philosophical debates about the relations between theory and practice to know at least this: what you think is possible determines the framework in which you act. If you think its impossible to distinguish truth from narrative, you wont bother to try. If you think its impossible to act on anything other than self-interest, you will have no qualms about doing the same. The right may be more dangerous, but todays left has deprived itself of ideas we need if we hope to resist turn towards the right.

The international right is extremely well organized. What unites far-right nationalists across the globe is not the idea that Anglo-Saxons or Hindus or Jews or Hungarians are the best of all possible tribes, but the principle of tribalism itself: you will only truly connect with those who belong to your tribe, and you need have no deep commitments to anyone else. Its a bitter piece of irony that todays tribalists today find it easier to make common cause than those whose commitments stem from universalism, whether they recognize it or not.

The concept of universalism once defined the left; international solidarity was its watchword. What united striking miners and civil rights workers and freedom fighters was not blood but conviction first and foremost the conviction that behind all the differences of time and space which separate us, human beings are deeply connected in a wealth of ways. To say that histories and geographies affect us is trivial. To say that they determine us is false.

Hannah Arendt thought that Adolf Eichmann should have been not have been tried for crimes against the Jewish people but for crimes against humanity. Her distinction is even more important today. I support Black Lives Matter because the killing of unarmed people is a crime against humanity. At the same time, I reject the white countermovement whose members shout All lives matter, because it uses a banal general truth to distract attention from an important empirical truth, namely, that African Americans are more likely to be subject to police violence than other Americans. Its an empirical fact, but you need a concept of truth to see it.

Despite the universalist character of the 2020 movement in the first months after George Floyds murder, a racist right was quick to dismiss it as a case of identity politics, though a majority of American demonstrators in June 2020 were white. It wasnt only the right that moved towards tribal rhetoric. By the fall of that year few voices defending Black Lives Matter were universalist, though some allowed that white allies could play a role.

But I am not an ally. Convictions play a minor role in alliances, which is why they are often short. Alliances have little to do with principles: if my self-interest happens to align with yours, for a moment, we could form an alliance. The United States and the Soviet Union were allies until the Nazi regime was defeated. When the U.S. decided its interests lay in recruiting former Nazis to defeat communism, the Soviet Union turned from ally to enemy. To divide members of a movement into allies and others undermines the bases of deep solidarity and destroys what standing left means.

Its often recalled that the Nazis came to power through democratic elections, but they never won a majority until they were already in power. Had progressive parties been willing to form a popular front, as thinkers from Einstein to Trotsky urged, the world could have been spared its worst war. The differences dividing the parties were real; even blood had been spilled. But though the Stalinist Communist party couldnt see it, those differences paled next to the difference between universal progressive movements and the tribal vision of fascism.

We cannot afford a similar mistake today.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com.

Read more:

The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism - TIME

Posted in Black Lives Matter | Comments Off on The Fatal Tension at the Heart of Wokeism – TIME

Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing operations, state leaders say – The Associated Press

Posted: at 12:32 pm

  1. Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing operations, state leaders say  The Associated Press
  2. Amazon To Spend $8B Building Data Centers In Ohio  Bisnow
  3. AWS to expand Ohio bit barns to the tune of $7.8B  The Register

See the rest here:

Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing operations, state leaders say - The Associated Press

Posted in Cloud Computing | Comments Off on Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing operations, state leaders say – The Associated Press

Google Cloud Platform: Everything you need to know about Google’s suite of cloud computing services – Android Police

Posted: at 12:32 pm

Every tech giant seems to have a cloud platform. Still, if you asked someone what the Google Cloud was, they would probably have no idea. The Google Cloud Platform (GCP) isn't a collection of Google's most popular apps and software. They call that Google Workspace, which used to be G Suite.

Google Workspace includes things like Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Drive cloud storage. Google Cloud Platform is a suite of cloud computing services that run on the same infrastructure that Google uses for its end-user products. Unlike Google Workspace, which primarily caters to individual productivity and collaboration for everyday use, GCP provides tools and services that allow developers and enterprises to build, deploy, and scale applications, websites, and online services using Google's robust and reliable infrastructure.

Google Cloud Platform includes services for serverless and scalable computing, offsite cloud-based data storage, data analytics, machine learning, networking, the Internet of Things (IoT), security tools, and developer tools. These services are highly flexible, can grow as a company grows, and are designed to meet the needs of small-scale developers, all the way up to big data giants running queries against data sets in the terabytes.

While Google Workspace focuses on providing productivity tools for users, Google Cloud Platform is a comprehensive platform offering a ton of services, cloud resources, and the cloud infrastructure needed for DevOps teams. A handful of competitors offer public cloud services at this scale, and you'll recognize many of them. Some of GCP's largest competitors are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and IBM's cloud platform.

Amazon beat Google to the market with its cloud computing service in 2006. Google launched a preview release of App Engine in 2008, a tool that lets customers run their web applications on Google's infrastructure. At first, it was released to a limited number of developers. It didn't see its full release until 2011.

Since then, Google Cloud Platform has developed or acquired numerous services and products that allow companies to use all facets of its vast infrastructure resources. Google Cloud Platform quickly became one of the top international cloud vendors, alongside other cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM.

Have you ever wondered how companies can offer their services and online products on such a huge scale? It's because most of them are built on cloud services like Google's. Some of Google Cloud Platform's most well-known customers include Snapchat, Spotify, Twitter, PayPal, Nintendo, and eBay.

Google Cloud Platform offers several "engines" or frameworks designed for computing, hosting, and application development needs. It has many useful APIs that use machine learning and its AI platform to develop AI models. It also has services for database work and can handle large datasets.

This is a short list of what's available through Google Cloud Platform. GCP also has Google Cloud Storage, Cloud Pub/Sub, Cloud Dataflow, Cloud Dataproc, Cloud Functions, Cloud Run, Cloud Spanner, Cloud Load Balancing, and a web-based GUI called Cloud Console to manage it all. The Google Cloud Platform is huge, and this is not a complete list.

GCP includes many managed services, meaning that Google takes care of the underlying infrastructure, maintenance, and operational tasks needed to run the service and the hardware that the service uses. If you've ever run a small home server on a Synology DiskStation NAS, you probably know how much can go wrong with server hardware. This allows customers to focus on developing and running things rather than managing the infrastructure. It also means that a company can take advantage of automatic scaling that adjusts resources based on their workload demand as their business grows.

With so many large companies moving their analytics, data processing, and machine learning workloads offsite and into cloud vendors like Google Cloud Platform, securing this data has become a top priority. GCP offers tools for monitoring, logging, and diagnosing security performance.

Google Cloud Platform doesn't only offer the tools and services that allow companies to use its infrastructure. It also provides security and management tools that protect everything a company puts on its platform.

Google Cloud Platform and Google Cloud may sound like the same thing, but they are very different. Google Cloud is a set of user-end tools and services, like Google Drive and Google Workspace. On the other hand, GCP is the backbone of many large-scale digital platforms, including Google Cloud. It may seem like a lot with all it has to offer, but there are plenty of tutorials and a flexible pricing model for smaller-scale uses.

To put it simply, Google Cloud Platform is Google's suite of cloud computing services that enable developers and businesses of all sizes to build, launch, and manage their applications and online services. Some of the biggest companies in the world use GCP to access Google's powerful infrastructure, the same infrastructure that Google uses for its services and products. GCP provides computational engines, an AI platform, machine learning APIs, a stable and reliable DNS service, and database services that can handle any size and type of dataset.

Google Cloud Platform offers all the security and management tools needed to safeguard a company's data and the sensitive user data they may have collected. Its set of security and monitoring tools helps companies automate many security tasks, monitor system performance, and manage access privileges.

The Google Cloud Platform is more than Google's version of a cloud computing suite. It's a comprehensive ecosystem of reliable and powerful services, from advanced computing capabilities to strong and dependable security measures.

Read more:

Google Cloud Platform: Everything you need to know about Google's suite of cloud computing services - Android Police

Posted in Cloud Computing | Comments Off on Google Cloud Platform: Everything you need to know about Google’s suite of cloud computing services – Android Police

Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing … – Wilmington News Journal, OH

Posted: at 12:32 pm

Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing operations, state leaders say

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Amazons profitable cloud business will invest roughly $7.8 billion by the end of 2029 to expand its data center operations in central Ohio, state leaders announced Monday, further advancing the states efforts to establish itself as the Midwests technology hub.

The new investments by Amazon Web Services, or AWS, were announced by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who leads the governors technology office. The financial outlay further cements Ohio as the heart of our nations technology and innovation, the governor said in a statement.

AWS launched its first data centers in the region in 2016 and currently operates campuses in two counties in central Ohio, home to the capital city of Columbus. The administration said numerous locations are being considered as sites for the new data centers, in a selection to be announced later this year.

The cloud computing company is now responsible for the second largest private sector investment in the states history, behind only the $20 billion chip plant announced by Intel last year. Facebook and Google also operate Ohio data centers.

Also underway in the region are a $3.5 billion battery plant being built by Honda and LG Energy Solution of South Korea and a new $110 million Center for Software Innovation at Ohio State University. A chemical research clearinghouse headquartered in Columbus has long been a leader in big data storage and processing.

Once a reliable cash cow for Amazon, AWS has recently begun to feel pressure, as companies trim cloud computing expenses in the face of high inflation and fears of a recession. The tech giants first quarter earnings report showed its cloud unit generated $21.4 billion and was growing at 16% in the first three months of this year, down from the 37% growth rate a year earlier.

Still, Roger Wehner, economic development director for AWS, said the company has a long-term commitment to Ohio, having invested more than $6 billion in the state since 2015. He said Mondays investment will include new workforce development and educational programs that support the next generation of talent by emphasizing collaborative, long-term public and private partnerships across the state.

The new AWS data centers will contain computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other technology infrastructure for cloud computing. As of last year, the existing operation employed roughly 1,000 people across the state. JP Nauseef, president and CEO of JobsOhio, the states privatized economic development office, said the newest investment will create 230 direct new jobs and an estimated 1,000 support jobs.

View post:

Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing ... - Wilmington News Journal, OH

Posted in Cloud Computing | Comments Off on Amazon is investing another $7.8B in Ohio-based cloud computing … – Wilmington News Journal, OH

11 Key Executives in the Cloud Computing Industry in 2023 – Executive Gov

Posted: at 12:32 pm

Storing and organizing data and spreading information within organizations are crucial functions of many industries. Modern technology brought advancements such as cloud computing services, making it possible for various sectors to store, secure, back up, and disseminate information efficiently.

Today, cloud computing is available and suitable for other industries to fulfill various missions and operations. Here is a rundown of the executives who were key playersin no particular orderin the cloud computing industry in 2023.

Greg Bateman has been the Regional Vice President of Defense at Salesforce since March 2022. He is responsible for the companys business with the US Department of Defenses (DOD) 4th Estate, the division that covers organizations outside the military and intelligence community agencies.

Bateman also takes charge of establishing trust with customers that rely on Salesforces cloud computing services. Proof of this commitment is Salesforce IL4 for the DoD. IL4 is a designation that covers controlled unclassified information (CUI), non-CUI, export-controlled data, personally identifiable information (PII), non-national security systems, and other mission-critical information.

Bateman brings nearly ten years of professional experience in cloud computing services to Salesforce. Previously, he has engineered new cloud reseller programs, established cloud-focused systems to bolster business growth, and led federal agencies to adopt cloud platforms effectively.

Lillian Chang is the Senior Vice President of Product Strategy at SAP National Security Services (NS2). Since 2021, Chang has been responsible for the companys cloud portfolio and partnership relations. She also manages SAP NS2s physical cloud environment, including its software and hardware services to bolster cost optimization.

Chang has 10 years of experience working on cloud computing solutions at SAP NS2. Prior to her current role, Chang served as GTM Director and GTM Vice President of NS2 Cloud. She leverages her past experience to engineer cloud platforms and cloud-based solutions that meet critical infrastructure industry requirements.

On March 22, 2023, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRamp) granted certification for SAP NS2s cloud-based enterprise resource planning program. Under Changs leadership, this program enables federal clients to deploy the cloud platform as a software-as-a-service application within SAP NS2s Cloud Intelligent Enterprise.

Steve Derr has been the Vice President of Oracle Corporations Cloud Operations & Engineering division since 2017. In his current role, Derr leads teams specializing in cloud operations and engineering services to cater to the demands of National Security clients.

At Oracle, Derr accumulates over ten years of experience working on cloud computing and hardware solutions for federal intelligence agencies. He led teams and developed the know-how to utilize Oracles storage solutions, high-performance computing, and Engineered Systems to deploy mission-critical capabilities for different segments of the federal government.

Kathleen Flynn is the Vice President of Cross-Cutting Capabilities at Capgemini Government Solutions, a subsidiary of Capgemini SE. Flynn has been vice president since 2015 and oversees the distribution of all capabilities for the companys portfolio of client partners.

Flynn focuses on defining practical applications and accessing Capgeminis resources for intelligence, cloud migration, and portfolio rationalization on behalf of the companys clients.

Toby Haertl has been part of CyrusOne since 2017 and is currently the companys Enterprise and Federal Segments Global Business Development Manager.

Haertl possesses ten years of professional experience in cloud computing services and draws from his previous work to innovate cloud-based applications. He leveraged his expertise in CyrusOnes cloud computing services as the National Channel Manager of Solution Providers. He specialized in delivering advanced data centers to support clients managed services and cloud infrastructure businesses and forge strategic and stronger client relationships.

Brian Keith is the General Manager, Azure Data and AI Leader, and National Intelligence Specialist at Microsoft Federal, the missions-focused arm of Microsoft Corporation.

Keith is focused on integrating data and artificial intelligence into federal and business organizations and workflows through agile data, AI solutions, and cloud strategies. With decades of developing solutions for the federal government, Keith is an expert in deploying AI and intelligence strategies to support critical missions.

Michael Mike Miller is Vice President of Enterprise Sales and the North America Public Sector of Red Hat. He has 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, analytics, data protection, DevOps, and code-free developments.

At Red Hat, Miller leads teams with innovative members that deliver cloud-based solutions, high-performing Linux applications, container, and Kubernetes technologies to help solve complicated problems in different domains.

Drew Schnabel is the Vice President of Federal at Zscaler. Schnabel has years of experience developing software and information systems that support different missions and projects for the US government. His expertise includes service delivery, enterprise software, enterprise architecture, SaaS, and storage area network (SAN).

Schnabel is committed to ensuring that Zscalers zero-trust cloud security platforms are accessible to federal clients, regardless of device, network, or location. In 2021, Schnabel was involved in developing the Secure Cloud Management (SCM) prototype for the Department of Defense.

Kaus Phaltankar co-founded Caveonix in 2017 and is the companys current President and Chief Executive Officer. He has a 25-year professional background in cybersecurity and enterprise managementdomains he integrated with the cloud computing system of Caveonix.

In a panel discussion on cloud security in 2018, Phaltankar offered insight into businesses growing demand for control and visibility among hybrid cloud environments to support employees, resources, business partners, and crucial IT assets. The panel and Phaltankars expertise resulted in the development of Caveonix Cloud, the first-of-its-kind cloud digital risk platform designed for hybrid clouds.

Brad Scyrkels is the Vice President of the Public Sector and General Manager of Cyxtera Federal Group. He was chosen for these roles in 2021 and is in charge of the sales, marketing, channels, infosec, and GRC efforts of Cyxteras Public Sector.

Scyrkels leads a team of cloud experts that work on FedRamp, Cyxteras hybrid cloud security services for the federal government. They work on integrating the speed and scale of the cloud with the performance, accuracy, and cost benefits of data centers.

Brian Pickerall is the current Senior Vice President of Changeis, Inc. He has 25 years of professional experience in project management, large-scale software development, and transportation operations systems.

Pickerall is responsible for the companys initiatives, such as business development and business growth plans. He is also in charge of Changeis Enterprise Technology Solutions, which covers data analytics, hybrid cloud services, and domain expertise.

See the article here:

11 Key Executives in the Cloud Computing Industry in 2023 - Executive Gov

Posted in Cloud Computing | Comments Off on 11 Key Executives in the Cloud Computing Industry in 2023 – Executive Gov

10 Multi-Cloud Myths Debunked: Exposing the Facts – TechFunnel

Posted: at 12:32 pm

Multi-cloud environments are fast becoming a standard component of the enterprise IT ecosystem. There remains a reasonable amount of uncertainty surrounding this type of cloud computing.

Even though multi-cloud offers businesses greater efficiency, elasticity, and scalability, it comes with drawbacks. And, like any other enterprise technology, it has its own pros and cons. So, let us dive right into the myths you have probably heard about multi-cloud computing and why they couldnt be more wrong!

Fact: While they are both heterogeneous environments, multi and hybrid clouds have very different implications for IT.

While multi-cloud and hybrid cloud are similar, there are some major differences. These can impact their design and operation.

It primarily utilizes clouds from various providers, like AWS for front-end applications and Azure for Exchange Servers. Hybrid cloud integrates private cloud systems with a number of public clouds, enabling them to operate as one entity.

The type of cloud architecture you implement will be dependent on the apps you run or support and your larger business goals.

Fact: There will always be a degree of lock-in with any public cloud.

In order to clarify this misconception, lets first define what vendor lock-in means. In cloud computing, vendor lock-in happens when moving to an alternative cloud platform provider is prohibitively expensive. It ultimately ends in the consumer being essentially bound by the vendor.

The general idea is, that when youre using multiple cloud platforms, vendor lock-in doesnt happen. But this is not the case.

If youre using the native APIs of a cloud service provider, you are effectively locked in. Important cloud services, like security, governance, or storage, that are consumed via one cloud provider arent transferable to other cloud service providers unless they are modified to become interoperable.

Fact: Cloud costs depend on how it is managed, not the number of providers you choose.

Multi-clouds arent more likely than other cloud services to exceed the budget. It all depends on how you deal with them. With fundamental guidelines in place, which include monitoring, provisioning, and preserving data in the right storage layer, organizations will find it simple to keep multi-cloud costs in check.

Fact: Configuring security in multi-cloud environments takes largely the same effort and skills as a single cloud.

Like administration in general, security in the multi-cloud is only harder if it isnt executed correctly.

A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) that has an incorporated security layer is a must for cloud security. Consequently, the cloud, in its entirety, is placed beneath a single architecture that permits the expansion of safeguards and monitoring capacities at any point.

Obviously, there is nothing intrinsic to multi-cloud architecture, making it more secure than other architectures. Several service frameworks, data access, or controls will have to be dealt with (particularly during migration).

If you neglect conformity across multiple architectures as well as geographic regions, multi-cloud may not be secure. But the same applies to single cloud environments as well.

Fact: Containerization alone is not enough for multi-cloud migration; additional efforts are involved.

Its true that containers supply applications with mobile, standardized models. However, cloud-native applications are operationally quite complex.

A containerized workload requires additional modifications before it may be considered cloud-native. Among these changes are the adoption of container-specific OSes, the channeling of traffic, and the automated management of construction or operational settings. You will incur exorbitant costs if you migrate monolithic applications from virtualized machines to the cloud without any intermediate steps.

Fact: It turns out to be more cost-effective in the long term, but you will have to wait to unlock full value.

Cloud computing is a cost-effective solution, and this is among its greatest advantages. Yet, the notion that multi-cloud solutions are always more cost-effective than single-cloud solutions isnt entirely accurate.

Multi-cloud strategies demand heterogeneity, which requires an array of skills for effective execution. Consequently, there is a mix of financial and non-financial risk, as quite a bit of architectural complexity is involved. Nevertheless, businesses continue to favor multi-cloud because of its increased agility, which enables them to use top-of-the-line cloud offerings and push the pedal on innovation.

In terms of direct costs, multicloud is undoubtedly more costly to construct, set up, and run than a single cloud. Multiple platforms, however, offer optimal solutions for a broad range of enterprise-level challenges.

Fact: Headline-grabbing cloud deals aside, most enterprises use two or more cloud platforms and vendors are embracing this as well.

It may appear that most businesses decide between AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform without thinking about other options.

However, many businesses, especially those that have been investing in tech solutions for a long time, want a broader selection of service providers. These organizations use hybrid and multi-cloud solutions to maximize the available assets while minimizing dependence on a single vendor.

Even Google acknowledges the importance of an open cloud in fostering creativity, versatility, and adaptability. Google is expanding its open-source ecosystem so as to ease the incorporation of multiple clouds. BigQuery, for example, facilitates the incorporation of data from multiple sources and supports data analytics in a centralized location.

Fact: Perfect interoperability is almost impossible to achieve in any heterogeneous cloud environment, including multi-cloud.

The commonly held belief is that multi-cloud deployments appear and can be managed as a singular conceptual entity. The fact is that clouds work as platforms, and despite standardization, they will continue to vary similar to SQL databases.

It is ultimately a means for businesses to diversify. In the vast majority of cases, multi-cloud will not involve the operation of distributed databases or apps over two or more clouds. Instead, the multi-cloud strategy emphasizes cloud choice flexibility whats running, where.

Fact: Most businesses rely on different cloud environments already, and it is a good idea to prepare early.

Now, its possible that large organizations have a greater demand for multi-cloud architectures. However, small businesses keep using an array of specialized apps that are improved by the use of multiple clouds. To get the most out of these tools, its best to start with a scaled-out environment.

Using SaaS platforms like Salesforce, Power BI, Tableau, etc., or a managed security service, small enterprises may take advantage of multi-cloud computing.

Fact: It is useful for resiliency only if you use a different cloud for backup or to host your desktop virtualization images.

The fallacy is that businesses can dynamically transfer apps and information between databases if they employ more than one cloud provider. Therefore, they cannot be knocked out by just one outage. Using the multi-cloud strategy for disaster recovery can cost twice as much as using a single cloud for just one app.

This is because workloads cannot move between clouds in real time during an emergency, and you will need to have two instances of the same application running simultaneously on two clouds adding to the costs.

For resiliency purposes, it is better to have redundant locations in place and invest to minimize internal network outages, given that public cloud outages are infrequent.

Today, the likelihood of ending up with a multi-cloud environment (whether you plan for it or not) is very high. You may choose to connect supply chain IoT sensors on AWS, train machine learning models on Google, and use Azure for workspace collaboration. But do go into the investment with eyes wide open and first learn all there is to know about cloud computing to make the best decision for your business.

Excerpt from:

10 Multi-Cloud Myths Debunked: Exposing the Facts - TechFunnel

Posted in Cloud Computing | Comments Off on 10 Multi-Cloud Myths Debunked: Exposing the Facts – TechFunnel

How MTN and Microsoft will transform business operations with … – TheCable

Posted: at 12:32 pm

In its usual innovative fashion, MTN Nigeria has partnered with the technology giant, Microsoft, to bring transformative cloud technology to Nigerian organisations through products that will digitise their business operations.

Cloud computing enables organisations to use digital resources stored in virtual spaces through networks often satellite networks. It allows people to share information and applications without the restriction posed by location.

Speaking about this partnership and how it will usher transformative solutions for orgranisations and how they store and use data, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said, Cloud has become the backbone of modern business operations revolutionising the way we store, process and analyse data, the way we collaborate across teams and the way we deliver value to customers. Our extensive network infrastructure as MTN, combined with Microsofts cutting-edge technologies, will provide a robust foundation for businesses digital acceleration needs and initiatives.

Cloud computing is essential for businesses to thrive in this rapidly changing world.

While adopting cloud computing, companies might encounter challenges like skill shortages and lack of planning, existing data centre infrastructure limitations, and concerns about vendor lock-in, data sovereignty, and security.

Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, Ola Williams, said, When discussing technologies that enable a transformational shift, one of the key things to discuss is the cloud, which provides a flexible and agile way for organisations to embrace technology. Businesses need to be deliberate about how they incorporate cloud computing into their operations, and that is why it is always very beneficial when it is taken as a journey with the right partners.

When choosing a cloud computing service provider, there are things to prioritise.

MTN Nigeria has carefully considered the setbacks and created a Centre of Excellence (CoE) staffed with certified professionals in all domains. Also, the organisation is leveraging the power partnerships by engaging with Microsoft, a world technology leader that can bring bear extensive experience and support.

Furthermore, MTN Nigeria has bundled connectivity solutions to integrate and enhance the cloud experience of Nigerian businesses seamlessly. It will leverage its strong local presence and round-the-clock support to ensure customers feel confident about handling their cloud computing needs.

MTN Nigeria remains committed to providing its customers with premium products and services that ensure they are empowered to compete internationally.

Read the rest here:

How MTN and Microsoft will transform business operations with ... - TheCable

Posted in Cloud Computing | Comments Off on How MTN and Microsoft will transform business operations with … – TheCable