I got this notice in an e-mail from the WTIA. Given yesterday’s announcement of the Google App Engine, this might be very interesting for some of my readers:

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Welcome to the New Era of Cloud Computing
Google, Fremont Campus
4/30/2008
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

New technologies for large-scale data storage and processing are allowing companies to manage ever-increasing data set sizes. Scalable “cloud computing” technologies offer low-overhead ways to host your products, while ensuring that your computing base can adapt to changing needs. Open source tools such as Hadoop provide low-cost but high-powered platforms on which to develop your systems. This evening presentation, aimed at technology decision-makers of local high-tech corporations, will explain what you need to know to engineer reliable, scalable distributed systems to manage your data. The presentation will address the following topics:

• What is changing about data availability today?
• What is cloud computing, and in what form is it available to your company?
• What systems has Google developed to manage large-scale data, and what makes them unique?
• What open source systems can provide these benefits to you?

Speaker
Aaron Kimball, Sr. Consultant, Spinnaker Labs, Inc.

Aaron Kimball is a leading authority on Hadoop-based system deployment. He provides advice, system development, and training to corporations and academic institutions worldwide. In 2007 he developed and taught a new undergraduate course in distributed computing with Hadoop at the University of Washington; this curriculum forms the basis for new courses being presented at top-tier universities across America and around the globe.