Facebook to put old, rarely viewed photos into 'cold storage'

Rosa Golijan , NBC News ? ? ? 13 hrs.

If a photo is on Facebook and no one looks at it, was it ever even uploaded?

Poor attempt at a joke aside, there's something with which we need to come to terms: There are a lot of photos on Facebook that just sit around, taking up precious data storage space. The social network can't exactly delete these photos just because no one's looking, but it can store them in a more cost-effective and energy-efficient way.

According to the Oregonian's Mike Rogoway, Facebook's testing moving what he describes as "archival posts that people don?t need every day" into cold storagein the social network's data center inPrineville, Oregon.

As fun as it might be to imagine a gigantic meatlocker full of servers, cold storage refers to a data center in which most of the computers are asleep, with a few keeping watch ? and able to wake the others ? for incoming requests to view older items. Compare that to a hot storage data center in which all the computers are wide-awake and ready to show you the information you request almost instantly. (Of course, the difference in the time it takes to grab something from cold storage versus the time it takes to grab something from hot storage is so slight that a typical user could never even tell the difference. Think second or millisecond delays, rather than anything more dramatic.)

Facebook says, according to Rogoway, that "82 percent of its traffic is focused on just 8 percent of its photos." Given that detail, it's not exactly tough to understand why the company's considering cold storage data centers ? especially since they will cost the social network about a third less than standard data centers, offer eight times more storage, and run five times more energy efficiently.

Want more tech news or interesting links? You'll get plenty of both if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/facebook-put-old-rarely-viewed-photos-cold-storage-1C8485605

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Sony fined in UK over PlayStation cyberattack

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2009 file photo, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Shawn Layden displays a new PlayStation 3 during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan. Britain?s Data Regulator fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 for having insufficient security measures to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network. The attack in April 2011 targeted credit card information through Sony?s PlayStation Network and put millions of users? personal information - including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords - at risk. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2009 file photo, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Shawn Layden displays a new PlayStation 3 during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan. Britain?s Data Regulator fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 for having insufficient security measures to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network. The attack in April 2011 targeted credit card information through Sony?s PlayStation Network and put millions of users? personal information - including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords - at risk. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

LONDON (AP) ? British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($396,100) for failing to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network which put millions of users' personal information ? including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords ? at risk.

Britain's Information Commissioner's Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time "were simply not good enough." It said the attack could have been prevented if software had been up to date, while passwords were also not secure.

David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection, acknowledged that the fine for a "serious breach of the Data Protection Act" was "clearly substantial" but said that the office makes "no apologies" for that.

"There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better," he said in a statement. "It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe."

Smith called the case "one of the most serious ever reported" to the data regulator.

Sony, which has previously apologized for the data breach, said Thursday it "strongly disagrees" with the ruling and plans to appeal.

David Wilson, a spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., said the company noted that the ICO recognized that Sony was the victim of a criminal attack and that there is no evidence payment card details were accessed.

"Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defense and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient," he said in a statement.

------------------------

Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-24-Britain-Sony%20Hack/id-b1d4c008fff246f689507df705788a48

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Video: Seahawks' Washington geared up for Pro Bowl

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/50567686#50567686

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Owners say ferrets are pets, officials say pest

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The difference between owning a ferret in Hawaii and one in Pennsylvania can be up to three years in jail ? and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

That's the penalty for ferret fans in the Aloha State, where the 3-pound members of the weasel and polecat family are banned amid concerns of the animals escaping and wreaking havoc on the islands' delicate ecosystems. Similar fears are behind a decades-old ban in California, which has one of the nation's most diverse ecosystems.

"The concern is that if these animals were released, like other non-native species have been, they would adapt and thrive and out-compete native species for food, and prey on native species," said Adrianna Shea, deputy director of California's Fish and Game Commission.

States have had problems with feral animals in nonnative environments, creating problems for native species by eating them or ravaging their food supply. Feral cats, for example, have decimated bird populations. In Hawaii, the introduction of the mongoose to combat a rat problem "was a very poor idea. Rats are nocturnal and mongooses are diurnal. They only saw each other for a short period between dusk and dawn," said Minami Keevin, a land vertebrate specialist with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

But ferret fans argue that the foot-long domesticated creatures make excellent pets and shouldn't be regulated by wildlife agencies.

"Ferrets are really wonderful animals for those of us who are so inclined. They are messy, and they're expensive, and they're demanding, but they are full of personality, full of love and full of joy," said Pat Wright, who lives in La Mesa, near San Diego, and has been fighting California's ban for nearly 20 years.

Keeping a ferret as a pet takes more time, care and money than owning a dog or cat. The American Veterinary Medical Association in Schaumburg, Ill., which recently posted a YouTube video on pet ferrets, noted that they need to be caged most of the time, require hours of exercise and emit a musky odor that many people find unpleasant. Large cages are expensive, but on the other hand, ferrets don't require as much medical or dental care as cats or dogs.

"They are wonderful little clowns that not only steal your heart but they will steal anything they deem is theirs. This includes your shoes, socks, pens, pencils, hairbrushes, potatoes, car keys, wallets and clothing. I had two ferrets that tried to take my notebook computer to what is called their hidey-hole," said AmyJo Casner of Harrisville, Pa., who legally owns ferrets Manny, Marcuz, and Marylin.

Their antics are better than antidepressants, said Casner, whose pets inspired her to start a ferret clothing line that she sells online.

A count of ferret owners across the U.S. was unavailable, but the American Pet Products Association said that in 1992, 2 percent of people who owned a small animal like a mouse, rat, ferret, gerbil, rabbit, hamster or guinea pig said they had a ferret. In 2000, 10 percent of small-animal owners said they had a ferret, and 7 percent in 2010 had them. That's despite bans in the two states, plus a number of large cities including New York, and U.S. military bases.

In California, where having a ferret can net a $500 fine or six months in jail, Wright estimated between 50,000 and 500,000 pet ferrets live a clandestine existence. His guess is based on ferret-supply sales and a 5,000-member mailing list for his ferret legalization cause.

Shea, who said Fish and Game has never tried to verify those numbers, said California doesn't have enough game wardens to chase violators, so the ban is not strictly enforced. Billboards close to the borders of Arizona and Nevada point motorists in the direction of ferret sellers. And most pet stores in California carry ferret food and supplies.

But the issue is taken seriously in Hawaii, where every report of a ferret is checked. One captured last year in Hilo was turned over to the Hawaii Island Humane Society, flown to Honolulu and quarantined until it could be shipped out of state. The penalty for importing, selling or possessing a ferret in Hawaii is a fine up to $200,000 and as many as three years in jail.

Dr. Valarie Tynes, a veterinarian with the AVMA, said breeders who spay and neuter ferrets before selling them could allay states' concerns that the animals could escape and procreate.

"I think there have been concerns by some that if ferrets got loose, they might thrive in the wild in the United States and possibly be damaging to native populations," she said. "I think it's interesting, as long as they've been pets, I've never heard of any place that's happened."

California's 80-year-old ban can be changed by commission vote or legislation, and there have been six attempts at a bill since 1994. A 2004 proposal came closest when it reached the desk of the governor ? Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appeared with a ferret in "Kindergarten Cop." He vetoed it.

Wright is looking for another lawmaker willing to sponsor a new round of legislation, but conceded that task alone was difficult. With legislators facing issues like the budget, gun control and health care, he noted, anyone who goes to bat for ferrets will probably be mocked.

___

Online:

http://www.avma.org

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/owners-ferrets-pets-officials-pest-100223217.html

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Justified, Season 4

Constable Bob (Patton Oswalt) made his Justified debut by bumbling his way to saving the life of Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant).

Still from Justified by Prashant Gupta/FX.

In Slate?s Justified TV Club , Rachael Larimore will IM each week with a different fan of the FX drama set in Harlan County, Ky. This week she chats with TV writer Tara Ariano.

Rachael Larimore: Welcome, Tara, and thank you for joining me. This season premiere seemed to be all about "fresh starts." Not just for Boyd's dealer/client who claims he has been saved by the Last Chance Holiness Church, but for the show itself. There were so many new faces. What did you think?

Tara Ariano: This is typical for a new season of Justified: a lot of tantalizing story threads without a clear idea of who or what the new Big Bad is going to be. Clearly, this Waldo Truth situation is going somewhere; and just as clearly, Arlo's being incarcerated isn't going to stop him from being a problem to Raylan (Timothy Olyphant). And to the state, I guess.

Larimore: I have always loved to hate Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), and I?ve never found him to be a particularly adept criminal mastermind, just lucky. But when we met Billy St. Cyr (Joseph Mazzello), the snake-handling revivalist preacher who has his new followers convinced he (or God) can cure them of addiction, I had a feeling I might start feeling a little more sympathetic toward ol' Boyd this season. Preacher Billy gave me the creeps. How do you think Boyd might handle this very different challenge to his empire?

Ariano: Boyd is always compelling as Raylan's dark double. What will be particularly interesting about Billy as Boyd's new antagonist is the faith aspect. Past seasons have shown Boyd grappling with his own relationship to religion. Billy may not realize that Boyd will be able to match him line for line in any scripture-based debate.

Larimore: There is indeed a glimpse of Boyd?s prowess at quoting scripture in the season preview trailer, where he appears to be crashing one of Billy's sermons and warning of false prophets. It makes me wonder if the Billy-Boyd drama could steal the show from the season?s other major plotline: the cold case. The episode opens with a flashback to 1983 and a dead parachutist surrounded by bags of cocaine in a suburban cul-de-sac. Fast forward to the present, when two teenagers are breaking into Arlo's house and searching for something hidden in his walls. They are chased away before they can get what they came for, but later, Raylan discovers a diplomatic pouch and the driver's license of "Waldo Truth" in the hole.

Ariano: Indeed. Either Arlo (Raymond Barry) is not as senile as he has seemed of late, or in his version of the present, he hid the bag away relatively recently and fears the consequences of its discovery enough to dispatch a prison trustee with impressive haste.

Larimore: Since we know that Raylan will be investigating this long-forgotten crime that has something to do with Arlo, I'm curious as to what it will do for Raylan and Arlo's relationship. Considering that Arlo thought he was shooting Raylan last season, it can?t get any worse. Do you think Raylan could possibly glean some insight into Arlo that would swing the pendulum back even a smidgen?

Ariano: I feel like Raylan has had enough cause and opportunity to take out Arlo over the years that he could have done it by now if he wanted. I also think any new information he learns about Arlo is unlikely to make Arlo look ? better. But the show has certainly surprised me before!

Larimore:?True! It's not like Arlo has ever been up for Father of the Year. I just can't help thinking that since Raylan is about to become a father?that the writers aren't concocting a storyline that has Raylan exploring his own childhood by chance.

Ariano: What seems certain is that Constable Bob (Patton Oswalt), whom Raylan's hired to look after Arlo's house, is going to continue screwing things up in the coming episodes. If his debut appearance ends with him and several others badly maimed, surely things can only escalate to him causing someone's death.

Larimore: I was intrigued by the casting of Patton Oswalt, who certainly has a diverse body of work but is better known for his comedy. I like to think that there is more to Constable Bob than the bumbler we saw in the premiere.

Ariano: Oswalt has become more of a dramatic actor in recent years (in movies like Big Fan and Young Adult), but I found his casting a bit of a departure for Justified, which tends to cast character actors who the audience wouldn't necessarily identify with any past roles. But maybe there's less crossover in the Justified and "comedy nerd" audiences than I think.

Larimore: I liked Oswalt in the role. I was less impressed with how the show introduced Colt (Ron Eldard). It's almost a clich? to have a guy show up at a bar, look threatening, and be almost chased off and then?hey, look everybody!?be a long-lost pal from the war. And then later, when Boyd said, "Take care of him" after they recovered the money from Boyd's newly clean and saved dealer, I kind of saw that coming a mile away?how Colt killed him though Boyd had meant for Colt to untie him. It was a bit lazy, I thought, compared with the rest of the episode.

Ariano: Yeah, maybe lazy. Or foreshadowing for a moment later in the season, when Colt wants to take out someone whose life is, to Boyd, less inconsequential than that poor fool's was.

Larimore: You are probably right! We've talked about all the new faces (well, except for a long-lost lady friend of Raylan's who appears briefly early on, but really, who can keep track of all of his paramours?), which brings us to the end of the episode, when Arlo kills a fellow prisoner for knowing a?little too much?about that diplomatic pouch. Dramatic and telling!

Ariano: It's a reminder that Arlo is still a bad guy, whose past crimes are never quite past. And a reminder of how hard it must have been for a young Raylan to escape his circumstances and start a career in law enforcement: Though the Arlo we first met seemed like a fairly small-time crook, we keep learning more about how ambitious his crimes actually were. And as for the lady friend: We see her naked ass and not Raylan's? WEAK.

Larimore: Do you have any predictions for the season? Or is there anything you're hoping to see (besides equal airtime for Raylan's backside)?

Ariano: Sometimes it seems like the only thing worth guessing after a Justified season premiere is who's going to survive the finale! And I don't have a good feeling about Rev. Billy. His sister may bite it even sooner than that.

Larimore: In that way, Justified is a little bit like Dexter ... the villain doesn't usually survive the finale. In this case, though, the bigger mystery might be around just who gets to kill Rev. Billy. My money is on the snake. By which I mean the actual reptile, not Boyd.

Ariano: He did say he's already been bitten twice. Rule of threes!

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=046cf42bead51db9628c27bafc0b25eb

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Depardieu: 'I'm French' despite Russian passport

PARIS (AP) ? Actor Gerard Depardieu denied in an interview aired Monday that he accepted a Russian passport to escape the taxman in France, and said that while he may also seek Belgian nationality, he is still French.

Depardieu's first public remarks since acquiring a Russian passport on Saturday suggest that his threat last month to turn in his French passport was a bluff, or the indignant reaction of a wounded man.

"I have a Russian passport, but I remain French and I will probably have dual Belgian nationality," he said in the interview with the sports channel L'Equipe21. "But if I'd wanted to escape the taxman, as the French press says, I would have done it a long time ago."

Depardieu, 64, is one of France's best known actors, has appeared in more than 150 films and has an international following. He has been at the center of a heated debate over tax exiles as France's Socialist government looks to fill state coffers with a hefty tax on the rich. Depardieu drew scorn and insults with his recent decision to move to neighboring Belgium, where taxes are less steep for the well-off.

After Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called him "pathetic" and "unpatriotic," Depardieu penned an open letter in mid-December saying he was handing in his passport and social security card. Then, over the weekend, Depardieu showed up in Russia to accept a passport delivered personally by President Vladimir Putin.

Depardieu spoke to the sports channel from Zurich, Switzerland, on the sidelines of a soccer awards ceremony. Referring to tax exiles, Depardieu said that some high-profile rich in the entertainment industry had left France two decades ago.

Depardieu has a court date Tuesday in Paris, where he is expected to agree to a plea bargain in a case of alleged drunken driving. The burly actor was arrested after falling off his motorcycle in November and failing a sobriety test.

Elisabeth Depardieu, the actor's ex-wife, said in an interview on Monday with RTL radio that her former spouse is by nature very emotional.

"When he feels refused, he becomes provocative," she said. "Should we throw stones? He is a monument. He is a poet."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/depardieu-im-french-despite-russian-passport-201421525.html

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Early Studies Show Facebook Mobile App Install Ads Perform Well For Devs, Indicating Big Revenue Potential

Chances are you may have seen one yourself, but just how well are Facebook mobile ads promoting app installs performing? AdParlor, one of Facebook’s advertising and marketing partners, has provided us with some data to show that the answer is rather well, although the experience of another developer points to some of those good gains possibly being short-lived. The gains of a strong app install model are potentially not just good news for developers — who need more than app store rankings these days to get their apps seen, installed and used — but also investors — who need to keep seeing evidence of solid business models in Facebook’s business. AdParlor recently ran a four-week campaign with a large global gaming company (it doesn’t say which one), with app instill ads placed in the mobile news feed. AdParlor found News Feed ads to be one of the most engaging and effective ad placements on Facebook’s platform at the moment, with average click-through-rates of 0.5% (ie, how many people click on the ads) and sometimes higher depending on the vertical. AdParlor, the divsion of online advertising network Adknowledge that handles Facebook advertising for ?hundreds of companies like?Groupon, L’Oreal, American Express, Coca Cola, LG, OMD, Mindshare, Starcom, says that this particular campaign was for a role-playing game, with the aim being (as it is with many Facebook ads) to drive more players to the game’s iOS app. The ad delivered 10 million mobile impressions and drove thousands of iOS installs over four weeks. Tracked and optimized for the most effective cost-per-install by country, this is how different countries broke down for cost-per-install: What these numbers, all under $3, show is that the cost-per-install — meaning the amount of money it is costing developers to get users to act on their ads — is still remaining relatively low. In other words, a lot of users are clicking on the ads and downloading. That’s something Kate Simille, a product director at app developers Miso, has also noted, with even more cost-effective results:?Miso recently decided to buy mobile ad units on Facebook’s mobile platform to promote a new app, Quips, along with ad units on two other networks, mDotm and Tapjoy. Their conclusion: Facebook far and away had the best results, with $0.45 Average cost-per-click (CPC) (not install); a 6% conversion rate of installs (actions) to clicks, with the average cost per user at $1.73.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/0xm3u_TwH1Q/

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