It’s still only 11:30pm and I just determined that IT Conversations transferred more than 100GB of web-site and audio files today: 81.77GB of dowloads and streaming to the Windows Media Player, and just over 20GB of web-site and ShoutCast MP3 stream traffic. That’s up by 4x over the September average.
Why? First is the latest content: Gnomedex 4.0 presentations by Wil Wheaton and Steve Wozniak, a new show by Dave Slusher, and the usual programs like The Gillmor Gang. I figure that accounts for 2x increase. The other 2x? I think it’s from Podcasting and the hyperlinks (including the verbal equivalent) we’re getting from other Podcasters.
Thank goodness for Limelight Networks, our CDN. They’re awesome.
What’s tougher on infrastructure than being SlashDotted? Feing Farked, that’s what. Fark.com just posted a link to Wil Wheaton’s presentation and as of 12:30pm we’re getting a new listener every 8-9 seconds on average. Most of the audio (MP3 downloads and streams to the Windows Media Player) is delivered by the CDN thank goodness, but the MP3 ShoutCast streams and the HTML pageviews are server by a little Celeron box somewhere in Texas. Looks like the IT Conversations site will be a bit slow until this quiets down. Guess it’s time to think about that new server.
Adam Curry and I were comparing notes this morning. I just checked my logs and noticed that IT Conversations is up to >60GB day (1.8 terrabytes per month). That’s an average of 5.56mbps, probably peaking close to the capacity of a DS3 (45mbps). That makes sense, of course, since just 15 people simultaneously download files using 3mbps cable connections can hit 45mbps combined. Thank goodness for Limelight Networks, the content-delivery network (CDN) that brings you IT Conversations. Without them there would be no delivery. BGW, that 60GB/day doesn’t include MP3 streaming, which is handled separately.
I dropped the ball on blogging all of the films I’ve seen at this year’s Mill Valley Film Festival, but since opening night I haven’t seen anything all that exciting. Last night we saw Vera Drake, the latest film by director/screenwriter Mike Leigh and starring Imelda Staunton. It’s a terrific film that I predict will receive critical acclaim, be loved by audiences, yet stimulate a controversy in the same was as Gibson’s Passion of the Christ. No, the film isn’t at all like Gibson’s, but the controversy could be as great. Staunton’s performance is an Oscar-level tour de force. The entire cast (with no exceptions) are great. The directing, editing and cinematography are superb. I’m purposely not telling you much about the film because there are some important twists, but it’s a film you’ll want to see. It has only played a few festivals so far, but I expect it will be released shortly.
Here’s a free plug-in that will bookmark files played in the Windows Media Player. I haven’t tested it myself. [Source: Random Bytes]