free cloud computers in the web?

[vinceASPECT]

Hello everybody,

I got some friendly advice and help with Tiny Core Linux on these forums.

Was thinking to return here for the occasional discussion.

Has anybody seen these FREE computers that are offered by www.amazon.com?

It just started Today.

Amazon will give you a FREE computer for a whole YEAR and you can quit the service at the end. They also offer you a whole lot more of services that come bundled with the free computer.

The free computer is a Linux Debian machine. IT's a CLOUD computer so you log in from your desktop using REMOTE DESKTOP and then your screen becomes the desktop of the Linux machine.

The machines have 3 cores. A virtual 1.2 ghz zeon chip and then TWO other similar virtual cores that you can use is bursts. It would be pretty reasonable running Linux on that Chip.

The comuter has 680 megs of RAM and hard drive space. You also get lots of free applications wired and ready to go. Database tools and other such tools.

You can install your own tools into the remote machine and it will remember itself on power down.

You are allowed 750 hours per month of usage. That is basically 24 hours per day.

Interestingly it's not clear if Amazon are limiting things to ONE free machine per credit card. (your card is never charged)

I noticed on google that there is now a windows tool that allows you ro run concurrent unlimited instances of Remote Desktop. Effectively you could have many of these amazon machines OPEN and ready for FREE  (extra spare CPU for you to work with)

I just found the idea very exciting. Cloud computing has been around for ever hasn't it....was it ever free?

Normally these Linux Micro instance machines cost about 3 cents per hour.

With most other companies they are about 10 cents per hour. So during a 365 day year Amazon is offering you some real savings by making it totally FREE.

Does anybody know of any other FULLY functional free cloud computers on offer?

hope to hear from you


Vince.

[danielibarnes]

Here is the link to the AWS Free Usage Tier to which you are referring. It isn't a free computer, it's a free service: "Beginning November 1, new AWS customers will be able to run a free Amazon EC2 Micro Instance for a year." Here are the details from that page:

AWS Free Usage Tier (Per Month):

• 750 hours of Amazon EC2 Linux Micro Instance usage (613 MB of memory and 32-bit and 64-bit platform support) – enough hours to run continuously each month
• 750 hours of an Elastic Load Balancer plus 15 GB data processing
• 10 GB of Amazon Elastic Block Storage, plus 1 million I/Os, 1 GB of snapshot storage, 10,000 snapshot Get Requests and 1,000 snapshot Put Requests
• 5 GB of Amazon S3 storage, 20,000 Get Requests, and 2,000 Put Requests
• 30 GB per of internet data transfer (15 GB of data transfer “in” and 15 GB of data transfer “out” across all services except Amazon CloudFront)
• 25 Amazon SimpleDB Machine Hours and 1 GB of Storage
• 100,000 Requests of Amazon Simple Queue Service
• 100,000 Requests, 100,000 HTTP notifications and 1,000 email notifications for Amazon Simple Notification Service

[vinceASPECT]

Hello

OK...

so does that mean you can't install your own software tools into this service?

maybe my understanding is wrong

i assumed you get a Fedora or Debain Linux machine with 1.2ghz cpu and RAM etc.

Micro instance is qouted as those specs....on wikipedia

This is a Linux micro instance they are offering. 

Are these free services called AMI's......?

Artificial Machine Instances   (artificial computers)

just about to get one now....anyhow

Thanks

Vince.

[vinceASPECT]

sorry .......says AMI

Amazon Machine Instance.

gotta read some more

thanks

Vince.

[vinceASPECT]

Just found this about Amazon Free Linux machine Micro instances......(what they actually are)

http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/index.html?concepts_micro_instances.html

The virtual computer is a Linux box with Fedora or something....

It seems you get *bursts* from 2 virtual CPU cores inside the virtual Linux machine instance..... (two....1.2ghz zeon chip cores)

Then you also get a small amount of continual cpu power.

Depending upon the applications you use in the virtual Linux box, such things as cpu usage will be determined and allocated....

They mention that if your applications need more cpu power, then it will be
supplied as required **ONLY** until you have exhausted the free cpu bandwidth offered....then you will be charged an HOURLY excess as you eat up extra cpu power.

Will have to check this out

The operating system of the virtual computer is Fedora Linux maybe.

Vince.

[vinceASPECT]

this video explains it well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAB8wCg9MyE

you can use any Linux operating system you like.  Ubuntu is popular


what the guy does not show is how to install the windows desktop.

You would type

sudo apt get install X11 (window environment)

sudo apt get intstall LXDE  (window manager)

then you would type  "X" at the command prompt and the familiar
Linux GUI desktop will start up.

You can then install any programs that you like...

for exmaple

sudo apt get install  audacity.

sudo apt get install  Firefox.

The machine remebers itself for ever ....on power down.

This is a free computer to use.

It is not clear how many free machines you are allowed per free account.

it could possibly be 20 instances you are allowed.....which is useful because
you can run concurrent session of remote desktop and so you can have all these machines USABLE at the same time.

The windows remote desktop used here was a free tool called SSL.

But you can use another one called PUTTY.

here is the video of how to set it up in windows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJRSti6DsJg

Linux users would just use...this to get into the distance machine
http://www.rdesktop.org/

hope this is handy for you.


Vince.

[vinceASPECT]

Hello,

Sorry, you can ignore that earlier post about how to get a desktop
running on these virtual distant machines.

We have been tryign this desktop work without success.

Tried the correct tools and the correct version of Ubuntu...(remote dektop)
is the subject.....(but it won't work)

Been on the forums with lots of people trying to get this working. It's not
just me that can't get it working.

Currently we can only get into the Ubuntu box at terminal level.

ubuntu Maverick Mearket 10.10.

will still keep looking at it out of interest. It *should* almost all just work
straight out of the box and be seamless. But this is proving to be FAR from
the case.



V.

[Guy]

In case you don't know.

You can edit or delete previous posts.

[vinceASPECT]

Hello

we have got all of the above working now.

It is good.


I am more than happy to post the instruction here....which takes about 3 minutes
to complete.

You end up with Lucid ubuntu 10.04 "desktop gui" machines ........inside free cloud computers.

The Machines are completely under your control for the year.

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

on a more involved topic...i wondered if anybody with conciderable experience could
help me to get the ubuntu SOUND functioning correctly?

I have instructions for SOUND which are almost perfect....but they are Fedora instrucitons and not
Lucid ubuntu.

I would greatly appreciate any expert advice on getting the sound working.

thanks

Vince.

[^thehatsrule^]

This would be the wrong forum for another distro's support.

[vinceASPECT]

Hello

Uh, well it took a long time to succeed getting tinycore sound working.

Finally got it.

It may help you to know this info for new TC users.

The machine here is japanese fujitsu laptop. (pre yr 2000)
Yamaha sound chip. (lifebook)

It did not like OSS. There were hints of sound but it was very poor.

What it needed was alsa insalling. Then running alsaconfig
and stepping through that. Then running an alsa gui mixer.

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Here are the free Linux cloud computers.  (Micro instances)


I have the full free Linux distant machine and it's Desktop up and running on my local machine here. It works surprisingly fast on a 3.5 meg DSL speed.


if you are interested, you too can get the free Linux box's up and running.

These are free to use for one year.

(Micro instances of a Linux machine. You can have as many machines as you like and use them the same as real hardware linux box's. Install and use software tools or whatever) They remember their state on power down for ever.


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I followed the tutorial perfectly. Using the Karmick 9.10 ubuntu version downloaded from canonical as an EBS image.


here is the video on setting up your free "AWS cloud computing account" and using "putty" to get into the "distant Linux box" at termnial level.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJRSti6DsJg


When at that level you can carry out the "second full tutorial" mentioned below...(ubuntu is the user name)



Below is the tutuorial on how to get a Desktop Linux box from Amazon "up and running" in 3 minutes. (plus 15 minutes downloading/installing)


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http://aws-musings.com/4-easy-steps-to-enable-remote-desktop-on-your-ubuntu-ec2-instance/


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Karmick Ubuntu image is here Server version. The steps above put the desktop into it.


http://alestic.com/


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You will notice a little LINE needs editing while you are doing
the last step midway....(see end of the tutorial as he talks about Vi editor)





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thankyou,


Vince.