Doug Ross @ Journal

Linux @ Amazon

Amazon's heavy reliance on Linux is described in this article from News.com. The most interesting part - at least, for my addled brain - covers the scalability of the backoffice commerce infrastructure, to wit:

"Amazon uses a message-based system in which one server, such as a machine that just logged a customer order, sends messages to other machines, such as those that take care of billing or shipping... With tasks handled by the next available system in a large pool, the design can easily expand to meet demand..."

If I interpret this correctly, Amazon isn't using the expected, high-tech web-services approach. Rather, they're on the traditional big-iron bandwagon: relying upon a messaging infrastructure (e.g., Tibco) and a straightforward API (say, JMS) to drive critical transactions.

Web services are for real - I've seen them used too often to think otherwise - but it's instructive to look at an Amazon for a sanity-check on how huge shops operate.

Welcome to the world of RFID

"First, consider what per-product RFID does to the checkout queue. Instead of having to wait for a shop assistant to swipe each product across a barcode reader by hand, you would simply roll your cart through a set of RFID readers. ..

...One area of privacy that would be hard to resolve is the ability to determine from outside a house what a person owns (at least, the things which have RFID tags). Imagine a gym that drives around the neighbourhood detecting those families that have a few too many Twinkies in the pantry in order to send a salesperson to their door..."

Welcome to RFID

Thanks, Pud

From FC's message board, Move Titles that sound like you're taking a [crap] [Caution: adult readers only, please!].