Presto Cloud (Community Edition) Q&A - READ THIS FIRST!
Thu, 03/04/2010 - 09:47
chriswarner
Offline
Joined: 08/22/2008
Points: 1377
We've started a list of common question and answers for Presto Cloud (Community Edition). If you have a question, maybe it's here. If not, post it in this forum and we'll get you an answer. This post answers the following questions:
What do I need to do to login to the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
I already have an MDC account. What's my Presto Cloud (Community Edition) username/password?
What does Presto Cloud (Community Edition) cost?
What cloud provider are you using for Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
How is ‘Presto Cloud (Community Edition)’ different from the Developer Edition I can download from the Mashup Developer Community?
If I create a mashup using Presto Cloud (Community Edition), can everyone see it?
How can I share the mashups I create on Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
What’s this ‘Mashup Wall’ and why would I want to publish my mashup to the Mashup Wall?
Are my data and mashups safe on Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
What can I mash? Do I have to go find data sources myself?
Can I use the Presto Excel Connector or Presto Studio with the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
What do I need to run Presto in Cloud?
How can I license or purchase Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
What do I need to do to login to the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
To use the Presto Cloud (Community Edition), you need join the Mashup Developer Community. That's easy enough because that's the site you are on right now!
Your MDC account also gives you access to the helpful stuff on the MDC, like videos, code samples and support forums. That's some of the best advice, tips and support available to mashup makers anywhere.
I already have an MDC account. What's my Presto Cloud (Communit Edition) username/password?
For your first login, your Presto Cloud (Community Edition) username/password match your MDC username/password. And there's one important note: upon your initial login you will be asked to change your password for the Presto Cloud (Community Edition). This is just a little extra security for your safety.
What cloud provider are you using for Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
For its first cloud implementation JackBe chose Amazon’s EC2, one of the most mature and robust cloud platforms available today. It was very easy to deploy Presto on EC2 and now we have a scalable, secure cloud platform supporting our scalable, secure mashup platform.
How is ‘Presto Cloud (Community Edition)’ different from the Developer Edition I can download from the Mashup Developer Community? Functionally, what can I do (and what can’t I do) with Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
The Presto Cloud (Community Edition) and Presto Developer Edition are the same software. The real difference comes from the Internet itself: with the Presto Cloud (Community Edition) you won’t be able to connect to databases and services that exist behind your corporate firewall. If you want to mash your corporate data, download a copy of the Presto Developer Edition from the Mashup Developer Community and run it inside the safe confines of your corporate firewall.
If I create a mashup using Presto Cloud (Community Edition), can everyone see it? How can I share the mashups I create on Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Only you can see what you create unless you make it available to others. But if you do want to share with other users of the Presto Cloud (Community Edition), there are 3 things you can share: ‘Mashables’ (often called ‘Services’ or ‘Data Sources’), Mashups, and ‘Mashlets’ (often called ‘Widgets’). You can read more about these 3 things on our blog.
· Mashables: You need to grant permission for your Mashable to the ‘Cloud_User’ role. Once logged in, click on “Publish Services” which will launch Presto Service Explorer. Find your Mashable (and any of your personal Mashups you might want to share as well). Select your Mashable and then click on “Show All” under ‘Service Access Policies’. Then select ‘Cloud_User’ and press ‘SAVE CHANGES!’. Now your Mashable will be visible to all user of Presto on Cloud.
· Mashups: While in Presto Wires, after you ‘Save’ and ‘Publish’ your Mashup, select “Share with MDC Members”. This will make your Mashup available to all MDC members. Once published, your mashup will also appear on the ‘Mashup Wall’ on the Mashup Developer Community. From the Mashup Wall other users can rate and comment on your Mashups. And you can do the same for other Mashups too!
· Mashlets: Mashlets will assume the same role/visibility as the Mashups/Mashables from which they’re created.
What’s this ‘Mashup Wall’? Why would I want to publish my mashup to the Mashup Wall on the Mashup Developer Community?
The Mashup Wall is a way to showcase your mashup efforts! Once your mashup has been published to the Mashup Wall other community members can view, rate, comment and even 'view' and ‘clone’ your work.
What's 'clone'? Specifically, other community members will be able to interact with your mashup on the Mashup Wall via 2 buttons: ‘View it in Wires’ and 'Clone'. 'View' will load a read-only copy your mashup into Presto Wires on the Cloud. That user can then better understand how you built your mashup. 'Clone' will let them create a copy of your mashup that they can immediately customize to their needs.
This is true mashup collaboration. This type of shared knowledge enables the entire community to leverage and enhance everyone’s mashup efforts.
Are my data and mashups safe on Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Presto is the most secure enterprise mashup platform available today. However, Presto Cloud (Community Edition) is a public mashup community and we strongly recommend you do not use sensitive personal or corporate data in your mashups.
What can I mash? Do I have to go find data sources myself?
JackBe is very lucky to have a number of generous partners with interesting data. We’ve published over 200 of them to give you cool and useful data sources to mash with including:
· ProgrammableWeb: 20 of the most popular Mashables handpicked from one of the most massive mashup catalogs on the Internet.
· Xignite: 3 Mashables (Stock Quotes, SEC Filings, and Earnings Transcripts), with tons of operations under each. You need a key for these, which is the email address you used when you registered on the MDC
· OpenAmplify: a web service that ‘brings human understanding to web content’. Try it and you’ll be amazed at what it tells you.
· Alchemy API: smart services for keyword extraction, topic extraction, and language identification. Feed it the news, or your personal blog, and watch what it says about them.
· Microsoft: the entire AdventureWorks database (50+ tables!), a collection of data from a theoretical company. If you want to create mashups on lifelike HR, ERP, and supply-chain data but don’t want to use your own, this collection is a great way to do it.
· SalesForce.com and Atlassian’s JIRA: These are a little different. You can use these connectors with your personal keys to access your own data on SalesForce and JIRA. But remember this is a public site, so be careful with your personal data!
But there can be so much more! If you have any sources you’d like to register with us, check out the note above (‘How can I share…’) to learn how do it. Just make sure it’s non-sensitive stuff, OK? Or if you have suggestions on Mashables you’d like us to add, send us a note!
Can I use the Presto Excel Connector or Presto Studio with the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Yes, if you have the Presto Excel Connector or Presto Studio from your Presto Developer Edition 2.7, you can connect them to the Presto Cloud (Community Addition). If you don’t have them and want to try them out, you can get them here.
What do I need to run Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
You only need a browser. We recommend the following browsers for the best experience: Microsoft IE6, Microsoft IE7, Microsoft IE8 (in IE7 compatibility mode), Safari 4.0+, Firefox 3.0+, Chrome 5.0+.
We've started a list of common question and answers for Presto Cloud (Community Edition). If you have a question, maybe it's here. If not, post it in this forum and we'll get you an answer. This post answers the following questions:
What do I need to do to login to the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
To use the Presto Cloud (Community Edition), you need join the Mashup Developer Community. That's easy enough because that's the site you are on right now!
Your MDC account also gives you access to the helpful stuff on the MDC, like videos, code samples and support forums. That's some of the best advice, tips and support available to mashup makers anywhere.
Click here to join the MDC or click here to login into the Presto Cloud (Community Edition).
I already have an MDC account. What's my Presto Cloud (Communit Edition) username/password?
For your first login, your Presto Cloud (Community Edition) username/password match your MDC username/password. And there's one important note: upon your initial login you will be asked to change your password for the Presto Cloud (Community Edition). This is just a little extra security for your safety.
What does Presto Cloud (Community Edition) cost?
There is no cost. As we mentioned earlier, you simply need to join the Mashup Developer Community. Keep in mind that the Presto Cloud (Community Edition) is governed by the Cloud License Agreement.
What cloud provider are you using for Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
For its first cloud implementation JackBe chose Amazon’s EC2, one of the most mature and robust cloud platforms available today. It was very easy to deploy Presto on EC2 and now we have a scalable, secure cloud platform supporting our scalable, secure mashup platform.
How is ‘Presto Cloud (Community Edition)’ different from the Developer Edition I can download from the Mashup Developer Community? Functionally, what can I do (and what can’t I do) with Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
The Presto Cloud (Community Edition) and Presto Developer Edition are the same software. The real difference comes from the Internet itself: with the Presto Cloud (Community Edition) you won’t be able to connect to databases and services that exist behind your corporate firewall. If you want to mash your corporate data, download a copy of the Presto Developer Edition from the Mashup Developer Community and run it inside the safe confines of your corporate firewall.
If I create a mashup using Presto Cloud (Community Edition), can everyone see it? How can I share the mashups I create on Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Only you can see what you create unless you make it available to others. But if you do want to share with other users of the Presto Cloud (Community Edition), there are 3 things you can share: ‘Mashables’ (often called ‘Services’ or ‘Data Sources’), Mashups, and ‘Mashlets’ (often called ‘Widgets’). You can read more about these 3 things on our blog.
Here’s how to share Mashables, Mashups and Mashlets with other users. Note that this information is also covered in the Weclome Video on the Presto Cloud (Community Edition) homepage:
· Mashables: You need to grant permission for your Mashable to the ‘Cloud_User’ role. Once logged in, click on “Publish Services” which will launch Presto Service Explorer. Find your Mashable (and any of your personal Mashups you might want to share as well). Select your Mashable and then click on “Show All” under ‘Service Access Policies’. Then select ‘Cloud_User’ and press ‘SAVE CHANGES!’. Now your Mashable will be visible to all user of Presto on Cloud.
· Mashups: While in Presto Wires, after you ‘Save’ and ‘Publish’ your Mashup, select “Share with MDC Members”. This will make your Mashup available to all MDC members. Once published, your mashup will also appear on the ‘Mashup Wall’ on the Mashup Developer Community. From the Mashup Wall other users can rate and comment on your Mashups. And you can do the same for other Mashups too!
· Mashlets: Mashlets will assume the same role/visibility as the Mashups/Mashables from which they’re created.
What’s this ‘Mashup Wall’? Why would I want to publish my mashup to the Mashup Wall on the Mashup Developer Community?
The Mashup Wall is a way to showcase your mashup efforts! Once your mashup has been published to the Mashup Wall other community members can view, rate, comment and even 'view' and ‘clone’ your work.
What's 'clone'? Specifically, other community members will be able to interact with your mashup on the Mashup Wall via 2 buttons: ‘View it in Wires’ and 'Clone'. 'View' will load a read-only copy your mashup into Presto Wires on the Cloud. That user can then better understand how you built your mashup. 'Clone' will let them create a copy of your mashup that they can immediately customize to their needs.
This is true mashup collaboration. This type of shared knowledge enables the entire community to leverage and enhance everyone’s mashup efforts.
Are my data and mashups safe on Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Presto is the most secure enterprise mashup platform available today. However, Presto Cloud (Community Edition) is a public mashup community and we strongly recommend you do not use sensitive personal or corporate data in your mashups.
What can I mash? Do I have to go find data sources myself?
JackBe is very lucky to have a number of generous partners with interesting data. We’ve published over 200 of them to give you cool and useful data sources to mash with including:
· ProgrammableWeb: 20 of the most popular Mashables handpicked from one of the most massive mashup catalogs on the Internet.
· Xignite: 3 Mashables (Stock Quotes, SEC Filings, and Earnings Transcripts), with tons of operations under each. You need a key for these, which is the email address you used when you registered on the MDC
· OpenAmplify: a web service that ‘brings human understanding to web content’. Try it and you’ll be amazed at what it tells you.
· Alchemy API: smart services for keyword extraction, topic extraction, and language identification. Feed it the news, or your personal blog, and watch what it says about them.
· Microsoft: the entire AdventureWorks database (50+ tables!), a collection of data from a theoretical company. If you want to create mashups on lifelike HR, ERP, and supply-chain data but don’t want to use your own, this collection is a great way to do it.
· SalesForce.com and Atlassian’s JIRA: These are a little different. You can use these connectors with your personal keys to access your own data on SalesForce and JIRA. But remember this is a public site, so be careful with your personal data!
· University of Southern California GIS Research Laboratory: Want to put stuff on a map? The USC GIS Lab has shared a great service that lets you do that.
· Mashable news feeds from well-known sources like BBC, Google, Yahoo, MSNBC, AP, ABC News, Washingotn Post, New York Times, NPR, and CNN.
· Data.Gov: We pulled some of the coolest services from this US government catalog (and we have a lot more planned). Here’s the current list:
o Department of Agriculture: National Agricultural Statistics Service Census Of Agriculture Race Gender Data,
o Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Rain Hail Community Snow Observations,
o Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Declarations Summary,
o Department of the Interior: Federal Volunteer Opportunities,
o Department of Transportation: National Highway Safety Program (NCAP) New Car Assessment Program,
o Department of Veterans Affairs: Veteran Affairs Distribution Of Expenses FY06 and Veteran Population Model.
o Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: FDIC Insured Institution Directory.
But there can be so much more! If you have any sources you’d like to register with us, check out the note above (‘How can I share…’) to learn how do it. Just make sure it’s non-sensitive stuff, OK? Or if you have suggestions on Mashables you’d like us to add, send us a note!
Can I use the Presto Excel Connector or Presto Studio with the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Yes, if you have the Presto Excel Connector or Presto Studio from your Presto Developer Edition 2.7, you can connect them to the Presto Cloud (Community Addition). If you don’t have them and want to try them out, you can get them here.
What do I need to run Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
You only need a browser. We recommend the following browsers for the best experience: Microsoft IE6, Microsoft IE7, Microsoft IE8 (in IE7 compatibility mode), Safari 4.0+, Firefox 3.0+, Chrome 5.0+.
Can I license or purchase Presto Cloud?
Yes! Contact JackBe as sales@jackbe.com.
What if I need help more with the Presto Cloud (Community Edition)?
Post your questions in this forum! Or, if you want a private conversation send a note to our helpful Presto Cloud administrators.