David Hill

The never ending challenge of a Yamaha YZ125 carburetor

By David Hill on February 4, 2026 in Randomness

If you ride a two-stroke long enough, there’s a moment where your bike starts acting like it’s got a personality disorder. It won’t idle. It bogs when you crack the throttle. It feels flat when it should be ripping your arms off. And deep down, you already know the answer: the carb needs cleaning. Again. On my son’s 2020 YZ125, this has become a familiar ritual. Not because the bike is unreliable, Yamaha two-strokes are absolute tanks, but because carbs are sensitive little things. A bit of dirt, old fuel, or a speck of grime in a jet and suddenly your crisp two-stroke feels like it’s having an identity crisis. Why the Carb Gets Dirty (Even When You Swear You Take Care of It) You can do everything “right” and still end up with a gummed-up carb: Fuel going stale if the bike sits for even a few weeks Tiny […]

Continue Reading 0

Check Point launches Cloud Firewall as a Service

By David Hill on January 23, 2026 in AWS, Checkpoint, Cloud Computing

Exciting news today out of Check Point. Today Check Point has announced it is launching Check Point Cloud Firewall as a Service into private preview. This should come as no surprise to any of you, but I have been heavily involved in the launch of this offering across AWS and Azure and soon to be included is GCP. So what exactly is Cloud Firewall as a Service, and why would anyone be interested? Well, Cloud Firewall as a Service makes a lot of sense for organizations running workloads in public cloud platforms because it removes much of the operational friction that comes with the traditional, self-managed firewalls while improving security consistency. Instead of deploying, scaling, patching, and monitoring firewall infrastructure yourself, the firewall is delivered as a fully managed service that scales automatically with the environment. You can get centralized policy management, threat prevention, and deep traffic inspection without worrying […]

Continue Reading 0

Check Point launches Managed Rules for AWS Network Firewall

By David Hill on November 24, 2025 in AWS, Checkpoint

Well, the time has come. It is finally here. Launch day has been and gone, and I now have time to write my own blog article on an initiative I have been leading at Check Point. Check Point Managed Rules for AWS Network Firewall I have spent the past few months working with Check Point R&D and AWS Engineers and GTM teams to build this launch and integration. I am excited to see it showcased at AWS Re:Invent which is coming straight after thanksgiving. What Are Check Point Managed Rules? Check Point Managed Rules are pre-built, continually updated rule groups designed specifically for AWS Network Firewall. Instead of manually building and maintaining large rule sets, customers can subscribe to these managed rule groups and instantly apply Check Point’s threat research to their AWS environments. This includes coverage across: Known and emerging threats Malware command-and-control detection High-risk outbound traffic patterns Suspicious […]

Continue Reading 1

ARM vs x86: The change in Cloud with AWS

By David Hill on September 5, 2025 in AWS, Cloud Computing, RISC OS

The cloud has always been about choice—choice of services, architectures, and cost models. Over the last few years, another choice has emerged that’s reshaping cloud economics and performance: moving from traditional x86 instances to AWS Graviton, Amazon’s ARM based processors designed specifically for the cloud. The Shift Away from x86 For decades, x86 architecture dominated enterprise workloads. Its ecosystem of software, tools, and developer familiarity made it the default choice. However, as workloads moved to the cloud, organizations started questioning whether “default” equals “best.” In a world where efficiency, scale, and sustainability matter more than ever, x86 often can’t deliver the optimal balance. AWS Graviton is purpose built for cloud workloads. Designed inhouse by AWS, Graviton chips take advantage of Arm architecture, which is inherently more power-efficient. But the value isn’t just about energy savings—it’s about total performance per dollar. Key Benefits Driving Migration: Performance Gains Graviton delivers up to […]

Continue Reading 0

AWS launches AI agents and tools marketplace category

By David Hill on July 29, 2025 in AWS, Checkpoint

Amazon Web Services recently launched a dedicated AI Agents & Tools category in AWS Marketplace. This new category consolidates AI-driven agents into one central location, providing consumers a simpler, faster way to discover AI capabilities. Previously, enterprises had to search across multiple vendors and catalogs to find AI agents or supporting tools. The new Marketplace category puts everything in one place: Pre‑built AI agents for specific use cases (customer service, fraud detection, DevOps automation, etc.) Frameworks and guardrails for building your own agents Integrations with AWS services like Bedrock, SageMaker, and Security Lake AI agents and tools often touch sensitive data. The Marketplace category surfaces solutions that meet enterprise‑grade standards, with clear governance, guardrails, and security integrations. For example: Agents can be deployed for use with Model Context Protocol (MCP) Guardrails and observability tools help enterprises manage AI behavior, reduce bias, and minimize data leakage risks AWS launch blog provides some […]

Continue Reading 0

Older posts

Navigation