Our customers can now try out Deadline 10, our easy to use render management system in public preview. Deadline 10 allows users the freedom to easily access any combination of on-premises or cloud-based resources for their image/video rendering jobs.

Today we launched the general availability (GA) of features for Amazon Cognito User Pools that enable application developers to easily add and customize a sign-up and sign-in user experience, use OAuth 2.0, and integrate with Facebook, Google, Login with Amazon, and SAML-based identity providers. Now you can enable your users to sign-up and sign-in using social identity providers, corporate identity providers with SAML, and a username, email address or phone number with Cognito User Pools.

You can now use new versions of Apache Spark (2.2.0), Apache Hive (2.3.0), and Apache Flink (1.3.1) on Amazon EMR release 5.8.0. Spark 2.2.0 resolved over 1,100 tickets, including the general availability of Structured Streaming , new machine learning algorithms in MLlib , and improvements to Spark’s cost-based optimizer. Hive 2.3.0 and Flink 1.3.1 contain bug fixes and improvements. Additionally, you can now store workflow files for Apache Oozie in Amazon S3 and the AWS SDK used by applications on your cluster is now upgraded to 1.11.160.

AWS Marketplace is a curated software catalog which allows customers to instantly deploy over 3,800 third-party AMI, SaaS, and Desktop software solutions across 35 product categories. Starting today, AWS Marketplace customers can now analyze and control their costs and usage via AWS Cost Explorer, AWS Budgets, and the AWS Cost & Usage Report (“CUR”). 

Amazon EC2 Container Service (Amazon ECS) is now HIPAA-eligible. If you have an executed Business Associate Addendum (BAA) with AWS, you can use Amazon ECS to process encrypted Protected Health Information (PHI) using Docker containers deployed onto a cluster of Amazon EC2 compute instances.

The City of Cape Town has called on residents to adhere to its 87-litres a day rule on water, as it emerged that usage is outstripping safe levels.

A desalination plant project to supply the city of Thane, in Maharashtra, India, has come under fire from activists and politicians who oppose the local authority’s plan, reports Mumbai Mirror.

Lake Manatee Water Treatment
Plant installs GE’s ZeeWeed Membranes.

A declaratory judgement filed with the United States District Court in Sacramento, CA seeks to prohibit the California Energy Commission from enforcing state regulations on general service lamps such as a proposed 90-CRI requirement.

For Finland’s Helvar, it’s the second new boss in less than a year. Meanwhile, Holland’s Nordeon sets up a new advisory board.