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| Cloud Computing | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 30 2008, 07:57 PM (245 Views) | |
| Justin | Oct 30 2008, 07:57 PM Post #1 |
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With many of the major tech companies rolling out early versions of their new cloud computing service, it looks like the internet and home computing are going to see some major changes in the coming years. Microsoft has Azure, Amazon has EC^2, and a slew of others. What do you think about it? Will it revolutionize the way we use computers, or crash and burn? |
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| Ben | Oct 30 2008, 08:17 PM Post #2 |
This sentence is false.
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Cloud computing is the future. The rising popularity of web applications over desktop applications is part of the evolution from a desktop computing model to a cloud computing model. The networked efficiency, reliability, and portability of the Internet makes cloud computing useful for both companies and individuals.
Yes, but not necessarily in a way that everyone will think of as "revolutionary," because it's going to seem natural. Computers are still rather incongruous with our daily lives. They sit on our desks; we use them when we need to do "computer things," but otherwise they aren't integrated very nicely with our homes. Smartphones are beginning to change this paradigm. Now we're beginning to use computers on the go, integrating them into our daily commutes to push our emails to us while we're standing in line or find a restaurant while we're standing on a street corner. Cloud computing does not mean the death of desktop computing, but desktop computing will get a makeover. We're going to integrate "the computer" into our households. Microsoft is already pushing this with its multimedia networking of PCs, Xbox 360s, and the television. What you're going to have in the future is a total home network. You'll do "ordinary" desktop things like check your email, manage your financial records, and even do things you can't do yet--like monitor your health. But hopefully you'll also be able to have a program that controls the outdoor and indoor lights, the furnace, monitors your water and electrical usage for you, etc. This is a long way off, but it's the direction in which we are progressing. And it's good news. The major problem for people who are "computer illiterate" is that computers are confusing--because computers are stupid. They only understand a handful of symbols, and they can only do one operation at a time. But now we're moving toward computers that will be contextually sensitive, even computers that have a grasp of natural language. Again, this is a long way off--this sort of development is in its infancy. But as this happens, and as computers get smarter, it'll be easier for people to use them, because they'll be more intuitive. |
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| Justin | Nov 5 2008, 09:29 PM Post #3 |
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Blimey, forgot all about this with the election going on.  Thanks for a good intro Ben. Good point about Microsoft and what they've been doing, I never really thought of it that way before. With that big update they have planned for xbox live [this month?], we'll be moving closer to streaming all of our television/movies. But what really get's me excited is having computers integrated into our actual houses, but it will feel natural like you said. |
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| FinalKiller0 | Nov 5 2008, 11:06 PM Post #4 |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing Is someone able to put cloud computing in simpler terms? I think I understand it, but I am not too sure... |
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| Ben | Nov 6 2008, 01:20 AM Post #5 |
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This sentence is false.
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Instead of keeping your data on one device (i.e., your desktop computer) and having it accessible only from there, your data gets hosted in "the cloud"--at an external location, so it's accessible from anywhere you've got an Internet connection. If you have any sort of webmail account, if you use Facebook to upload photos, etc., then you engage in cloud computing. The increasing popularity of web applications (like Gmail) over desktop applications (like Outlook) demonstrate the trend toward cloud computing. While by no means have we eliminated desktop applications from our life, but if you stop and think about it, you probably spend much of your time at the computer using your browser for one thing or another. The browser has become the portal to the Internet, and the Internet is the portal to the cloud. |
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| FinalKiller0 | Nov 6 2008, 04:50 PM Post #6 |
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Would allowing access to your computer from online be considered cloud computing? Like hosting your website from your computer online? |
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| Das | Nov 7 2008, 02:59 AM Post #7 |
Smells of rich mahogany
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Several places have been "cloud computing" since before it was called that. Most business and schools have had at least one or two services hosted on a server. This allows a lot of software to allow a special license so it can be put on a server where everyone can access it without having to install it on every computer taking a ton of time and a lot of space. I know a company a friend worked for like 5 years ago did this only so they could give their employees hard drives so tiny you couldn't fit even the dozen programs they actually used on it. I don't think this is the massive advance everyone is looking for. It's definitely cool, and I think we will start seeing a few things move toward this . . . procedure. I don't think we're going to see something like MS office on this type of technology for personal use. Putting it on a server means longer loads, and harder licensing for the advantage of a few megs of hard drive space. This is definitely the way, though, for businesses but this has been very long in the making. |
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| FinalKiller0 | Nov 7 2008, 06:03 AM Post #8 |
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http://docs.google.com/ Google has also joined the club, although this is only for office files. One might be able to use it for any files (dunno), but you wouldn't be able to edit it online. |
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