Well, you aren’t alone. The idea that everything is done “online” and using virtualized resources rather than your own computer software and hardware is something that has been gaining a lot of traction as of late. The convenience is undeniable. Accessing documents from anywhere and without needless software has quite the allure.
Cloud computing has quickly become a hot and controversial topic amongst the tech savvy. Microsoft recently released Azure for developers to develop for “the cloud,” Google is supposedly releasing it’s GDrive this year and IBM also has the Blue Cloud. You can see there are a lot of major players out there. It’s implications for the future of computing are astounding in many ways. With the advent of powerful cloud computing, it will open the door for more freedom for designers to implement technology that was not possible before. By allowing many of the processes, and perhaps storage to happen within “the cloud,” the designers have to worry less about the power and memory of the machine dedicated to those processes and can focus more on the interface and design. With less resources dedicated to running tons of software, the hardware can really focus on a nice experience for the user.
I personally like the idea of “cloud computing,” but only to a certain degree at this point. I’d like to see better online security and better EULAs from places like Google before I really step up and jump on the cloud-wagon. There is no doubt, we are becoming more mobile (look at the recent rise of the netbook) and the need for huge powerful desktops declines everyday (except for some industries). I think business and personal computing can really benefit from from a cloud computing model. In theory, we’d have smaller machines, better UI, and less overhead for companies. However, I still think there a lot of big IFs and questions about the real viability of the cloud computing model. Working offline can be a challenge and security is always an issue (especially for businesses). So cloud computing is gaining ground, but I think it all comes down to execution in the end and how well it all syncs. Google seems to constantly make major progress in the area, and others aren’t far behind.
So what do you think? Are you comfortable with the idea of using “the cloud” as your main storage and computing device? Or is that just too much for The Man to see? I like the idea of being able to access everything from anywhere and the idea of using cloud computing to get better computing, but only if I’m comfortable with the amount of security in place.
Microsoft's new ceo, Ray Ozzie, hopes to eventually turn windows into one giant cloud. the December issue of wired has a lengthy article about it. It seems like Microsoft would take about 9 years to accomplish this, but it's his goal.
matthewlarn
as an employee of a company that uses the cloud for pretty much all of their application, i know how important it is to develop the technology. it's the next step in decentralizing our information, but we have to be extremely careful on who controls what. it'd be very easy for google or some other company to turn cloud computing into 1984.
imattclark
Something is currently up with the comment count. I am trying to fix it ASAP.
imattclark
ok, so I believe i have fixed it. carry on sirs and madams.
Monday Thoughts: A computer of clouds?!
This is NOT a cloud computer
So, you use Google Docs?
Well, you aren’t alone. The idea that everything is done “online” and using virtualized resources rather than your own computer software and hardware is something that has been gaining a lot of traction as of late. The convenience is undeniable. Accessing documents from anywhere and without needless software has quite the allure.
Cloud computing has quickly become a hot and controversial topic amongst the tech savvy. Microsoft recently released Azure for developers to develop for “the cloud,” Google is supposedly releasing it’s GDrive this year and IBM also has the Blue Cloud. You can see there are a lot of major players out there. It’s implications for the future of computing are astounding in many ways. With the advent of powerful cloud computing, it will open the door for more freedom for designers to implement technology that was not possible before. By allowing many of the processes, and perhaps storage to happen within “the cloud,” the designers have to worry less about the power and memory of the machine dedicated to those processes and can focus more on the interface and design. With less resources dedicated to running tons of software, the hardware can really focus on a nice experience for the user.
I personally like the idea of “cloud computing,” but only to a certain degree at this point. I’d like to see better online security and better EULAs from places like Google before I really step up and jump on the cloud-wagon. There is no doubt, we are becoming more mobile (look at the recent rise of the netbook) and the need for huge powerful desktops declines everyday (except for some industries). I think business and personal computing can really benefit from from a cloud computing model. In theory, we’d have smaller machines, better UI, and less overhead for companies. However, I still think there a lot of big IFs and questions about the real viability of the cloud computing model. Working offline can be a challenge and security is always an issue (especially for businesses). So cloud computing is gaining ground, but I think it all comes down to execution in the end and how well it all syncs. Google seems to constantly make major progress in the area, and others aren’t far behind.
So what do you think? Are you comfortable with the idea of using “the cloud” as your main storage and computing device? Or is that just too much for The Man to see? I like the idea of being able to access everything from anywhere and the idea of using cloud computing to get better computing, but only if I’m comfortable with the amount of security in place.