Technology and the internet has been changing dramatically in the last few years. A term that comes up often these days is “cloud computing” or “computing in the cloud.” In fact, the topic came up with my last “techie” interview with Mark Bouchard when I asked him is opinion about the future of computers. I found this video on YouTube helping to explain the principles behind “cloud Computing.”
One example I use is Google Docs. Google Docs removes the need for having a word processor on your computer. Now you can go online and do your typing and even share it with others and even collaborate on projects!
Cloud computing hasn’t totally taken over everything yet. There are some issues that need some work including (but probably not limited to) data security, availability of bandwidth across the globe, and the ability to totally replace all local computing (for instance, there may be some features of Microsoft Word that are a little different to use in an online clone like Google Docs).
There is a possibility that cloud computing will take over how we do things and the computers we use in our homes may not need to be as robust and powerful because the computing power will be handled elsewhere.
As it turns out, if you don’t get you head INTO the clouds, you may just be left behind!
See also the post: Photo Editing From Your Browser
Cloud computing is cool, but be careful not to get your head too far up there. It’s one thing to save a few documents on the cloud, and another to rely on the cloud for critical data or processes. For a discussion of security concerns with the new(ish) “infrastructure-as-a-service” movement, check out this post:
http://tweakandtune.blogspot.com/2009/03/it-cant-see-through-cloud.html
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Good point (and I read your post). It is very important that people don’t go totally overboard and put all their stock in new technology. My point for this post was to provide a basic overview and to basically state that understanding this new technology is important because it probably is going to grow once some issues are worked out.