Cloud computing

[ChrisScar]

Does anyone have an "ABC" like description of what the technology behind cloud computing is?

 

[RaySun2Be]

Cloud computing is a general concept that incorporates software as a service, Web 2.0 and other recent, well-known technology trends, where the common theme is reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. For example, Google Apps provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.

From here: Wikipedia - Cloud Computing

I just started trying DropBox, a service that allows you to keep documents on multiple computers in sync with each other. A change of a file on one triggers the agent to send those changes to all the others. You can keep the files private, and allow specific others/computers to access those files, or public, allowing anyone to access the files (you can even right click on the file to get a public URL).

This service uses clients installed on the PCs, as well as apps on their servers to provide this service. It is considered to be utilizing cloud computing.

 

[Fardringle]

From the definitions I've found online, it looks like "cloud computing" is a way to use distributed computing to access applications and network services on demand on a network. If I understand correctly, it's kind of like the BOINC system in that we can use one main program to access almost 100 different distributed computing projects simply by telling our BOINC manager what we want to do. The difference is that instead of us participating in the work done by selecting a project in BOINC, a cloud computing client will go out and tell the designated grid of computers what it wants them to do or what information it wants them to find (sort of the way Google does web searches on many different huge databases at the same time).

I may be totally wrong on this since I've never heard the term until I read your question, but that seems to be what the definitions on Wikipedia and "WhatIs.com" are saying.

 

[The Borg]

I am hoping that this will become what I have been thinking about got years and that is a distributed OS. For a home user it could be like an easy to use clustering system but running Windows (yes, bad OS, but still everyone knows it). You cannot always increase PC power (by adding another core), but you can increase the system but adding another pc box. Once this is part of the home network, all it's resources can be used (like a cluster). Maybe I am wrong, but I think that would be a good thing. And all seamless. Imagine running BOINC on a system like that.