So what is the big deal about “cloud” computing lately? I am hoping this comes across as common sense, but maybe it won’t, but the “cloud” is the Internet. The thing that has been providing us communications for over 20 years. Yep, suddenly everyone is basically “remarketing” it and making it sound cooler than “Internet Computing”. The concept is nothing new. Server based calendars (such as Google Calendars), server based email (Gmail), and server based documents (Google Docs) isn’t new. But where is the cloud really going?
If you know anything about the Google Chrome OS (not the web browser), it’s basically a Cloud Operating System. Basically, this boils down to two things:
- Your computer must have a stable & permanent internet connection in order to do anything other than just booting up.
- All your personal documents, files, and what have you, now reside on the Internet.
Let me point special interest to #2. Remember when Facebook changed their TOS and the world had a hissy fit because suddenly everything they uploaded to Facebook became Facebook property? The same thing applies here. Also, the internet is permanent in nature. Just because you delete something, doesn’t mean Google doesn’t have a copy of it sitting on a backup server. Also, there are many other security issues. After all, Google scans your email so they can serve you advertising. Who says they won’t scan your personal documents and tip off the feds if you have something they deem suspicious? And after all, who wants Larry Page and Sergey Brin knowing what kind of porn they have stored?
