Much of what we’ll discuss here takes place in, or interacts with, the cloud. The “cloud” is just another metaphor for the Internet. If you’ve done any online banking, used online email, like gmail, or you’re on Facebook or LinkedIn, then you’ve been cloud computing.

What makes it cloud computing is the fact that the application you’re using and the data you’re manipulating all live online. There is no desktop version. If you’re not connected, you can’t accomplish your task (check a balance, write an email, etc.).

Cloud computing is significant because it removes the software barrier. All you need to use the amazing tools out there is your web browser. No more worrying about if you and your colleague have the same version of software.  Cloud computing also allows for communities, ala Facebook or Twitter, that are as large or as small as you need them to be, then you can share data, instantly, to everyone all at once.

One of the best features of cloud computing is that it’s always there, on any connected computer. Your data is backed up, accessible, and up-to-date. Some cloud collaboration tools even let users edit the same data at the same time and the system keeps everything in order. No more digging through emails for the most recent file.  No more overlap of work or a colleague with an out-of-date file.

It will be interesting to see what the future of cloud computing  brings. Google Docs already offers cloud equivalents to text editing, spreadsheets, and presentation applications.  They are not nearly as robust as their desktop cousins… but they’re free. There may soon be a time where your computer is nothing more than a terminal to log into the Internet with. Then we’d all be living in the cloud!

1. Windows 7 will arrive in October! So what? Says:
   October 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 am

   [...] the way we use our PCs or interact with the web. More and more, functionality is moving towards the cloud. The OS is becoming just a vehicle to get us there. [...]