Defining Cloud Computing
On any blog dealing with cloud computing it seems one of the first posts is always the author’s attempt to define cloud computing. Cloud computing has become such a nebulous term that folks who write about it almost always feel a need to explain what exactly they think it is, as if it justify their use of the term.
The good news is that this has now been done so many times, I don’t feel the need to do it myself. My favorite explanation of cloud computing comes from Erik Carlin in Rackspace’s Rack Labs group, so if you still don’t understand what cloud computing is, read about it here.
For my part, I’m interested in all three types of clouds. Jungle Disk is a great example of a cloud application, which itself relies on an infrastructure cloud provided by Amazon S3.
For those readers who are still offended by the term “cloud computing” and think it’s just an overused buzzword for something we’ve had all along, all I can say is “blog”. Personally I always thought the term was rediculous. Personal webpages (geocities), daily news sites (Blue’s News), and random status updates (.plan files) have existed as long as the Internet, but somehow wrapping them with a bit of hype and the buzzword “blog” actually did drive an amazing amount of new interest and new content, some of which (like this blog) I hope you’ll find useful.
Even if you don’t think the ideas of cloud computing are all that new, I fully expect the huge amount of interest and investment being generated by the hype will create real payoffs in the end, which we will all benefit from.
3 Comments to Defining Cloud Computing
[...] you can find at http://davewright.me. I’ve already got a few posts up, the first covering the definition of cloud computing, and the second reflecting on how cloud computing is really just a way to describe how the Internet [...]
Dave .. this is terrific that you are blogging in your own name and on topics you see as useful. imho the consequences of JD, Rackspace and the perspective that offers you is invaluable to us all.
Thought: I love my new 2.x gmail app on blackberry – it allows me to see my entire gmail environment at rapid speed, and in similar look. Maybe cloud computing will allow me to see my hard-drive and attach files, view files etc.
I believe the cloud has the most potential of anything that we have seen for a long time.
PS .. happy JD user on windows since jan 2007, and ubuntu since apr 2007.
Well said.
Man, I have not thought about .plan updates in YEARS.
October 26, 2008