Rise of the Cloud

While “Cloud Computing” is getting a *tremendous* amount of hype, it is no understatement to say it is changing computing as we know it.  The power we all gain from GMail, Twitter, Flickr, Hulu, etc at an unbelievable price point has been a real game changer.  Throw in Azure, EC2 and App Engine and you can kiss the 90’s model goodbye.

But some say what’s old is new again and that we have seen this all before. I think Cloud Computing is something different.

More than Deja Vu All Over Again

Years ago the only computing power that was fast enough or powerful enough for any real use was found in a mainframe.  In order to use a mainframe you had a walk up to a terminal (which was basically just a screen and a keyboard).  Whatever you typed into the terminal would be sent to the mainframe and calculations on the mainframe would be sent back to your terminal.  Each terminal screen was simply a window into activity on the mainframe computer locked in a room down the hall.

Many people have argued that the web represents the same approach today.  Instead of personal computers doing all the work, we are back to having some large, hidden server farm do our bidding (this time over the Net), while our PCs remain idle.

This analogy does not take into account how reliant the web (and Cloud Computing) is on our PCs.  Here are some examples:

• AJAX Apps
  
  • They make heavy use of javascript to make the magic happen.  Go ahead and use Google Maps while keeping task manager open.  You’ll see how much your personal computer is being used.
• Rich Internet Applications (RIA)
  • Whether we look at Flash, Silverlight, Adobe Air or JavaFX, these RIA platforms make heavy use of your CPU and graphics processor.
• Opera Unite
  • The Opera browser’s Unite feature publishes internet based apps right from your desktop.  It opens up a whole new approach to web programming.
• iPhone Apps
  • Many iPhone apps are only as good as the internet services to which they are connected.  Thank goodness the iPhone is a powerful platform.
  • This applies to the Palm Pre and Google Android phones, as well.

Cloud Computing (at least the SaaS model) is about powerful servers *and* powerful PCs.  Your browser not like a mainframe terminal, but rather an equal partner in a whole new paradigm.  The end effect is better performance and power on both ends of the technology spectrum.