Cloud Computing and the NetBook Phenomenon - Analysis

The concept of cloud computing has been around ever since the Internet has been able to virtualize applications and software. The big idea is that you no longer need a power hungry or high-spec PC or notebook to be productive since your storage, applications and files can “live” on the Internet.

Applications like web based email (Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail) and Google Docs, which clones he functionality of Microsoft Office but which requires you to be connected to the Internet in order to use it, are ushering a new era of cloud computing which is less hardware focused yet offers universal access from any terminal connected to the World Wide Web. In theory, you don’t have to bring all your files with you since you can access them from almost any computer.

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Aside from Google, whose Google Docs and Google Calendar web applications enable web based usability, a number of other notable services are starting to spring up. Adobe, considered a software giant specially since it owns the premium design and web development applications Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver has recently unvelied Photoshop Express (https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html) which is a pared-down, web based version of the popular image editing and design application that allows users to edit images online.

Multiple Access Points

One of the more exciting benefits of the Cloud computing model is that you can use your applications from multiple workstations and still have the desired results. As anyone who frequently moves computers will tell you, transferring files and applications and getting them to work on your new system can be a pain. With the cloud computing model, the Internet is your computer and the hardware you use are just the terminals that allow you to manipulate your information.

I have been using web based email for years. It has enabled me to avoid cluttering up my PCs with possible viruses as well as gigabytes worth of spam. At the same time, I can freely move from home to work computer without fearing the loss of data (provided that nothing happens to the server where all my mail is located). Similarly, using web based photo repositories like Photobucket and Flickr.com enables users to keep thousands of digital images and photos that can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet.


EEE PC Ripple Effect

If you had told me three years ago that we would have affordable yet functional sub-notebooks which were less than three pounds and that could manage most applications I wouldn’t have believed you. Sub-notebooks are considered the sportscar exotics of the portable computer world. They are certainly sexy and put a premium on form but have been known to be impractical because of their lack of functionality and their hefty price tags.

Asus has changed the game with their EEE PC subnotebook, a cheaper, Linux powered subnotebook that is an ideal cloud computing appliance. Here’s a small, wireless and truly portable device that can integrate with most of the web services out there and in a short period of time a number of EEE PC wannabees have surfaced on the market.

Like Asus, HP, Illus, MSI and a few other computer makers are trading optical drives, large disk capacity and girth for portability and connectivity. These are the signs of a revolution in the making which can perhaps be more successful than the UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) tablets from a few years ago which failed to impact the mainstream for lack of functionality and for their high prices.

Why are the EEE PC and its ilk stirring excitement, because their built in keyboards make them useful and acceptable in both the personal computing and enterprise markets as true computers and business machines. Something that toylike UMPCs have struggled with and with good reason.

Pushing technologies to the Cloud

For cloud computing to move from novel concept to wave of the future, a number of technologies have to first evolve. Widespread Internet access needs to become more accessible and more affordable. City wide Wi-Fi (WIMAX) has been on the radar for four years now but no major developments have pushed it forth. There’s 3G, EVDO, HSDPA, satellite and telecom-based Internet access but they are expensive for the general public to adopt and more suited towards time-critical business applications.

Offer better and cheaper wireless Internet and you will see Cloud Computing take off and devices like the EEE PC and even smartphones like Apple’s iPhone become much more than than sleek tech toys but actual personal productivity and communication devices for a new age.

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