The Cloud Computing Phenomenon and the New Tech Bubble
Originally @ Stanford Progressive Cloud computing is a relatively new data storage and processing concept that has all the top tech companies competing for cloud domination. Imagine the ability to access your files from any computer at any place on earth, coupled with the fastest processing speed available regardless of your operating system. This is the promise of cloud computing: an internet-based solution to the traditional problems of variable storage, accessibility, and speed of computers. The core idea of cloud computing is that information is stored in the ‘cloud,’ which is a metaphor for the internet based on its depiction as a cloud in flow diagrams. People can access applications like Word or Excel online, then create files and store them ‘in the cloud’ as well, so that they can be accessed from any computer with Internet access on earth. The software and data are stored on centralized servers, all located in a facility owned by the cloud provider – say, Google or Yahoo!