CloudingClarity

Cloud Computing

Posted on 30. Mar, 2009 by Eric in Convenience

Years ago, technology enthusiasts speculated that cloud computing would become the future of the computer industry. As bold and preposterous as that statement sounded back then, today we are already realizing a portion of their vision. In its simplest form, cloud computing involves using the internet to perform computing tasks such as word processing and email. Taken to the extreme, a cloud computer would replace any need to purchase a new computer or software. Instead of purchasing, you would simply take advantage of a cloud computing service. Of course, one would still need a computer in front of them to access their online desktop, yet its specs could be very modest while their cloud computers capabilities could be extremely powerful. While cloud computing is still in its fairly early stages, there are a number of ways that you can experience it.

Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)

• Amazon’s EC2 service offers both a Linux or Windows interface. They also provide a variety of computer levels with power ranging from mediocre to super computer. The cheapest service they offer only costs 10 cents per hour. Not too bad to begin experiencing the wave of the future!

Nivio

• This service will provide you with not only an online desktop, but also allow you to rent software on that desktop. A feature such as this would be very beneficial for someone who needed to use an expensive application for only a short period of time. For example, if I needed to use Photoshop for a big project, I could rent the application and use it on a very fast computer for a very low price relative to purchasing a fast computer and the software to go with it.

eyeOS

• Too frugal to spend a dime? Instead of purchasing a service, you can be independent and take the do-it-yourself route. EyeOS will have you cloud computing in no time and for free, yet it does require some work and a little known-how to install. The eyeOS web site has detailed instruction if you would like to give installing it a try. One of the remarkable features of eyeOS is that it doesn’t require a database back-end to function, which makes setting it up fairly simple. If you don’t already have a web server, perhaps you should convert that old computer at home into your own personal web server/cloud computer. Before going through the trouble of setting eyeOS up, give it a try. Just click here to create an account or login and use eyeOS’s free public server.

You may be asking yourself, “What are the advantages of a cloud computer over my everyday PC?” Let me list a few for you.

• Cloud computer is accessible from anywhere you have the internet
• Depending on provider, you can rent expensive software for a low fee
• Speeds can usually far surpass a personal computer’s abilities
• Convenience
• If your computer crashes, no problem, grab another computer and pick up right where you left off
• Service providers usually perform regular data backups so you don’t have to

So what do you think? Will cloud computing truly be the wave of the future? I must say, I’m not quite convinced that the general public will bother with it, however, I can certainly see the benefits for the corporate world and especially those who travel. Not to mention us geeks. Hopefully, after reading this post, more people will be inclined to give it a try.

Tags: computing service