Dear Commons Community,
The Pew Internet & American Life Project released its newest report. entitled, The Future of Cloud Computing. ( available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Future_of_the_Internet_cloud_computing.pdf) If you are not familiar with the Pew I & ALP reports, they are excellent sources of information on the uses of Internet technology in American society. In this report, which was based on a survey of Internet experts, the overall conclusion was:
“Technology experts and stakeholders say they expect they will ‘live mostly in the cloud’ in 2020 and not on the desktop, working mostly through cyberspace-based applications accessed through networked devices. This will substantially advance mobile connectivity through smartphones and other internet appliances. Many say there will be a cloud-desktop hybrid. Still, cloud computing has many difficult hurdles to overcome, including concerns tied to the availability of broadband spectrum, the ability of diverse systems to work together, security, privacy, and quality of service.”
I have commented several times on the potential of cloud computing (see URLs below for my previous postings) and I believe it has an important role to play in the future of Internet technology. The popularity of social media websites such as Facebook, youttube, twitter, etc. are indicative of the fact that the Internet is moving in this direction. Also the large investments in this technology by Microsoft, Google, and IBM further lend credence to its potential. I agree with the Pew study that we have and will live in a hybrid cloud for a while but it is quite possible in the not too-distant future that much more of our application software will not have to be running on our desktops or laptops. We will rely on the cloud.
Tony
https://apicciano.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2010/02/05/more-cloud-computing/
https://apicciano.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2009/11/20/cloud-computing-google-chrome-moving-forward/
https://apicciano.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2010/05/12/cloud-computing-coming-to-microsoft-office/
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