Alessandra Ajraldi

When we talk about Cloud Computing we’re not  talking about Google that will cover up Microsoft  or viceversa, this is a new stage in the evolution  of the network.  Cloud computing, namely is the use of applications and services via internet,  with Office 2010  it will become a phenomenon known to all, and will probably change the face of the network and how we use the computer.

Yes, cloud computing is the future of the network and to all of us, that are open to the network all days, or almost daily and we use a computer for disparate uses. We will continue to do the same things, but in a radically different way, whose possible trends are almost unpredictable.

What is cloud computing?

The concept of cloud computing is simpler than its hypothetical translation. Up to now we are used to turn on a computer and start a program (software) that allows the creation and editing of documents, playing music and video, send an email or retouching a picture. But there is a large watershed that everyone can  understand clearly: some activities may be held online and others require an Internet connection.

I can start a Word document and write a letter, without access to  Internet, but if I need to send an email, I will need a connection to the Web.  Cloud computing puts into question this simple concept, and moves online all, or most of, these activities.

This means that if you write a letter, probably you won’t start anymore Word, but you will open the browser and type in a specific address WWW.

The Cloud computing is based on the concept of  ”Web Application”.

The computer, therefore, should have only the power needed to run Internet Explorer (or Firefox, Chrome,  Safari, Opera, etc) . When Eric Schmidt (Google’s CEO) said “the browser is the computer “, refered exactly to that!

The scenario is therefore of a user who, having a device (no matter what: a PC, a PDA, a smartphone, or who knows what future diabolical apparatus), the right browser and a connection to access the cloud that provides the right services and / or data that are needed. Often these services will be ‘composed’ as desired by the user  in the context of its needs. In this way he can create a tool ‘customized’ made of a mosaic of functions derived from the sum of individuals web services.
Another new aspect is the ability to ‘move’ the data from your PC / device on a ‘cloud’ with the result  of having everything we need anywhere, worldwide.

Not bad! Wherever you go accessing the internet and retrieve data, software and related services as if you were at home or at work, a true relocation of resources.
For now, the cloud computing provides services to manage photo and video archives, email, calendar  appointments, the management of texts and documents,  including spreadsheets. Of course, to all which is already present only on the web (blogs, virtual communities, maps and / or road and so on). But soon this will be true also for the storage of all the generics files. It should be noted that the dream of being able  to eliminate the famous desktop PC is dated and there are long throngs of supporters of the ‘open distributed computing’ that understand  the use of software applications residing on their PC but available through the network (Internet this case).

But why right now we are off balance on ‘cloud computing’?

Because the technologies and networks are mature and also market, especially advertising. Coincidentally Schmidt speaks of ‘clouds’ in close connection with his magic word: ‘advertising’. From an engineering’s point of view a big help was given by the advent of XML (eXtended Markup Language) as the protocol (almost) standard for interchange of information between editing software: it made the creation of web services accessible via the Internet by  very different systems.
XML  enables computers that speak different languages and operate in different ways to exchange information and understand each other.

So what lies ahead?

The answer is simple: If all these technologies will develop an impressive body of data of any kind that will be available in different ‘clouds’ and their managers are repositories of a vast amount of information: What will become of our privacy? It will be like a ‘Big Brother, the eye that scrutinizes persistentely our lives, if not our thoughts…. I thought we already had God for this!