Cloud cover
Friday, December 18, 2009 17:57
Let’s stop mulling it over, for the technically aware there can be no doubt the future of computing is cloud based (both locally and out across the www), it’s going to happen (it is happening). But what does this new virtual world present to us in terms of the good old desktop operating system?
Well, cloud access needs a browser, a browser needs a software platform to run on and a software platform requires a host device. Voice and gesture recognition technology is presently a touch under the horizon for general use so we’ll still need keyboard & mouse functionality, as such it’s a fair bet to expect a substantial increase in laptop style/tablet & personal device (iPhone) use in response to what will be corresponding growth in mobile infrastructure connectivity.
The personal computer will become less “personal” with the mindset for mainstream data ownership shifting away from the concept of local storage and becoming akin to the way vinyl (and soon CD/DVD media) is regarded today, i.e nice to own & “collectable” but at the same time unnecessary and cumbersome in comparison to what will in effect be instant delivery of most any content we can think of, anywhere. It’s true we humans do like to have our “stuff” but lifestyle technology (or should I say Apple) will most certainly re-dictate (re-train?) our behavioural traits.
Spotify is already a real world emerging example of this, why bother paying for GB’s of hard disk storage when you can stream pre-configured playlists to all and any of your your devices for free (albeit with an ad thrown in here and there) with no danger of media corruption? It’s only present infrastructure shortfall restricting increased adoption, but that will change, forces are at work (and have been for some time).
iTunes will expand to become an all encompassing on-line portal where Apple will happily manage all our personal media collections and deliver them back to us through “terminal” devices (be they laptops, dumb screens or variations of the imminent Apple Tablet). Google (of course) will also expand it’s virtual empire to take care of our business enterprise (check out Apps, it’s a killer), and Microsoft? Microsoft are obviously developing their own cloud cover strategy (Azure) but if I had to choose I’d predict a sway toward Google, why? I just think there’s more perceived trust for the big G, and although I do say “perceived” trust it’s also said with a certain degree of irony – “Many a true word” etc, for example – content filtering for word processing files? Your data should be YOUR data (and there begins the case for local cloud systems, more on that another time).
Anyway, browsers. Browsers indeed, and operating systems. A browser is a browser is a browser (more or less) and with Mozillas ubiquitous Firefox available for free across all platforms the question of cost arises. Why pay for an expensive operating system and the high end hardware it needs to function when all you’re running on it is Firefox? Answer – You don’t have to, and that’s where Linux slots in superbly.
Not only is the Linux platform free of charge it’s also incredibly stable and incredibly secure, two things you REALLY want when exposing your personal data to the world (wide web). We did mention Google before and here once again they come into view with their like vision of future cloud access – the “Chrome OS“.
Google vision is going to happen, Google (along with Apples iPhone) are going to take over the world and Chrome OS will be Google’s cloud entry portal, and guess what, Chrome OS is built on Linux. It’s no surprise really, Google know a good thing when they see it.
If you would like to find out more about cloud content storage & delivery through a Linux platform TooMuchGreen can help, we are specialists in this area and offer the full spectrum of Linux based advice and solutions tailored to your business and budget. Feel free to send us a message via the contact page, we would be more than happy to come and visit you to assess your needs.
Cost saving and stability from the cloud, that’s the name of the game for 2010, are you playing?
Keith says:
December 19th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I see the path to the Cloud and I agree with everything you say. Digital Britain (or is it Analogue England?) is struggling to reach it’s 2mb pipe per household quota. Again, it could be the UK that falls behind.
I’d be interested in seeing some Bandwidth / Data Transfer figures from you. Could lets say a class full of Students each with a TMG build rely on total ‘Cloudness’?
richbos says:
December 19th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
There’s bandwidth and there’s bandwidth, differing of course for both home and business but yes, 2mb proposed coverage by 2012? Comical, it’s already out of date for anything other than checking eMail.
You may find the next post interesting (coming soon), we’ll be discussing the “hidden” agenda behind cloud computing, however at present and in answer (partly) to build scenarios….
A bespoke TMG solution would be tailored to work with a combination of existing “best of sector” solutions to provide the most cost effective platform for the clients needs, depending on what they may be. There’s still a definite place for browser based local groupware suites such as Citadel (see previous post). Bandwidth around the local LAN is free.
For example, a classroom tutorial suite (or similarly dynamic environment – e.g a cyber cafe) would most likely be a mix of LTSP with basic web access dependent on the chosen (most affordable ) web link available and maybe even some “fat” clients, a small to medium sized business however would push a Google Apps scenario with options for local storage if preferred.
“Storage” needs mentioning here as it’s different to “backup”. Backup is a misconceived term which actually should have no place around the cloud due to bandwidth considerations (i.e any bandwidth costs money). Data should either be up or down (in the cloud or out). Store it locally and back it up locally or store it in the cloud where integrity is taken care of by the host, moving it around unnecessarily will just incur equally unnecessary cost.
So, a class of students? It probably would have no need for total cloud cover, and a business enterprise? They might (and could), if it was financially viable (and we are talking about today, not tomorrow), but to be honest even with a generous view toward future developments it would still be advisable to be functionally selective.