Aaron Watters wrote: (from a gmail account) > So cloud computing is java diskless workstations warmed over but less > flexible? > > I'm having trouble understanding why people would want > to buy in to this.
Why do you like gmail - since you appear to use it? (I can think of several possibilities) The reason I ask Gmail is a an example of computing in the cloud. Specifically it's an application in the cloud. You get several classes of things "in the cloud" - one possible break up: * Applications - gmail, amazon, hotmail, facebook widgets, writely, blogger, flickr, etc. * Components - YUI, EC2, S3 * Frameworks - open social, facebook etc. Each has benefits. Some examples: * gmail, hotmail, yahoomail - spam filtering, access your mail anywhere. You rent the application by paying with attention (or paying money - I think hotmail still do that) * S3 - scalable storage in the cloud WITH scalable serving. The trade off here is "how much does it cost you to run a colo box or dedicated server" vs "how much to rent the space". You rent capacity on demand. (a bit like "why buy storage at a self-storage place rather than buy a garage?" - there are good reasons both ways round :-) * EC2 - Similar, but to do with computing capacity. EC2 & S3 allow you to scale for example in line _and in time_ with the size of your userbase - assuming your business model (if you have one :-) matches * open social, facebook - rather than build your own social graph, you can attach yourself to an existing one to simplify take-up. I must admit I feel a hint of amusement though at your comment above, when it's sent from precisely the sort of setup you appear bemused by - since you appear to have already bought into it without realising ! :-D Have fun :-) Michael. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list