Why is this so cool?
As I said previously, this whole Cloud thing has been common knowledge to techsters for the last few years. We've seen it coming (thanks largely to Google), we've been using these services on PCs with our browsers, and we've been trying out the first hardware forays into the Wild Blue Yonder. But unless I miss my mark here, Cloud computing isn't exactly a household concept quite yet.
I just checked - the recent Macworld keynote delivered by Phil Schiller makes no mention of the word Cloud. It skirts the issue - you can make documents in iLife and iWork and then get them to your iPhone. And you can "share" documents that you make in iWork to iWork.com where others can take a look at them. Then, of course, there's MobileMe which syncs calendar, email, and contact information between your PC, iPhone, and Mac through the Cloud. (They mentioned that at the WWDC last year.) I don't know how they both work, exactly; but already I see a split between MobileMe and iWork.com; one is for one type of information, one is for another.
Ballmer mentions the Cloud twice (at 6:45 and 7:39) to announce that Windows will be the lynchpin that ties it all together, and that families will be connected with "cloud-based entertainment content." A chunk of this seems to be provided by the Windows Live service - which near as I can figure brings Hotmail, on-line storage, "People" (contacts?), Messenger, and Photos together and allows you to use them via your PC or phone.
Neither of these is exciting. Google has been doing this for awhile now - with GMail (and its built-in contacts) as the mother ship - which nicely integrates with GTalk, a pretty decent integration with GCal, GDocs (which has some integration), Picasa (for photos), and Blogger. Additionally, Google has started making forays into bookmark management (which is somehow mysteriously tied to GNotes) and at least half-hearted attempts at a slew of other things, like web authoring, social networking, and a wikipedia. Oh, and a browser.
And there are dozens of other services that do things like this. Box.net , for example, fills Google's lack of accessible on-line disk space, and hooks to a bunch of services, including Google and Zoho.com - which is a Cloud-based service allowing for storage and editing of documents and spreadsheets over the net and a whole lot more.
And indeed, Microsoft and Apple have some catching up to do. I won't totally sell them short, but I will say - I'm not sure they can do it. Microsoft has Windows, and all accounts are Windows 7 is going to be good. Huge market-share there. Apple is beloved by a large section of the tech buying public, as well - and has a reputation for just making stuff that is simple and elegant and just works. But Google alone has a huge lead on them. (I felt a little bad because Schiller was going on and on about how iPhoto can recognize faces - when this is technology Picasa has had out for the last 4 months or so.) And both of them still miss the point somewhat. I think the split between MobileMe and iWork.com is pretty big. And note that this is syncing - the file resides on multiple devices and it pushes changes to the Cloud, Mac, iPhone (only), and PC that you have registered. Windows Live doesn't even appear to try to address the problem of on-line document editing, but potentially comes closer to allowing a large array of devices (home PC, work PC, XBox, WinMo phones, and anything with a browser) to access content. (I say potentially because I am disturbed by references to Windows Live as opposed to XBox Live - I'm not sure how well the two are integrated.)
But what's exciting about these keynotes is that "the Cloud" is about to launch into the public consciousness. 2009 will be the Year of the Cloud. Both Apple and Microsofts efforts - as late to the game as they are - are the mainstreaming of a current that has been developing the last couple of years. It's going to be a cool year.
No comments:
Post a Comment