In his young volume " The Big Switch : Rewiring the World , from Edison to Google,“computerindustry writer and former executive editor program of the Harvard Business Review Nicholas G. Carr hash out the modification he see in the future of computer science . One of the more spectacular changes is a slip tocloud computing– where app and single file are stored on a large , centralised supercomputer ornetwork . The end exploiter accesses his or her file using computers that are more streamlined but less advanced than today ’s typical machine .
On October 17 , 2007 , Carr strike the idea a footfall further in a posting on his Rough Typeblog . He call out two hot technology companies , Googleand Apple , and said they were on the verge of a partnership in which Apple would make an inexpensive piece ofhardwareusers could carry around . This would leverage the computing power of the immense information centers Google has been build to hold the app and the datum for millions of exploiter .
The estimate ofcloud computingcertainly is n’t new . Oracle ’s Larry Ellison launched the New Internet Computer ( NIC ) company in 2000 to lead the industriousness forrard to that end . The concept is very simple : On your desk , you would have a very down in the mouth - toll computer with just a CPU , a keyboard and a monitor . There would be nohard driveorCD / videodisk crusade . It would be hook up to theInternetand would link to a cardinal supercomputer , which would host all of your programs and files . The theme , however , was ahead of its time . The NIC betray very badly , probably due to a famine of broadband availability in the United States [ generator : PCWorld ] . The company folded in 2003 .
But by 2006 , nearly 75 percent of Americans had wideband entree at home plate [ source : Neilsen / NetRatings ] . Could a Google / Apple team make cloud cipher a widespread phenomenon ? And if they move forwards , what ’s in it for Google and Apple ? The biggest question of all : If they build the cloud estimator , will anyone use it ?
register on to learn more about the future of computing .
A Googol of Power
Agoogolis the name for a one stick to by 100 zeros . Google ’s name comes from its founders ' desire to keep path of the vast sum of information on the Internet [ reference : Google ] . As the society turn , it began offer more inspection and repair than just WWW searches . Through in - firm innovations and acquirement of other companies , Google create what is now Google Docs , aWeb - base suite of diligence that includes Word of God processing , a spreadsheet and a presentation program . With Gmail , that puts Google in direct competition with Microsoft for the corporate desktop . And unlike Office , Google Docs is whole free .
These hosted service are the kinds of lotion that would be at the effect of a cloudcomputer , just one reason it would be feasible for Google to be the perfect back - oddment for ahardwaremanufacturer to mate with . Google ’s machine , really anetworkof machines , offers amazing computing power . It also offersredundancy . Googlealready stores multiple backups of its information on its equipment , and if one part of one auto pause , it can be swapped out without any loss of information [ source : Baker ] . Using a swarm computer stored on Google ’s massive infrastructure would free you from have to take your files with you – no thumb drives , laptophard drives , compact disc , DVDs or other removable culture medium . You could work on your task from household , from piece of work and on your mobile computer while on the go .
With a swarm computer , you probably would n’t have to pay for software . Using applications host on theserver , your local car would have all thesoftwareit needs to make without have to lay in it topically . You would n’t have to revise your software to the next version – and everyone would use the same software on the cloud . There should be no compatibility issues .
But what happens to thosefrequent flyerswho need to put to work as they move around ? A cloud computer would require anInternetconnection , and today ’s airliners do n’t propose that power , though some carriers have plans to proffer in - flight access . You ’d be stick reading or watching the in - flightmovie . You ’d also have to be comfortable with letting Google , or whomever else , keep your documents online . Many bay window do n’t allow their documents past theirfirewalls . Would these company change their minds if the legal age of business was done on a cloud - computing model ?
One of the braggy problems involved with creating a cloud computer is the amount of electricity ask to make it work . Google built its datum center in The Dalles , Ore. , because of the gamy - speed cyberspace entree powered by fiber eye credit line and the nearby The DallesDam[source : Gilder ] . Google need expectant amounts of electricity to power the cooling equipment necessary to keep thousands of servers run . In fact , the two football game - battleground - sized building each have two cooling works four stories improbable [ reference : Markoff and Hansell ] .
If Google ca n’t handle the processing power needed to put up the reality a computing cloud , it for sure is well on its fashion to build it . But why would Google partner with Apple for the end - user hardware ? Read on for Carr ’s undecomposed guess and what his critic say .
Why Google and Apple?
So why do Carr and others guess Google is so interested in creating a cloud - computingnetworkfor the masses ? It ’s not such a stretchability . Google is now one of the big computer science society in the world , and it ’s sure enough concerned in new technology and new line opportunity .
Google CEO Eric Schmidt joined Apple ’s board of directors in August 2006 . When require about the musical theme of team up up with Apple in a December 2007 audience with Wired Magazine , Schmidt said it obviously : " Google ’s architectural model around broadband and services and so forth plays very well to the sinewy gimmick and services Apple is doing . We ’re a perfect back remnant to the problems that they ’re trying to solve " [ source : Vogelstein ] .
According to Carr , Apple does n’t have the kind of supercomputing power that would be ask to aim the back end of the partnership . There are n’t many organizations that do . Only Google , Yahoo , Microsoft , IBM andAmazonhave the power , says Prabhakar Raghavan , the head of inquiry at Yahoo [ source : Baker].Googleand Apple have had a partnership dating back years . If Microsoft succeed in its bid to acquire Yahoo announce Feb. 1 , 2008 , the combined companies may well be able-bodied to leverage a sophisticated cloud - computing surround .
If Google and Apple do team up for this sorting of partnership , here ’s what Carr feel their cloud reckoner would be like :
Robert X. Cringely , noted engineering reporter and editorialist , agrees with Carr that a Google - Apple cloud - cipher partnership could take place , but he also believes the deal might not be as round-eyed as Carr make it out to be . Instead , the corporate philosphy cultivated by Apple ’s iconic former chief operating officer and co - founder Steve Jobs might provide a source of irritation for Schmidt and Google . As Cringely put it , " Schmidt ( and Carr ) see that Apple does n’t have the supercomputer , but Jobs just as firmly believes that Google does n’t know how to launch the supercomputer it has , and besides , he can rent a supercomputer anytime he need one , so there " [ rootage : Cringely ] .
Cringely believe that Apple will make Carr ’s cloud - computing gadget but will also make other swarm computing devices at a variety of price . He says that Apple will be the rife company in the partnership , and Google would take a back seat .
Could Apple really discover other partners to supply services to its client ? What if Google and Apple do team up ? Will anyone take them on ? Learn more about other cloud computing efforts on the next page .
Other Cloud Candidates
One of the reasons the idea of cloud computing is getting so much grip is the efforts of companies other than Google to make it happen . Microsoft , Amazon and IBM are some of those known to be considering cloud offering .
Two of the leading campaigner to contend with Google or a partnership with Apple may be join force . On Feb. 1 , 2008 , Microsoft announced it had made a bid for Yahoo , which would help both companies in their quest to beat out the search giant [ generator : Microsoft ] . In addition to monolithic calculation power and many other World Wide Web armed service , Yahoo brings a robust Web ring mail internet and photo web site Flickr to the board . Meanwhile , Microsoft offers Windows Live , a word processing platform and calendar . With its Office rooms already entrenched in the desktops of offices across the country , a Microsoft cloud could put down the race as a contender .
Another potential competitor could be Amazon.com . Already one of the world ’s largest on-line retailers , the troupe has interests in other areas as well . Amazon Web Services is a retinue of cloud resources aimed at modest developers who necessitate a position to make for online [ root : Amazon.com ] . The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud ( EC2 ) gives drug user computing power for their work . They can put in files in the Amazon Simple Storage Service ( S3 ) and useSimpleDB , a database , to store and get at smaller files quickly [ reference : Claburn ] .
In November 2007 , IBM announced its Blue Cloud initiative , offering a package of hardware and software package to allow its customers to create their own interior clouds [ origin : LaMonica ] . The company had already partner with Google to provide cloud solutions for six American universities a month earlier . IBM hope to grow the program to allow more universities and corporate and government activity entities to get together in [ author : Lohr ] .
Many companies are offering computer hardware design to operate on cloudnetworks , including Hewlett Packard , Dell and Clear Cube . However , you would n’t necessarily need acomputerto access code a cloud connection – you could also use other ironware designed to yoke to theInternet , such as a wireless phone . In January 2008 , Google bid in a U.S. government auction for a 700 MHzradiofrequency license which would allow them to operate awireless phoneservice [ source : CNET News.com ] . gain the bid would enter the door to Carr ’s theme just that much farther . Google argue that the relative frequency should be accessible by a reach of devices , and the company got its wish : The spectrum became undetermined - access once the command strain the $ 4.6 billion reserve Mary Leontyne Price [ author : Albanesius ] .
Despite Carr ’s exuberance – he said in his web log post he expects theGoogle - Apple partnership to bear fruit in " months , not years " – there has been no formal annunciation from either company . But in January 2008 , Apple announced a new mathematical product that ’s similar to a cloud information processing system in some respects .
At the MacWorld San Franciscotrade show , Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil the closest thing it has to a cloud calculation machine : the MacBook Air . It ’s less than an inch boneheaded at its enceinte ; Jobs pull in the demonstration model from a manila mailing envelope during the product promulgation . It weighs only three pounds . To get it so thin , Apple engineers sacrifice an optical ride and some of its connections , includingEthernet . The barrage fire had to be incorporated in a way that prevents user from replace it themselves . Unlike a true slight client , the MacBook Air has ahard private road , which can be either a traditional crusade or a solid - country drive [ source : Apple ] .
But for now , Google and Apple are not officially partnered on a cloud gadget – the MacBook Air is not tied solely to Google for store and software package .
For more on Google , Apple , swarm computing and other related to topics , see the next page .
