You are Never Alone

Many people are now talking about Cloud Computing as the Next Big Thing.

In teaching and learning there are many the implications, and I do realise that here I am only skimming the surface. I would be glad of your comments, about what else you can see.

• the applications will mainly be browser based, with software running from the cloud, with no, or minimal, installation on the  local computer itself.
• we need not be talking about a standard pc or even a lap top with lots of storage space. We could be talking about mobile devices capable of internet connection, and of running a  browser. The smaller local storage requirement brings down the size of the hard disk, the size and cost of the device.
• the lower device cost has implications for schools and other educational institutions by helping them take their infrastructure $s further. But these costs are likely to be offset by increased costs in connectivity, infrastructure, wireless capability and the like.
• generally the devices will require less processing power and may be small enough to fit in your pocket, your handbag etc.
• if the software is basically online then we are going to need “always connected” capability, with wireless connection readily available
• it raises interesting challenges to those who produce the software that we usually install on our computers. If most of us are trying to use online applications, we are probably going to be looking for free to use ones, or at the very least open source. How will the creators of the software recoup their costs?
• the power consumption within a classroom could drop off dramatically, thus fitting in with our search for green IT, but then while the devices will obviously run from battery for some of the time during the day, battery life does not seem to have got much more than 4 hours, and so for some of the time, these devices will require mainspower connection but their power consumption will be much less than the current pc load.
• there will also be interesting infrastructure challenges for those running institution systems, like getting the devices talking to the printer, or even to each other if required
• I don’t think that these smaller devices will dominate school environments, the larger pcs will still be there. But in the case of the larger pcs, they too will become cloud computers because the software and services they run will accessed via the internet rather than installed locally.
• teachers will also be concerned about equity issues. While the lower cost of the mobile devices will put purchase of them within the reach of many, and schools could even afford to run pro-active equity programmes to make them more universally available to disadvantaged students, there is also going to be the question of connection from home. It seems to me that this is “bigger than school” problem, needing to solved at government rather than local level. I gave a workshop in a community library recently that boasted wireless access. However what it didn’t say until the crunch came was that you needed to pay to get an access key and that there was an hourly cost. After the stipulated time your access door closed again. It was just an inducation of how much better we need to get at this sort of thing here in Australia.

Other links to investigate

* Aussie couple take on computing giants
A story about the Hot-E PC. A hand size box that uses only 3 watts each instead of 200 or 300 watts that normal PCs use. Not only does it reduce the cost but it helps reduce the carbon footprint too.

* Time to Ditch Your PC for a Hot-E?
The story about the Hot-E PC makes it into the New York Times.
“You’re meant to connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse into the Hot-E and send it off looking for a server with the requisite software and data. Today’s Web-centric set could think about using the device to check their e-mail, access Google Docs for word processing and spreadsheets, tap into Flickr for managing photos, grab a streaming music service from Real for tunes and even turn to Adobe’s online version of Photoshop for picture editing.”

* The iPhone - a Great Cloud Computing Device

* What makes a Cloud Computer
This article suggests a checklist of features that should be a must in a machine that has to qualify as a cloud computer (or whatever you want to call it.) But it suggests that a mini-computer is not really a computer, it is a communications, on-the-go device.

* Cloud Computing’s Impact on Digital Marketing
Cloud computing is liberating people from their computers. Some executives …leave their laptops at home when traveling on business since their smartphones carry the load. In 10 years time this will be the norm as mobile devices, powered by cloud computing, wirelessly connect to keyboards, mice and monitors and offer as rich experience as today’s computers. This trend toward one device that does it all will be a catalyst for mobile marketing.

* Technology News: BVirtualization, Cloud Computing Top Gartner’s Tech Trends List
Gartner’s top 10 technologies that will dominate the landscape for the next three years listed virtualization and Cloud Computing at the top.