[Jay]

Jay asked the Naked Scientists:
   
In short what is cloud computing, how does it work, how will it affect the future and particularly security and privacy?

What do you think?

[graham.d]

Cloud computing is where functions are distributed over the internet. These functions can be simple data supply or more complex interactive processing. The term is used loosely.

Like all such systems, measures will have to be taken to ensure security of data and, how ever hard people try to get security, someone will find a way to break it. I would say such systems must be inherently less secure than a private network, but encryption technology is pretty good nowadays, providing it is employed of course.

[syhprum]

I think what you have in mind is

http://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php

And the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is SETI.com.

[Susantorres]

Cloud Computing is computing service rather than a computing product. Here computing means the activity of using and improving computers hardware and software. In simple terms it is a network where data, software, and information are provided to the computers as a utility. The cloud computing can be of different types, but the most efficient is an Managed cloud computing.

[oops - crappy spam link - silly me]

[jackylui]

Maybe the user data, also the main application store in the internet supplier.
That also cause the network jam problems, so much traffic happen same time, maybe cause too longer system waiting time and loss of information.

[wilsongross]

Cloud security and privacy are some of the biggest cloud computing issues. Secure your data and ensure your cloud compliance strategy with this primer.
The Seven Challenges Of Cloud Computing:
1.Control
2.Performance
3.Security
4.Cost of Bandwidth
5.Vendor Lock-In
6.Transparency
7.Reliability

[nicephotog]

WSDL(port configurations - with documentation) and SOAP messaging envelopes, "http web services" and "web service registrys" such as ebxml registries and public or private registrys?

I understood it to mean the above but "vague collection of" and "collected for" ,tools, like a portal gets(borrows - streams) information from many sites to make up a site , but made from those functions to be joined up from???

[TruthfulLies]

Business applications are moving to the cloud. It's not just a fashion model changing traditional software to the Internet has been gaining momentum over the past 10 years. Looking ahead, the next decade of cloud computing promises new ways to collaborate everywhere through mobile devices.

Life before cloud computing

Traditional business applications has always been very complicated and costly. The number and variety of hardware and software needed to run are enormous. You need a team of experts to install, configure, test, run, secure and update them.

Multiplying this effort through dozens or hundreds of applications, it is easy to see why the largest companies with the best IT departments are not getting the applications they need. Small and medium enterprises have no chance.
Cloud computing: a better way

With cloud computing, eliminate headaches because they are not going to manage hardware and software, which is the responsibility of a provider with experience as salesforce.com. The shared infrastructure means it works as a utility: You only pay for what you need, updates are automatic, and scale up or down is easy.

Cloud-based applications can be up and running in days or weeks, and cost less. With a cloud application, you just open a browser, log in, customize the application and start using it.
Companies are running all kinds of applications in the cloud, such as customer relationship management (CRM), human resources, accounting, and more. Some of the world's largest companies moved their applications to the cloud with salesforce.com after rigorously test the safety and reliability of our infrastructure.
As cloud computing grows in popularity, thousands of companies are simply rebranding their lack of cloud products and services as "cloud computing." Whenever further evaluation of the offers of cloud and keep in mind that if you have to buy and manage hardware and software, which is not really looking for cloud computing, but a false cloud.

Cloud 2: Mobility and collaboration

The latest innovations in cloud computing are making our business even more applications and collaborative mobile, similar to popular consumer applications like Facebook and Twitter. As consumers, we now expect that the information that matters will be pushed to us in real time and business applications in the cloud is heading in that direction. With Cloud 2, continuing his work is as simple as keeping up his personal life on Facebook.

[Geezer]

Business applications are moving to the cloud. It's not just a fashion model changing traditional software to the Internet has been gaining momentum over the past 10 years. Looking ahead, the next decade of cloud computing promises new ways to collaborate everywhere through mobile devices.

Life before cloud computing

Traditional.....

Yes, well, we could have read pretty much the same thing here.

http://www.atlantasalesforce.org/salesforce/what-is-cloud-computing

[Pistle]

Cloud computing is the delivery of different services through the Internet. These resources include tools and applications like data storage, servers, databases, networking, and software. As long as an electronic device has access to the web, it has access to the data and the software programs to run it.

[evan_au]

Clouds are "up there".
Fog is a cloud that is "down here".

As computing gets cheaper, and user response times get more critical, computing infrastructure will migrate closer to end-users.
- So the cloud will migrate from being "up there" to being "down here"
- One application is "the internet of things", with communicating appliances in your home, business and farm
- One vendor has changed from talking about "cloud computing" to "fog computing"...

[mikeduke1290]

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The term is generally used to describe data centers available to many users over the Internet. Large clouds, predominant today, often have functions distributed over multiple locations from central servers. If the connection to the user is relatively close, it may be designated an edge server.

Clouds may be limited to a single organization (enterprise clouds), or be available to many organizations (public cloud).

Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale.

Advocates of public and hybrid clouds note that cloud computing allows companies to avoid or minimize up-front IT infrastructure costs. Proponents also claim that cloud computing allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved manageability and less maintenance, and that it enables IT teams to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating and unpredictable demand, providing the burst computing capability: high computing power at certain periods of peak demand.

Hope this information is helpful to you

[Michealbeads]

I agree with spears regarding using EC2 instances. You will be better off buying used servers. You can get a dual quad core Xeon with 32 gigs or more for less than 150. If you are insistent on using the cloud I would start with the typical companies: amazon or google. I believe both offer free versions with limited resources or time.

[calliespann]

Cloud Computing refers to mainpulating ,configuring,and accessing the applications online.It offers online data storage,infrastructure and application.You can use the software from the cloud without install that. In the cloud many user access the cloud services without interrupting eachother.

[LaurenaS]

According to my knowledge, cloud computing is the use of IT infrastructures and services which are not kept onside on local computers but are rented as a service and accessed via a network like the internet.

[charles1948]

This is a point that worries me about the "Cloud".

Suppose you store some information on the hard-drive of your own computer, which is in your own home. 

Then, the information stays strictly private. Nobody gets to see it. Not unless you choose to invite someone to your home, and give them access to your computer.

Whereas, if you store the information in the Internet  "Cloud", can't anyone on the Internet, potentially at least, get access to it?

Not that I've anything to hide, you understand  Only asking out of interest!