Cloud Computer from google and apple
The concept of a centralized computing is nothing new, we have been using it in organizations since long. But Google and Apple have a new idea in mind. Google and Apple are on a verge of partnership in which Apple would make an inexpensive piece of hardware users could carry around. This would leverage the computing power of the vast data centers Google has been building to hold the applications and the data for millions of users.
The idea of cloud computing certainly isn’t new. Oracle’s Larry Ellison launched the New Internet Computer (NIC) company in 2000 to lead the industry forward to that goal. The concept is very simple: On your desk, you would have a very low-cost computer with just a processor, a keyboard and a monitor. There would be no hard drive or CD/DVD drive. It would be hooked up to the Internet and would link to a central supercomputer, which would host all of your programs and files. The idea, however, was ahead of its time. The NIC sold very poorly, probably due to a dearth of broadband availability in the United States [source: PCWorld]. The company folded in 2003.
But by 2006, nearly 75 percent of Americans had broadband access at home.A googol is the name for a one followed by 100 zeros. Google’s name comes from its founders’ desire to keep track of the vast amounts of information on the Internet [source: Google]. As the company grew, it began offering more services than just Web searches. Through in-house innovations and acquisitions of other companies, Google created what is now Google Docs, a Web-based suite of applications that includes word 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 completely free.
These hosted services are the kinds of applications that would be at the core of a cloud computer, just one reason it would be feasible for Google to be the perfect back-end for a hardware manufacturer to partner with. Google’s machine, really a network of machines, offers amazing computing power. It also offers redundancy. Google already stores multiple backups of its information on its equipment, and if one part of one machine breaks, it can be swapped out without any loss of information [source: Baker]. Using a cloud computer stored on Google’s massive infrastructure would free you from having to take your files with you — no thumb drives, laptop hard drives, CDs, DVDs or other removable media. You could work on your projects from home, from work and on your mobile computer while on the go.
With a cloud computer, you probably wouldn’t have to pay for software. Using applications hosted on the server, your local machine would have all the software it needs to work without having to store it locally. You wouldn’t have to update 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 those frequent flyers who need to work as they travel? A cloud computer would require an Internet connection, and today’s airliners don’t offer that ability, though some carriers have plans to offer in-flight access. You’d be stuck reading or watching the in-flight movie. You’d also have to be comfortable with letting Google, or whomever else, keep your documents online. Many corporations don’t allow their documents past their firewalls. Would these companies change their minds if the majority of business was done on a cloud-computing model?
One of the biggest problems involved with creating a cloud computer is the amount of electricity required to make it work. Google built its data center in The Dalles, Ore., because of the high-speed Internet access powered by fiber optic lines and the nearby The Dalles Dam [source: Gilder]. Google needs large amounts of electricity to power the cooling equipment necessary to keep thousands of servers running. In fact, the two football-field-sized buildings each have two cooling plants four stories tall [source: Markoff and Hansell].
Will google be able to handle such huge power/cooling issues and the hardware needed for it will the service be free. What if data is lost.There are many things yet to be answered.
source:- howstuffworks.com