Where is the "cloud"? In fact, cloud computing technology is already omnipresent in network services, such as cloud desktops, cloud offices, cloud videos, cloud games, cloud searches, cloud recognition, cloud USB drives, etc. Users don't need to understand the underlying operational principles or prepare certain hardware and software themselves; they can freely browse, work, or entertain on the "cloud."
The "cloud" is all around us.
Experience
Xiao Xiao (a pseudonym), a white-collar worker, finds it hard to show interest in any new scientific knowledge. "Cloud? I've heard of it, but what is it?" She quickly shifts her attention to the discount activities at nearby malls. Actually, like Xiao Xiao, we often enjoy the convenience brought by the "cloud" without realizing it. Every day, it's right there beside us.
Every morning when Xiao Xiao arrives at her company, the first thing she does is to scan through the news pages of several major portal websites. Baidu and Google are indispensable during her work. She doesn't know that if a website has sufficient business volume, there must be cloud computing supporting it behind the scenes.
Xiao Xiao dislikes science but is an Apple fan, owning a complete set of various "Apple" products. Uploading contacts and photos to the network allows her to access them anytime on her iPhone, iPad, or other devices. She doesn't realize this is precisely the concept of cloud storage.
Xiao Xiao also doesn't understand that if cloud computing weren't used, her Taobao experience would be significantly worse. Web pages would take five seconds instead of two to load, each page wouldn't have so many beautiful pictures, and flipping through pages would make her fingers sore.
In contrast, Xiao Qiang (a pseudonym), a white-collar worker, could be considered a "cloud expert." On weekends while waiting for or riding public transportation, Xiao Qiang takes out his smartphone, opens a "cloud browser" to catch up on the day's news, and uses "cloud transfer" to save data traffic. After arriving at his workplace near Dajiating Bridge, he often opens a "cloud desktop" developed by a well-known internet company, which includes microblogging, instant messaging tools, cloud storage, graphic tools, and word processing tools. All these functions realized through the "cloud desktop" are accomplished on the "cloud," without needing to install software on his local computer. After returning home, if he has free time, Xiao Qiang can read many magazines for free via the "cloud desktop" or play some card games like Landlord. Xiao Qiang feels that the "cloud" has, to some extent, facilitated his work and life.
"I've never lost personal data, nor have I ever backed up my computer, and that's thanks to cloud computing." Steve Jobs once said. This might explain why he still appeared at the launch of "Apple Cloud" even when seriously ill.
Cloud computing connects small, inexpensive servers together to accomplish massive projects. The cost of the film and animation industries may decrease, and statistical analysis becomes easier... These changes are transforming our lives.
Survey
Is a cloud TV really "cloud"?
At an appliance store in Wangjing, "cloud" is a frequently mentioned term. Cloud computers, cloud phones, cloud TVs, cloud air conditioners, cloud printing... In the mouths of salespeople, these are synonymous with "advanced" and "high-end." However, consumers are still somewhat confused about this red-hot concept. Is it worth spending big money on?
Cloud TV might be the most down-to-earth cloud application. "My grandma, who doesn't use the internet, even asked me the other day about buying a cloud TV," said a friend named Xiao Yu. Over the past year, domestic TV companies have collectively "transformed," with Haier, Skyworth, TCL, Hisense, Konka, and others releasing cloud TVs en masse. The star of the tech world, "cloud," has suddenly become much more approachable.
However, when reporters asked multiple salespeople at the appliance store yesterday, they found that manufacturers have varied definitions of what constitutes a cloud TV.
"A cloud TV is similar to a smart TV; it can connect to the internet." "It can be upgraded online; you won't need to replace your TV after purchasing it." "If your phone is a smartphone, it can connect to the TV, allowing you to push content to your phone from afar."
Despite the lack of a unified definition, cloud products share one commonality: their price is often higher than that of regular products. For example, reporters saw a 42-inch cloud TV priced at nearly 6000 yuan yesterday, while a similarly sized regular TV from the same brand was priced around 4600 yuan.
Additionally, reporters noticed that most cloud product promotions come from domestic brands. Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, and other foreign brands do not use the "cloud" concept in their product promotions. A salesperson for a foreign TV brand stated, "Currently, cloud TVs on the market merely connect TVs to the internet; the real functionality of cloud TVs goes far beyond that."
A store staff member told reporters that although cloud TVs represent high-end TV products, they haven't yet formed true sales hotspots. As more companies adopt the cloud concept, product prices have decreased somewhat. "When the products were first launched, a 46-inch TV cost nearly ten thousand yuan, but now new 47-inch models are priced below 8000 yuan."
Opinion
Overused or a Big Trend
"Cloud requires powerful computational capabilities to support single points, just like water supply, where users can obtain water by simply turning on the faucet connected to the pipes. Resources in the cloud should be infinitely scalable for users, accessible at any time, usable on demand, and paid for based on usage. However, many companies claim to offer 'cloud' solutions when they barely have a drop of water, which is unrealistic." Luo Qingqi, senior director of Pule Consulting, told reporters yesterday that currently, more companies treat cloud as a tool for product enhancement but fail to provide users with genuine cloud experiences, leading to overuse of the concept. For instance, many domestically produced cloud TVs are essentially just regular TVs plus a computer, at most an upgrade from internet TVs from two years ago. Some "cloud TVs" only support a few built-in web pages and cannot browse the infinite internet like home computers. Some even use mobile internet modes.
Peng Liang, vice president of Kuba.com, is also skeptical about the cloud products on the market. "To implement cloud requires substantial bandwidth and server cluster technology, posing significant challenges for manufacturers." Currently, China's network environment is characterized by the lack of widespread home broadband, with most connections being between 2M-4M or even smaller, and unstable network environments. These factors greatly impact users' actual experiences and restrict the development of related terminal products.
On the other hand, Yang Dongwen, vice president of Skyworth Group, holds a more optimistic view. In an interview with reporters, Yang Dongwen stated that while there is indeed some bubble in the cloud product market, it shouldn't be overemphasized. "Everyone's direction is correct; cloud is a future trend, and enterprises' active involvement will, in turn, promote the development of network broadband and other environments."
Problems
Controversy over Security and Energy Consumption
Cloud computing has become a strategic direction for the global information industry's future development. As countries study the transformations cloud computing will bring to societal and economic development models and deploy national strategies accordingly, China is also driving cloud computing from concept to application.
China has already designated Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Wuxi as pilot cities for the innovative development of cloud computing. By 2015, the scale of the national "cloud computing" industrial chain is expected to reach 750 billion to 1 trillion RMB, accounting for more than 15% of the output value of strategic emerging industries by 2015.
However, cloud computing is not perfect.
Discussions about security have never ceased. Users have doubts about the security of cloud services because many of them may not know where their data, information, and trade secrets are stored in the "cloud," who might illegally obtain them, where to retrieve lost data, or who would bear the responsibility. Solving these problems involves complex issues of credibility, systems, technology, law, and even regulation.
For China, there may be an even more severe test.
Statistics suggest that a cloud computing server consumes approximately 5000 yuan in electricity annually. If a cloud computing center with one million machines is built, the electricity bill alone would amount to 5 billion yuan, which is undoubtedly a big issue in energy-strapped China.
In the U.S., leading cloud computing companies like Google have entered the energy sector. Besides developing green energy, they invest in energy companies to better manage their own energy supply. "However, in China, policies have not yet opened up to this extent," a staff member of a cloud platform service provider told reporters.
Some analysts believe that cloud computing can save businesses a great deal in hardware and software costs, and the energy consumed by cloud computing servers would not exceed the energy saved by numerous enterprises.
Reflection
What Exactly is the "Cloud"?
In the early days of the Internet, technicians were accustomed to drawing the Internet as a "cloud," simplifying technical details and complex mechanisms, making discussions of new technologies more convenient. Technicians' little romance was given significant meaning years later, and "cloud" has now become the hottest term.
What is the "cloud"? There is an ambitious but not entirely rigorous explanation: putting everything on the network and getting everything back from the network. Simply put, the "cloud" is the network.
In short, cloud computing is a supercomputing model based on the Internet. In remote data centers, tens of thousands or even millions of computers and servers are connected into a cluster, relying on collective intelligence to act as a "supercomputer." Users then connect to the data center via computers, laptops, smartphones, etc., storing and calculating according to their respective needs.
You might be familiar with this concept. Sometimes we upload files and photos to email accounts, letting the network store them and freeing up space on our hard drives. Yes, this is a small application of cloud theory, though the powerful "cloud" can do much more.
Chairman and CEO of Innovation Works, Kai-Fu Lee, once used the analogy of "money storages and banks": people initially kept money under their pillows, then came money storages which were safe but inconvenient to withdraw from. Now, you can withdraw money from any bank branch or even through ATMs. Since the Internet has a computational power exceeding 10 trillion operations per second, computers might disappear, and mobile phones, cars, TVs, watches could all connect to the Internet, requiring only a screen.
Others believe that the cloud provides shared software and hardware resources and information on-demand to users, with its operation resembling an electric grid. It moves from the old single-generator mode to a centralized power plant mode, where computing power can be traded as a commodity, just like gas, water, and electricity, convenient to use and low-cost. This may change the game rules of the tech world.
There are many more imaginations about the "cloud," but will they become reality or remain myths?
Retrospective
How did this "cloud" form?
— Taking Google as an example
The mysterious "cloud" first took shape in Google's famous "20% time." "20% time" is the time Google allocates to employees for independent project development, during which they can work on things that interest them. In the fall of 2006, engineer Chris Bisciglia, with the support of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, launched Google's new strategy, the "cloud" plan, which originated from a project he advanced during his "20% time," called "Google 101."
Back then, Chris Bisciglia, who had joined Google straight out of college, had to commute long distances to Google every day to work on search algorithm writing for 10 hours. However, his true desire was to return to school and work with his mentor. To achieve this, Bisciglia applied to start a course at his alma mater, guiding students to program and develop according to Google's thinking, learning how to handle vast amounts of data.
This might have just become an educational project, but changes in market relations and technological environments seemed to indicate that Bisciglia was standing at the foot of a future technological "lighthouse."
At that time, almost in every field, large amounts of data were overwhelming scientists. Most lacked the equipment to store and filter their data. Bisciglia believed that the industry mindset had changed; the volume of data on the Internet would grow by a factor of a thousand, making original computing modes or even data centers unsustainable. When large-scale computers form clusters, their ability to retrieve answers or instructions surpasses that of any single machine in the world.
Whoever possesses a larger scale of data and can manage them can provide broader and deeper information services, while the influence of software and hardware diminishes in comparison.
Bisciglia began building his computer clusters. Without permission, he purchased a group of 40 mid-priced computers, considering payment only after placing the order. Fortunately, when he presented a large bill to managers for approval, no one opposed it.
Kai-Fu Lee later remarked that Google developed new technology, bought the worst computers, and the cheapest servers, and still reached the "cloud." After all, if a high-end server costs $40,000, buying hundreds of thousands of them would bankrupt even Google. Cost compression made it possible for this server-cluster-centered technology to become practical.
"Cloud computing" centered around Google's devices fully aligns with the grand vision proposed ten years ago by its founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page: "to build information across the world, accessible anytime, anywhere."
Now, tech giants have all entered the "cloud" world. Companies like Inventec, IBM, Dell, HP, Amazon have integrated IT systems and databases as foundational equipment, dividing them into different spaces for enterprises to rent. Google, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, and others have created program development platforms and operating system platforms, allowing developers to write programs via the network and enabling general consumers to execute programs on them.
Sample
Three Types of "Cloud"
Representative: Google
Similar to Microsoft, Google aims to guide users to complete various applications on the network. For example, previously, users needed to install Word and Excel on their office computers to write reports. If they wanted to take work home, their home computers also needed these applications. But with the "cloud," users no longer need to install various programs on their devices; all work can be completed online.
Representative: IBM
As the pioneer of computers, IBM proposed the concept of "Smart Planet" and "Smart Cities" at the beginning of 2009. With the help of cloud computing, IBM assists cities in establishing real-time urban management, integrated public services, efficient traffic management, reliable safety supervision, and other systems, gradually achieving "Smart Cities." Governments worldwide are IBM's major clients, and IBM has cooperated with many cities and enterprises in China to build "Smart Cities."
Representative: Amazon
Originating from e-commerce, Amazon once faced a dilemma. During the Christmas consumption peak, the company had to add a large number of servers to handle the surge in orders, but after Christmas, these servers became useless, wasting a lot of resources. Amazon's cloud ideal is to rent out its remaining computing power.