[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #303: Is "cloud computing" too murky?

[Editor]

Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/>
OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #303: Is "cloud computing" too murky?
October 10th, 2012

How many times a day do you hear or read the term "cloud computing"? 
(Did we just hear you shout, "/Too/ many!"?) The term is almost as old 
as OPLIN, dating back to 1996 
<http://sourcedigit.com/903-netcentric-or-compaq-who-coined-the-term-cloud-computing/>, 
but it didn't really become part of our daily lives until Google CEO 
Eric Schmidt used it at a 2006 industry conference. Now, after six years 
of almost constant use, many people still aren't sure what the term is 
supposed to mean, which has some companies advocating a change.

  * Nebulous 'cloud computing' term baffles most Americans
    <http://www.geekwire.com/2012/clouds-survey-cloud-computing-fluffy-stuff/>
    (GeekWire/John Cook) "The national survey
    <http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=2328309>
    found that a majority of Americans - 54 percent - claim to never use
    cloud computing. However, 95 percent of that group actually did use
    a cloud-based service such as online banking, shopping, social
    networking or storing digital media. Meanwhile, a majority of 1,006
    respondents thought cloud computing was connected to the weather,
    and that stormy weather could interfere with cloud computing."
  * Cloud computing buzzwords
    <http://ccskguide.org/cloud-computing-buzzwords/> (CCSK Guide)
    "Gartner's hype report demonstrates that it's important to define
    terms well. 'Confusion remains the norm,' according to Gartner's
    2012 report <http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=2124315> on the
    cloud computing industry. 'Many misconceptions exist around
    potential benefits, pitfalls, and, of course, cost savings.'"
  * The software-defined data center: Dissecting the latest buzzword
    <http://www.networkcomputing.com/data-center/the-software-defined-data-center-dissect/240006848>
    (Network Computing/Joe Onisick) "You can't discuss any current
    technology without its marketeers describing it as a cloud-based,
    big-data solution that provides synergy and business value through
    blah, blah, blah. One term gaining tons of traction recently is
    software-defined data center. This one is being tossed around by
    execs at VMware
    <http://www.networkcomputing.com/virtualization/vmware-buys-nicira-validates-software-de/240004227>,
    EMC <https://twitter.com/EMCcorp/status/236840671128997888> and
    throughout the industry."
  * The end of "cloud computing?"
    <http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2012/10/is-cloud-computing-blowing-away.php>
    (ReadWriteWeb/Brian Proffitt) "But even if neither of those terms
    make any headway, given the sour taste that many in the IT industry
    are getting from the predictable overuse of the term cloud, it's not
    a far stretch to imagine the rise of some alternative descriptions.
    'Cloud computing' won't be the first term to journey to the Island
    of Misfit Buzzwords, joining 'fuzzy logic,' 'information
    superhighway' and 'data warehousing.'"

*/Fib fact:/*

22 percent of Americans admit that they're just pretending to understand 
what cloud computing is whenever the topic comes up.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The */OPLIN 4cast/* is a weekly compilation of recent headlines, topics, 
and trends that could impact public libraries. You can subscribe to it 
in a variety of ways, such as:

  * *RSS feed.* You can receive the OPLIN 4cast via RSS feed by
    subscribing to the following URL:
    http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2.
  * *Live Bookmark.* If you're using the Firefox web browser, you can go
    to the 4cast website (http://www.oplin.org/4cast/) and click on the
    orange "radio wave" icon on the right side of the address bar. In
    Internet Explorer 7, click on the same icon to view or subscribe to
    the 4cast RSS feed.
  * *E-mail.* You can have the OPLIN 4cast delivered via e-mail (a'la
    OPLINlist and OPLINtech) by subscribing to the 4cast mailing list at
    http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast.


OPLIN 4Cast
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20121010/420faf91/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: kubrickheader.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 38379 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20121010/420faf91/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: clouds.png
Type: image/png
Size: 30353 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.oplin.org/pipermail/oplin4cast/attachments/20121010/420faf91/attachment-0001.png>