Imagine computing where the hardware can be tailored to the software, if need be (see video editing.) Imagine each application not interacting with anything else, save through a well defined network API.

Imagine, most of all, being able to use the computer at home, the computer at work, the ones in an internet cafe, etc etc., slide your computing key in, and pick up where you left off before you got on that plane, and that the contents of that key are roughly as secure as your wallet for the whole time you’re not working on them.

I think less and less high value data will be accessible over the public net, unless security improves drastically, and what I’ve suggested above is what I think will evolve in such an environment.

-Jim

It’s true that some form of “data cloud” has been around for awhile. I think the distinction is whether the move from computer to computer is seamless.

The goal is to eliminate setup time on the new machine – you don’t even have to tell the machine to download. You just login and you’re immediately in the virtual machine that follows you from device to device.

Your desktop looks the same, your files are arrange the same, etc.

What if every one of your files, from skimpy documents to gigabyte-hogging music collections, were accessible from any Internet connection.

Wow, what a concept! Oh, wait. I’ve been able to do that ever since I got a broadband internet connection. I use SSH, but any type of VPN should let you access all of your files with at least decent security, and the best part is, all of your data remains at home (or work) on your own machine, not some distant corporation’s servers.

Snarkiness aside, I can’t see why I would ever trust someone else to handle my data when it’s easy enough to do myself. There are certainly aspects of it that should be easier to setup and manage than is currently the case, but fixing those problems seems better than the alternatives.