The end of the PC as we know it?

[Barakka]

they can rebrand hard drives as "cloud cache devices"!

Add 20% to the price if it (nee anything) has the "Cloud Compatible" logo

[Unique]

I think that what we're seeing is a splintering of the PC.
I'm seeing a lot of laptops where there used to be desktops, and a lot of tablets/phones where there used to be laptops. None of these are going away, just more ways of doing things. I think that a desktop home PC hub may well morph into a media centre / home server that runs most of the home, whilst all the casual stuff is done on tablets.

yeah, basically you have a home server and that stores your data and can do processing, and other devices can connect to it, such as your tv and hifi and stream music/movies/tv shows or access the internet (or a few things at once), and likewise your laptop, netbook, tablet, phone can do the same when you are either at home or elsewhere, and you can use another desktop/laptop/whatever to log in from another location such as at work or on holiday and do the same

with the idea being that your home server has a lot of processing power and just "pushes" the data to the other devices that don't need to be very powerful, and thus can be light and have long battery length, or you can use a thin client at work

[iranu]

yeah, basically you have a home server and that stores your data and can do processing, and other devices can connect to it, such as your tv and hifi and stream music/movies/tv shows or access the internet (or a few things at once), and likewise your laptop, netbook, tablet, phone can do the same when you are either at home or elsewhere, and you can use another desktop/laptop/whatever to log in from another location such as at work or on holiday and do the same

with the idea being that your home server has a lot of processing power and just "pushes" the data to the other devices that don't need to be very powerful, and thus can be light and have long battery length, or you can use a thin client at work

That's called a VPN. A good few years ago (approx 6-7) I texted a mate of mine cos his PC was on standby so his VPN was off and I wanted some data. He was in Singapore at the time and his PC was in Wokingham. 5 mins later I got a text saying he'd turned his PC on and the VPN was now up. I do the same thing now - I can access all my data no matter where I am as long as I have a connection - friends and family also have access to certain files too. I've been using "the cloud" for 14 years - it's called hotmail (and any other site like flickr etc)

All this cloud stuff is nonsense, a marketing buzz-word, it's just a way for companies to sell the uneducated more rubbish, lock them into those products and then charge them for using them. Let alone the security problems of having your private data stored by a company that has servers in countries that might not protect your privacy. With PCs so cheap and powerful and storage for data costing peanuts I can't see why anyone would want to keep their data on the cloud. You've got to back it up anyway so what's the point?

[Ferral]

Give me a PC with Windows 7 and I can do anything I want. Not forgetting if you want gaming Windows PC will always be the leader with all the cutting edge stuff.

[Unique]

That's called a VPN. A good few years ago (approx 6-7) I texted a mate of mine cos his PC was on standby so his VPN was off and I wanted some data. He was in Singapore at the time and his PC was in Wokingham. 5 mins later I got a text saying he'd turned his PC on and the VPN was now up. I do the same thing now - I can access all my data no matter where I am as long as I have a connection - friends and family also have access to certain files too. I've been using "the cloud" for 14 years - it's called hotmail (and any other site like flickr etc)

All this cloud stuff is nonsense, a marketing buzz-word, it's just a way for companies to sell the uneducated more rubbish, lock them into those products and then charge them for using them. Let alone the security problems of having your private data stored by a company that has servers in countries that might not protect your privacy. With PCs so cheap and powerful and storage for data costing peanuts I can't see why anyone would want to keep their data on the cloud. You've got to back it up anyway so what's the point?

the security thing is one thing, but like a recent case, what happens if they lose your data? you have no backup if you are on the cloud only

[Lucio]

All this cloud stuff is nonsense, a marketing buzz-word, it's just a way for companies to sell the uneducated more rubbish, lock them into those products and then charge them for using them. Let alone the security problems of having your private data stored by a company that has servers in countries that might not protect your privacy. With PCs so cheap and powerful and storage for data costing peanuts I can't see why anyone would want to keep their data on the cloud. You've got to back it up anyway so what's the point?

Just stop and think for a moment, all the time and cost that's actually involved, a couple of hundred pounds for a basic PC, hour or two to configure the OS (and thats if you know what you're doing, longer if you're learning), then you have to either sort out a static IP or a way to let yourself and other users know what it is. Then after all that, you have to sort out your backup routine on a regular basis and deal with any maintainence and security.

Or

you could spend a few mintues signing up for an online account and a day or so to upload your data

[[GSV]Trig]

Apple invented everything, they just havent told us yet..

[kalniel]

http://xkcd.com/908/

[Funkstar]

[There's planned down time ever night when we turn on the Roomba and it runs over the cord.]