Betcha Ya Din Noe 1 - Cloud Computing???

Apparently Google and now $^@#! Microsoft's moving apps and data online is called Cloud Computing, likely rendering the OS a thing of the past soon. Note this includes web services :D. And here I thought it was only called "SaaS" (Software as a Service).

Updated!!!
Jon Ottsik mentioned in his article "Nebulous Cloud Computing" that Cloud Computing can also be termed as

1) Cloud processing.

To me, this is the foundational notion of cloud computing where businesses can rent MIPS (millions of instructions per second)-- a measure of computing capacity-- for computationally intense processing tasks. This is very attractive for basic research and should appeal to universities and small companies that can't afford supercomputers. Nevertheless, this will remain a niche market. On another note, didn't we call this grid computing a few years ago?
2) Cloud infrastructure.

Remember Exodus and Storage Networks? Cloud infrastructure is a more modern version of these Internet boom icons. AboveNet, Rackspace, and Savvis have been making money on basic hosting services for years, but most large companies still want control of their IT assets and are willing to over-provision to maintain control. Cloud infrastructure also brings up tons of privacy concerns, just ask computing godfather Richard Stallman. This area will also remain small.
3) Internal clouds.

The idea here is to set up an IT service and then chargeback for usage. While the cloud folks equate this to a utility services (i.e. simply plug and receive compute and storage capacity) this too is nothing new. Remember IBM's "autonomous computing" initiative? We are still a long way away from this type of simplicity.
4) Software as a service.

Everyone points to Salesforce.com as a model of success and it truly is. Beyond CRM, there are also plenty of successful SaaS offerings for e-mail, security, payroll, etc. Ten years ago, we called these folks ASPs and MSPs. Some, like Salesforce.com, were wildly successful, but most, like Jamcracker, are either ancient history or barely hanging on. This will be where the action is. Why dedicate capital budget dollars toward on-site e-mail security appliances when Google, Symantec, and Trend Micro can provide this as an operational service?

Read
CNET's article on "10 cloud apps that slam-dunk their desktop counterparts"
Definitive Guide to Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing Programming API Tutorial

Microsoft going to play on Cloud Computing without building a phone ??

Microsoft My Play Beta Site