
Not quite ready to live in the cloud
Google’s impressive Chromebook Pixel is just the latest in a series of devices which are trying to entice users to compute in a different way. With (almost) ubiquitous connectivity, and an increasing reliance upon web-based services for mail, calendars, document creation and more, might we be reaching a point at which the browser really can...
![[Some of] what you need to know about the cloud for 2013 [Some of] what you need to know about the cloud for 2013](https://149351417.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/342289398_ddfd22d1a5_z-290x290.jpg)
[Some of] what you need to know about the cloud for 2013
Towards the end of last year, David Linthicum and I joined GigaOM’s Adam Lesser on a skype chat to take a look back at cloud successes and failures in 2012, and forward to cloud opportunities in 2013. GigaOM released the conversation as a podcast this morning. Amazon, Rackspace, Google, OpenStack, DropBox, and more get a...

Hewlett Packard: a tale of many clouds
Hewlett Packard used its Discover event in Frankfurt last week to reassert the company’s cloud credentials. Public, private, hybrid; HP is painting pictures that encompass them all, whilst seeking to protect hardware revenues and reassure conservative executives at some of its largest and most profitable customers. But HP has been here before, making bold claims...

My GigaOM week – report published, fireside chat videos, and more
It’s been a pretty GigaOM-focussed week. To begin the week, my GigaOM Pro report on Europe’s Helix Nebula cloud project was published. Then Tuesday and Wednesday were dominated by activities in and around GigaOM’s first conference on this side of the Atlantic; Structure Europe, held in Amsterdam. I moderated two sessions on the main stage...

When did Amazon abandon Main Street for ‘the Skyscrapers of Cloud Hosting’ ?
In the competitive world of cloud-based computing infrastructure, Amazon remains top dog. It’s highly visible, its footprint is almost global, it incrementally adds features or cuts prices to keep competitors on their toes, and it generally manages to meet most people’s needs, most of the time. It may not always offer the lowest prices, or...

CloudBeat is back – and the call for papers is open
Ben Kepes and I had a load of fun last year, helping the team at VentureBeat put on their inaugural cloud computing event, CloudBeat. Clearly we did something right whilst having fun, as they’ve invited us back to reprise our content advising/ programme shaping role again this year. Right at the end of November, we’ll...

The Americans are Coming
This October, two great US events are making their first forays into Europe. O’Reilly‘s big data conference, Strata, reaches London on 1-2 October. Then GigaOM‘s cloud computing event, Structure, hits Amsterdam on 16-17 October. I’ve attended both in the States (see disclaimer), and look forward to seeing how each sets about fusing the best elements...

Crunching the numbers in search of a greener cloud
Although sometimes portrayed as a big computer in the sky, the reality of cloud computing is far more mundane. Clouds run on physical hardware, located in data centres, connected to one another and to their customers via high speed networks. All of that hardware must be powered and cooled, and all of those offices must...

CloudCamp reaches Leeds on 14 June
The global CloudCamp movement continues to grow, with events over the next few weeks in Denmark, Germany, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and across the United States. And now, I’m very pleased to announce that the English city of Leeds is joining the party. CloudCamp events have been taking place in the UK for years, and the...

Of little clouds and big clouds, local clouds and global clouds
Amazon’s globe-encircling cloud infrastructure is compelling to many. From Virginia to California, from Ireland to Singapore, and from Japan to Brazil; wherever you find yourself there’s a local instance of the same familiar set of services. And, in all likelihood, Australia will soon be added to the list. For those primarily interested in just serving both Europe...

Solar power in the data centre – solution or window dressing?
Most of us recognise that the Earth is warming and that — despite our planet’s temperatures having dramatically risen and fallen before — we humans must accept some measure of responsibility for the current changes. Already consuming at least 1.1-1.5% of global power, and only forecast to grow ever-more rapacious, the data centres that power our information...
Data Market Chat: Piyush Lumba discusses Microsoft’s Windows Azure Marketplace
As CEO Steve Ballmer has noted more than once, Microsoft’s future plans see the company going “all in” with the cloud. The company’s cloud play, Azure, offers the capabilities that we might expect from a cloud, and includes infrastructure such as virtual machines and storage as well as the capability to host and run software...