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Google and IBM to Provide Cloud Computing to Students

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the vested-interests dept.

John "butter/oreo" Bajana-Bacall writes to tell us that IBM and Google have decided to team up to provide cloud computing resources to participating college students. "Most of the innovation in cloud computing has been led by corporations, but industry executives and computer scientists say a shortage of skills and talent could limit future growth. 'We in academia and the government labs have not kept up with the times,' said Randal E. Bryant, dean of the computer science school at Carnegie Mellon University. 'Universities really need to get on board.' Six universities will be involved in the initiative. They are Carnegie Mellon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Maryland and the University of Washington."

4 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. What if & modern computing by Dareth · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I often wonder what form modern computing would be in today if the personal computer had not been so wide accepted. Look around you at the walls. Some of the things you see are very ubiquitous. People take electrical outlets and phone jacks for granted. It is just part of the infrastructure we are used to. Now imagine a computer port next to all the rest. All you need is simple input(keyboard,mouse) and simple output(monitor,printer) devices attached to an adapter that plugs into this outlet. That is all you would need to know about computing. Computing power would be offered by a "Computer Utility" company. They would handle all the technical details. You simply pay your bill and the "technical goodness" comes down the line.

    Sure, you certainly pay thru the nose for your time slices of CPU power. But to those of us fortunate to be "Computer Wizards" who live and work at the Computer Utility, life would be grand!

    --

    I only look human.
    My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
  2. i keed, i keed by User+956 · · Score: 4, Funny

    industry executives and computer scientists say a shortage of skills and talent could limit future growth

    That doesn't seem to have stopped Microsoft.

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  3. Re:Cloud computing? by Nite_Hawk · · Score: 4, Informative
    From wikipedia:

    Cloud computing is a term used to describe applications that were developed to be rich internet applications. In the cloud computing paradigm software that is traditionally installed on personal computers is shifted or extended to be accessible via the internet. These "cloud applications" or "cloud apps" utilize massive data centers and powerful servers that host web applications and web services. They can be accessed by anyone with a suitable internet connection and a standard browser. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

  4. That was Thomas Watson Jr's vision. by mosel-saar-ruwer · · Score: 4, Interesting


    Originally the IBM machines were strictly lease-only [little money upfront, big money down the road].

    Then sometime later they moved to the sales model [big money upfront, but little money down the road], and Thomas Watson Jr always felt that that was a disastrous mistake.

    In fact, the entire industry [M$FT, Oracle, IBM, Sun, HPQ, Unisys, Google, pretty much everybody] has been working desperately for the last ten or fifteen years to get away from the sales model, and back into the rental/services model - everyone seems to agree that that's where the big $$$s lie.