One of the interesting aspects of cloud computing is the facilitation of rich internet applications .Cloud computing has made it possible for powerful applications that are web- deliverable applications like Photoshop express, Google Docs, and Xcerion to graduate from the conventional notion of an online library to an a mature computing platform that makes the online experience with the applications no different from the desktop clients of these powerful [1]. It is because of cloud computing that individuals and companies no longer have to keep track of installation DVDs and license serial numbers in case commercial software becomes unstable. The experience with web-based productivity applications has over time become so seamless the online platform can arguably substitute the desktop environment. This comes as good news for business professionals as well as IT experts who are constantly on the move. Cloud computing has made it possible for any sophisticated IT expert to travel light without a laptop or a cache of application DVDs because a person can check into an internet café with the minimum requirement being any web browser for business as usual. These web –based applications, as mentioned before, feature the complexity and functionality that is found in their desktop counterparts and never need a local install [2]. This mobility that comes with web-based applications is an interesting aspect of cloud computing. To give an example, the SkyDrive® by Microsoft or Google Drive® by Google allow users to create and modify sophisticated documents and spreadsheets as well as database files online without the hassle of locally installing an office software. The good thing about web-based applications is the interoperability as the programming languages for these applications make them as interoperable as possible with the only requirement being a web browser and other miscellaneous hardware requirements. The Rich Internet Applications have made it possible to view videos and listen to high quality music online. An example is the sophisticated online video player used by the You Tube website. Online Entertainment and media are also areas where cloud computing has played a critical role [3].The fact that videos and music can be listened to online rather than downloading them first the listening on a locally installed media player is an important capability of cloud computing. These are all made possible through contents streaming whereby large media files are transferred over the internet such that the voice or video plays continuously as it is being downloaded.
No comments:
Post a Comment