Ethan Bauley

"Smooth, as you point out, productivity tools for the desktop are more advanced than those offered on the Internet (in "the cloud"). However, the apps on the web are constantly improving and the online offerings will only get better.I'd also like to point out the value of having multiple people cooperatively working on a document via an online application, such as Google Docs and Microsoft Office Live. You may already have collaboration among people in your marketing, sales and product design departments, but they could potentially benefit by using some of the online tools available now.Of course, this is still a matter of preference and it is up to people like you to make these decisions for the benefit of the entire company." - Ethan Bauley

"This is a great point. Cloud computing offers a tradeoff between processor power (the server farms at Google, Amazon and Microsoft offer processing power well beyond that of a personal desktop) and network bandwidth. Applications that perform heavy I/O, such as Brian M's example of video editing software, for now are better suited for running on a local desktop. However, as available Internet connection speed improves over time, video editing will become more and more appealing to do (and performant enough to be useful) online.As others have posted, however, it is a matter of preference. However, more and more people will be drawn to the cloud as technology advances (you'll still have a choice, though)." - Ethan Bauley

"Interesting point. I think this is a valid argument for security. Gorttman would probably agree, however, that certain information, such as online banking passwords and credit card numbers, can be really sensitive data. These are not only of potential interest to third parties, but can also be very costly to you if they were revealed to others. For these cases, you should not upload it or enter it on any site unless it is encrypted." - Ethan Bauley

"The term 'cloud' has been used in so many different ways, the exact meaning is not completely clear. I would agree with your definition, but I think the topic of this blog actually fits that definition as well. Cloud computing comprises processor resources as well as storage space. The author is using applications that mostly run in the cloud and use such resources.Does that mean he is actually doing "cloud computing?" That is subject to debate, but he is benefitting from applications that are." - Ethan Bauley

"I like your metric of comparing bus speed to Internet connection speed. I would say that network speed will never be as fast as a PC's bus speed. However, I don't think it has to be for cloud computing to make sense. Network speed just has to be fast enough.With the currently-available network bandwidth, applications with heavy I/O (input/output, for our less techie readers), such as your example of video-editing software, make more sense to host on one's local machine. The reason is because of its I/O requirements, not processor speed. Providers of serious cloud computing service, in which you host your own applications in their server farm (Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, for instance), actually offer more processor power than you could find on a typical desktop.Cloud computing is a tradeoff between processor power and I/O speed. However, as available network bandwidth improves, this tradeoff will become less and less significant and more I/O-intensive applications will be possible..." - Ethan Bauley

"Nice write-up about your move to cloud computing and how it has benefitted you. Many of the commentors raise valid concerns about the concept, but I think that we will see these issues resolve themselves as cloud computing matures. I like your banking analogy to compare keeping your data on your desktop to storing it in the cloud. Nonetheless, thisisalloneword, makes a good point and I would advocate backing your data up locally whenever possible. (Unfortunately, with banking, this same strategy – making copies of your money – isn’t legal .) I don’t completely agree with your conclusion that cloud computing can replace your own hardware (PC, Mac, iPhone, etc.). For at least the foreseeable future, there are going to be some applications that just don’t make sense to put in the cloud. You also need some kind of device to actually access the cloud. However, the cloud will be changing many our computer-usage habits. Two of the most important benefits for desktop users, as you point out,..." - Ethan Bauley

"Cloud computing has a ton of untapped potential, so it's good to see IBM helping to push it toward mainstream practice with this initiative.Also, don't dismiss Matsui's future with the Yankees quite yet. They haven't officially decided not to re-sign him. Hopefully he'll stay in NY for a while." - Ethan Bauley

"I have to say that I'm pretty blown away by how much bigger the total $ raised was this year, especially when you exclude the HP contribution... And your note about increasing the # of participants is interesting, too...it seems like the Meetup incentive really drove that metric. Really cool idea for layering more game dynamics on top of the Challenge. Next year we should do something wacky with the DChoose API + the SMC! We'll have to have a brainstorm on that one ;-)" - Ethan Bauley

"Well as someone who holds an MFA in music performance I'd argue that "ability to create art that resonates with people" is the same thing as "nichespertise". That is to say: I am conflating these two things in my mind already ;-) Also agree that there is opportunity for "unproven underdogs" but bootstrapping authority and readership when you have nothing else to build on is extremely difficult; it's rare that people execute. Said yet another way: there are thousands of unproven underdogs (in music/art, for example) that deserve wider attention, start blogging, have great things to say...and don't get any traction. People need an additional reason to tune in besides "this content has merit". Maybe it's because of an insane stunt that they did, or because you want to network with them, or whatever. But in my experience, it's not a perfect meritocracy out there (insofar as "lobbing content out onto the web" is the extent of the strategy)." - Ethan Bauley

"The "blog star" comment and resulting post/conversation was one of my favorite all-time pieces from this community. While I'm busy commenting to week-old posts, I will make one addition/distinction though: All the communities driven by "blog stars" occur because the "star" has an undeniable vertical expertise (or as I am calling it "nichepertise" ;-) This may be obvious but it was unsaid in the previous discussion, as best I can remember. There are sooooooo many more opportunities in niche verticals to develop this kind of power. However I'd argue that the only people who can take advantage of those opps are people who have already demonstrated real-world/"offline" successes in a given niche. The "blog" the most commonly used tool, but the value is in giving the audience access to expertise they can trust. Any thoughts, Cap'n Mercury?" - Ethan Bauley

"I have to admit that I am digging the "familar name to old time readers" distinction. Fred, don't forget all of us who stuck with you in the early days, when you were just a diamond in the rough. (((That is a TRULY "epic lol" since you had already been on it for 3 years when I showed up ;-)))" - Ethan Bauley

"Nice one, Umair. Missing a couple words at the end of the third paragraph that would be helpful. Also, although I love and understand the concept of awesomeness, I think you miss an opp when you say: "You still think you're in the media business. You're not. In the 21st century, everyone's in the same business: the awesomeness business" I think the [rhetorical] opp there is to connect GOOG's "organize the world's information" motto back to when you say "money is information". Anyways, just a little armchair editorializing. All of the "news/journalism/information is free" conversation needs to get connected to the financial markets more. The whole thing is driven by the speed and quality of information (and reputation of sources). If Google were to execute something like this, they would have to bring in people with the domain expertise to drive product. Kind of like what they did with Android or Maps, but not just general use software tools...real vertical applications. Is that in..." - Ethan Bauley