According to a recently published article in BetaNews.com, “For the first time from AWS (Amazon) in a generally available instance, developers and users will have access to virtual machines with GPUs. It’s like putting a PC in the cloud. More properly it is like putting your PC in the cloud.”
Question. Is this a game changer and will people be willing to adopt and adapt to this kind of computing?
With the so-called demise of the PC, I wonder if a virtual PC in the cloud is really the answer to anything. What pain point does it address? What problem does it solve?
The author points to the advantages of desktop computing — large screens and full-size keyboards. But to me, it’s rather amazing that many if not most people are willing to forego that for the portability and quickness of mobile devices.
For now, I think that virtual desktops in the cloud are more interesting than they are practical. Given a price point for GPUs (Graphical Processing Units), I’m willing to bet that Chromebooks and lower-end tablets will beat GPU sales in the near term. Developers and some large enterprises will see the advantage, but I just don’t see it punching a hole in the consumer and small business market.
Overall, it’s all about apps, and where developers are willing to go to support this type of computing. And in this day and age, you also have to worry about security and federal agencies looking into your stuff. Will this be one of those instances?
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Here is the entire BetaNews article: Amazon’s new graphical cloud helps make desktops obsolete