Number 45 Cloud Computing

The Internet has already become “one machine” and our devices are windows into it.
Kevin Kelly

Cloud computing, the logical next step in computing. It would be great to have access to my information that is now stored on my home computer, from any computer, any where, any time... I am not worried about security, we have the ability to make these sites secure. And I do believe they will be safe and secure, that will be their drawing point to get us to use them.
I have heard about Mozy backup from their ads on television, I didn't realize there were so many out there. I liked the idea of SOS Online Backup security "SOS Online Backup, for example, encrypts your data locally, using SSL2 to encrypt during transfer, and then encrypts it again on the server—it can even scatter your data among several servers."
Imagine how great it would be to offer a keyboard and monitor at every desk at the library. With no data being stored on the computer itself, other than the operating system, this will be very inexpensive and a great tool for everyone coming into the library to do research or just to work on a project, check email, whatever they want to do. Everything would be stored in the cloud.
This would also make computers very affordable for everyone. It would still require a connection but there are lots of free wi-fi services all around town.
I use Flickr to store my photos as it frees up my computer, I can access them from anywhere and I know they won't get lost or erased by accident. Even if my computer crashes, they will always be on Flickr when I want to look at them. That is the cloud..
I use Google Docs and I think I will use it even more now, for example, for recipes that I want to keep. Now I am using Microsoft Word and storing the recipes in a folder on my computer.. goodbye folder. Although I can access this folder without having to connect to the internet,it is so fast and easy to get online to iGoogle (my homepage) which takes me to Google Docs. That is the cloud.
Ok, where did all these Web OS come from and why didn't I know about them. I feel like I am back in the '90's again. How do you choose one, does anyone out there have a favorite? Why is it your favorite.. do you think that this is the rush and that after a year or two the OS will be weeded out where only the 'best' will survive? I see that some on the list have already fallen. I think I may choose one and try it out for a while. But which one.. I guess I will look for one that has many options?
I tried Glide as it was for Mozilla Firefox, but it crashed on me, so that one is out. I signed up for StartForce but I am still looking for some kind of help on that one. eyeOS had you sign up before you could see what it was about, didn't like that.
I guess I will play with startforce and give it a while to get used to me. I did upload some of my files and I will check it from another location to see if it works. As I am using Firefox at home and Explorer at work, will it work? Does your OS system matter as long as you can connect? Many things to learn on this one.