by 
The age of desktop-based software may be quickly disappearing, according to a Future of the Internet survey conducted by the Pew Research Center that asked questions of technology experts and stakeholders around the world. Instead, they believe that people will “access information through the use of remote server networks,” i.e., “cloud computing.”
Popular cloud services people already use include Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube, Flickr, Google Docs and Ebay. Facebook, a cloud social networking site, has over 500 million users.
The vast majority of respondents – 71 percent – agreed that by 2010, most people will not use software on a general-purpose PC to do their work. They foresee application developers developing for smartphone vendors and other companies that provide Internet-based applications, rather than PC operating systems.
However, computers are not likely to disappear as the cloud takes over. Instead, experts foresee a hybrid of cloud-based and personal computer-based computing functions.
Yet cloud computing must overcome some hurdles before it reaches its potential ascendancy, according to the experts. “The availability of the broadband spectrum, the ability of diverse systems to work together, security, privacy and quality of service” were all issues the experts cited. Additionally, they believed vesting the majority of data in a few large companies that constitute most of “the cloud” would limit the openness, innovation and creativity the Internet has traditionally inspired.
Some survey respondents observed that unless the issues in question become resolved, large companies would still be less likely to place their faith and large volumes of information in “the cloud.”
[...] Original article news by the second [...]
[...] is the finding of a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The organization asked IT pros and other stakeholders around the world [...]