Cloud is not just a natural form of smoke. It is also the most hyped term in the IT industry right now. Everyone is talking about cloud and vendors all cloudify their products and service offerings. In the area of operating systems this is also happening and a cloud OS is simply a simplified operating system that runs just a web browser (at least that is one definition of it), providing access to a variety of web-based applications that allow the user to perform many simple tasks without booting a full-scale operating system. Because of its simplicity a cloud OS can boot in just a few seconds. The operating system is designed for Netbooks, Mobile Internet Devices, and PCs that are mainly used to browse the Internet. From a cloud OS the user can quickly boot into the main OS, because it is possible to continue booting the main OS in the background while using a cloud OS (at least this is the goal).

Combining a browser with a basic operating system also allows the use of cloud computing, in which applications and data “live and run” on the Internet instead of on the hard drive. This is also referred to as platform as a service (PaaS) and Software as a service (SaaS). A cloud OS can be installed and used together with other operating systems, or can act as a standalone operating system. When used as a standalone operating system, hardware requirements can be very low.

This amazing technology allows a user to access their own virtual desktop from anywhere around the world, without even using having network access to a remote PC. In addition, you are essentially using the Internet to work as a desktop. Wikipedia specifically states that: “Cloud Computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid. In this post, I will provide some great examples of Cloud Computing, Web Operating Systems for you all to try moving work to the cloud. Enjoy!