Cloud computing has become one of the big technology buzz terms over the past year or so. Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are all introducing new services that leverage the "cloud" and most analysts are pointing to cloud computing as the next big thing in technology. Meanwhile, most people - even analysts - have no idea what cloud computing is or how it will really impact technology.

The goal of cloud computing is to use large data centers as the back-end for applications by passing information via the web. While web sites have been leveraging similar services for years to share data, cloud computing takes it a step further and provides more data and more power. The eventual goal is to create a Web OS that you can log into from anywhere and have all of your applications and files available.

Google has made some great headway with Gmail and Google docs, both of which are direct competitors to Microsoft Office products. Similarly, Yahoo has released a widgets system that competes with features offered in both Vista and OSX. While there has been a lot of talk about using cloud tools to bring desktop features to the web, Microsoft has just released a new application that leverages cloud data and web design concepts to the desktop.

When comparing the Zune player to iTunes from a design standpoint, it is easy to see how trends in web design have influenced application development. Four or five years ago, the signature Mac look that iTunes uses was the most influential application design trend. If you look at the Zune, it doesn’t look like a desktop application at all. It’s become not only a hybrid of desktop and web technology, but also a hybrid of design.

Even the underlying code of the new generation of desktop apps (WPF) is almost identical to the SilverLight technology already being leveraged on the web. This has huge ramifications for an interactive agency like Amplify. As the line blurs between web and desktop apps, any opportunity to leverage our web-based skill set puts us at an advantage. We now have new opportunities to pull data from the cloud into our web sites and eventually pull data and functionality from our sites onto your desktop.

  As WPF and SilverLight gain traction in the market, you will see some exciting new developments on the web. Here at Amplify, we’ve already started working with cloud data on recent sites and started building some internal WPF apps for internal use. At the rate things are going, don’t be surprised to see small companies like Amplify creating desktop apps and companies like Microsoft making apps that look more like web sites. If the Zune player takes off, it will be a game changer for cloud development.