"designing and printing color brochures online on HP's website" sounds like cloud computing to me. Sound like Software as a Service (SaaS) in the cloud. Is HP blatantly plugging and steering talk of the cloud toward their specific products and services? Yes. But is it cloud computing? Yes, it is. What do you expect a company to do?

Provide a context that has nothing to do with them? I actually think it is refreshing to hear a segment on the SaaS and Platform as a Service (PaaS) aspect of cloud computing being talked about instead of just the plumbing/infrastructure. The problem with tools like HP's online SaaS is that is not open. SaaS and PaaS vendors need to be open or else the cloud is a major step backwards. What good is all the horsepower, if you can't use the best tools to create the water for the clouds - the applications? Newer "Open Platform as Service" (OPaaS) companies, such as ModBox are addressing these needs, but the tools and applications created with them need to be talked about more when we talk about the cloud because ultimately, it is the tools and applications that will make or break any platform, hardware or infrastructure. To the same, I think HP is smart to take a wait and see approach on the cloud and focus on end user services for the cloud until the jury is out on exactly where cloud computing is going. No wonder they have been around for decades.

Maybe SG should re-read your "comments policy"

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