In the beginning computers were human. Then they took the
shape of metal boxes, filling entire rooms before becoming ever smaller and more
widespread. Now they are evaporating altogether and becoming accessible from
anywhere. That is about as brief a history of computers as
anyone can make it. The point is that they are much more than devices in a box
or in a data center. Computing has constantly changed shape and location --
mainly as a result of new technology, but often also because of shifts in
demand. The first" computers" were indeed people. The word
originally meant an individual who solved equations, often using a mechanical
calculator. Hundreds of them were employed by big companies that needed to do a
lot of number-crunching, such as airplane manufacturers. It was only around 1945
that the word came to describe machinery. But even after that,,
computing kept undergoing changes -- or, in the jargon, platform shifts. The
mainframe, the original computing platform, was replaced by minicomputers, which
in turn gave way to personal computers, which are now being pushed aside by
hand-held devices and smart-phones. With each step the architecture --- the
underlying structure of computing -- became more distributed.
Now, this special report will argue, computing is taking on yet another
new shape. It is becoming more centralized again as some of the activity moves
into data centers. But more importantly, it is turning into what has come to be
called a "cloud", or collections of clouds. Computing power will become more and
more disembodied and will be consumed where and when it is needed.
The rise of the cloud is more than just another platform shift that gets
geeks excited. It will undoubtedly transform the information technology (IT)
industry, but it will also profoundly change the way people work and companies
operate. It will allow digital technology to penetrate every corner of the
economy and of society, creating some tricky political problems along the
way. What does the word "computers" originally mean according to the passage