Computing outside the box

ABSTRACT

The past decade has seen increasingly ambitious and successful methods for outsourcing computing. Approaches such as utility computing, on-demand computing, grid computing, software as a service, and cloud computing all seek to free computer applications from the limiting confines of a single computer. Software that thus runs "outside the box" can be more powerful (think Google, TeraGrid), dynamic (think Animoto, caBIG), and collaborative (think FaceBook, myExperiment). It can also be cheaper, due to economies of scale in hardware and software. The combination of new functionality and new economics inspires new applications, reduces barriers to entry for application providers, and in general disrupts the computing ecosystem. I discuss the new applications that outside-the-box computing enables, in both business and science; the hardware and software architectures that make these new applications possible; and the nature of the new challenges that outside-the-box computing raises for computer science.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.0 GENERAL

Additional Classification:
  J. Computer Applications
  J.0 GENERAL

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.0 GENERAL

General Terms:
Design, Economics, Human Factors, Legal Aspects, Management, Reliability, Security, Standardization

Keywords:
computing outside the box