Wired magazine has been forecasting the rise of cloud computing wherein our growing need for increasingly larger data storage (as multimedia options and virtual social networks become more sophisticated) will lead to “the petabyte age.” Information will be so dense and ubiquitous that it will drift away from our individual computers and towards massive data servers (the so-called cloud).If the computer is going to a cloud then it follows that desktop printing should follow it up there. Technology giant Hewlett Packard certainly thinks so. The company is taking advantage of the spread of cell phones and the internet to liberate printing from the single home or office. Now, users will be able to upload or “print” a document file through the internet. A code will then be sent to a user’s cell phone. The user can then go to any location with access to an HP printer (a directory on Google Maps will help anyone find the nearest location) and get the hard copies there.
Contributed by Jason Tan
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OK, but what’s the business model? I pay Kinko’s-equivalent prices to some guy to come to his home & collect my 24-page color document?
Using the “Find Printer” link, there were none in Manhattan and I only found 2 in Palo Alto–one of which was restricted to HP Employee access.
Where I see this making most sense is for the Kinko’s of the world: Instead of having to call for the e-mail address to print a file at the local shop, I can send a doc (via the printer driver) over the IP network.
Or am I missing something here?
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:59 am