Although the Kindle has been getting all the buzz, an argument can be made that cloud computing is a much bigger initiative for Amazon. What is “cloud computing” and why should you care? This excellent Wired article by Spencer Reiss tells you everything you need to know.
The bottom line: More and more applications and data will live in “the cloud” and Amazon is well-positioned to be a major player.
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I’m not as optimistic as Joe or Wired is about Amazon’s openness.
Yes, I’m aware that Wired writes: “Bezos likes to say that Amazon is a software company at heart. That has a corollary: The more open it is, the more powerful it is. Consumers continue to get the world’s best retail experience. Long-tail retailers get the world’s best back office, plus shelf space in the mother of all malls. Developers get a cheap, instant, essentially limitless computing cloud…”
OK, but what about the Kindle’s proprietary DRMed format, or Amazon’s POD power grub? Feel free to disagree with me. I just happen to sense a big gap between Jeff’s rhetoric and actions. Furthermore, on software matters in general, while Amazon is impressive, I’d still place my bets on Google (disclosure: I actually have—I own a very small speck of it as a retirement investment).
Anyway, it’s great to get the other side from Joe, and, yes, Amazon is doing exciting things—which, if the company were truly more open, I’d find more exciting.
One positive: The market Amazon has opened up for smaller sellers. But remember, things are happening on Amazon’s terms, which can change. The Toys R Us fight raises issues about the trustworthiness of Amazon as a long-term partner. I hope Jeff Bezos can address them, and within our own little niche of e-books, full adherence to IDPF standards and a backoff from DRM (as happened in music) would be a great show of good faith.
Thanks,
David
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