A Canadian company, Intelligence Realm, last week launched a distributed computing project on Linux called "Artificial intelligence - Reverse engineering the brain". The company has invited members of the public to volounteer and donate computer time to help this project develop artificial intelligence (AI).

Cloud computing is a concept. It is an architectural framework by which one or many organizations can deploy, manage and retract any workload, public or private. Cloud computing addresses business needs from a workload perspective.

Over the past few months, the concept of green computing has become all the rage. But the undeniable fact is that often times with this low impact approach to computing, we end up sacrificing actual computing power, which makes this a tough sell for many. Frankly, to me it just feels like a marketing ploy. Could this perception be felt by others as well?

Flash drives running Linux are not a new concept. Simply install the portable distro of choice onto the removable drive, connect to a target computer, set to boot from USB and enjoy. Earlier today, I came across Calao's USB-9260. Taking the ARM-based Linux approach, I found myself thinking about the possibilities of taking Linux computing to a completely different level.

Userful Corporation, the world leader in multiseat Linux desktop virtualization, today announced that 30,000 schools worldwide have chosen Userful virtual desktops to reduce computing costs and improve computer-to-student ratios.

"Cloud Computing risks undoing the gains of the free software movement in ‘owning and controlling our own code‘. Thomas Lord examines the potential for achieving software and user freedom in the world of ‘cloud computing’ (a concept he rejects, preferring ‘utility computing’, see below).

Cloud computing and storage convert physical resources (like processors and storage) into scalable and shareable resources over the Internet (computing and storage "as a service"). Although not a new concept, virtualization makes this much more scalable and efficient through the sharing of physical systems through server virtualization.

Canadian single-board computer (SBC) startup Virtual Cogs has started shipping its first product: a miniature, modular, embeddable, Linux-based computer. The VC21 is comprised of a Freescale i.MX21-powered processor module, along with a dozen stackable, "Cog"-branded daughterboards that add cameras, touchscreens, sound cards, and so on.

In the last two years, the term "cloud computing" has infiltrated the mainstream press (although the concept has existed for years). More and more businesses are embracing this way of thinking about information technology. And if the seminar circuit is any evidence, the legal world has awoken to the myriad challenges of cloud computing.