Studioclassroom_20090314

20090314_空英節目講解

Life in the clouds

Cloud computing is not an entirely new idea. Early computers were big and expensive, so it wasn't practical to deploy full system to every user. Businesses used "dump terminals" - simple workstation that had no computing power of their own. These terminals communicated with room-sized "mainframe" computers that did the heavy lifting.

Modern computers are smaller and cheaper, and even the lowest-priced laptops are much more powerful than old mainframe computers. So with computing power so readily available, why the shift toward cloud computing?

Cloud computing supporters point to the convenience factor. Users don't need to install or manage software; it's all handled automatically. And data and applications are available on any computer connected to the Internet.

Critics of cloud computing argue that is is a bad idea to lose total control of information. They argue that if companies like Google were to suddently disappear, users could lose all of their valuable data.

These days, however, people seem comfortable with experts handling important matters, They keep money in banks, after all. Is data on the Internet so different?

Still, if you do "work in the clouds," you might want to keep a backup copy, just in case.


deploy v. -> 配置/部署
eg: The military is going to deploy more soldiers to the troubled region.
eg: The computer engineer deployed a monitoring software system to prevent hackers.
eg: The goverment deployed troops near the border.

workstation n.工作站
eg: My workstation is such a mess. I even spilled coffee on the keyboard!

readily adv. -> quickly and easily 容易地/不遲疑地 ( ready adj )
eg: Sam is such a nice guy. He always readily agree to help me when I need it.
eg: These problem can be readily dealt with if we put our heads together.

readily available 很容易取得的
eg: The decaffeinated coffee is readily available in the most coffee shop in the States.

backup adj. 備用的
eg: The police department keeps backup copies of their records in a seperate building
eg: We make a bakup disk for this important file.
eg: Henry is our backup quarterback(四分衛).

backup n. 備份
eg: Do you have any backup if the data is destroyed?
pros and cons 優點和缺點


//=== Grammer on the go ===//

So with computing power so readily available, why the shift toward cloud computing?
= So with computing power so readily available, why is there a shift toward cloud computing?

"is there" is taken out to condense the sentence?
The shorten way of asking question is often found in informal and old conversation situation.


eg: You've never liked sports, so why this sudden interest in the upcoming ball game?
= You've never liked sports, so why is there a sudden interest in the upcoming ball game?

eg: She's always been so clam about everything, so why this sudden outburst of complains?
= She's always been so clam about everythin, so why is there a sudden outburst of complains?

//=== Chat room ===//

practical -> doing something or thinking something that is useful 實際的/可實行的
practice -> to do some sort of action 實行/實際

putting something into practice

practical
impractical --> not useful