History of cloud computing

The concept of the cloud computing as a platform for distributed computing traces its roots back to 1993. At that time, Apple spin-off General Magic and AT&T utilized the term in the context of their Telescript and Personal Link technologies.^[1]

In an April 1994 feature by Wired, titled "Bill and Andy's Excellent Adventure II", Andy Hertzfeld elaborated on Telescript, General Magic's distributed programming language. He described the expansive potential of the cloud:

The beauty of Telescript ... is that now, instead of just having a device to program, we now have the entire Cloud out there, where a single program can go and travel to many different sources of information and create a sort of a virtual service. No one had conceived that before. The example Jim White [the designer of Telescript, X.400 and ASN.1] uses now is a date-arranging service where a software agent goes to the flower store and orders flowers and then goes to the ticket shop and gets the tickets for the show, and everything is communicated to both parties.^[2]

^ AT&T (1993). "What Is The Cloud?". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2017-10-26. You can think of our electronic meeting place as the Cloud. PersonaLink was built from the ground up to give handheld communicators and other devices easy access to a variety of services. [...] Telescript is the revolutionary software technology that makes intelligent assistance possible. Invented by General Magic, AT&T is the first company to harness Telescript, and bring its benefits to people everywhere. [...] Very shortly, anyone with a computer, a personal communicator, or television will be able to use intelligent assistance in the Cloud. And our new meeting place is open, so that anyone, whether individual, entrepreneur, or a multinational company, will be able to offer information, goods, and services.
^ Steven Levy (April 1994). "Bill and Andy's Excellent Adventure II" Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. Wired.

[1] AT&T (1993). "What Is The Cloud?". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2017-10-26. You can think of our electronic meeting place as the Cloud. PersonaLink was built from the ground up to give handheld communicators and other devices easy access to a variety of services. [...] Telescript is the revolutionary software technology that makes intelligent assistance possible. Invented by General Magic, AT&T is the first company to harness Telescript, and bring its benefits to people everywhere. [...] Very shortly, anyone with a computer, a personal communicator, or television will be able to use intelligent assistance in the Cloud. And our new meeting place is open, so that anyone, whether individual, entrepreneur, or a multinational company, will be able to offer information, goods, and services.

[2] Steven Levy (April 1994). "Bill and Andy's Excellent Adventure II" Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine. Wired.

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