It wasn't that long ago when applications that ran in the web browser were simply called "web applications" and that "cloud" thing techies were talking about was strictly about renting utility - processing power, storage, content delivery and so on - on the cheap.


I wonder how long it will take for all those marketing types to catch on that people are becoming increasingly aware of vendor lock-in and how that figures into their software choices.

In that aspect, the ever geeky Google is on the forefront; their "Data Liberation Front", despite being low-key and decidedly on the goofy side, is a clear attempt to convince people who Google's cloud is *not* an attempt on locking their data in.