Not at all. Where are your apps? Where is your data? Not on the local machine, but stored remotely. It doesn’t matter if the storage is on one mainframe or distributed across thousands of servers, you still can’t do anything without a connection (and I defy anyone to assert that the internet will be any more reliable than an in-house network. And I’m not talking about data retention, I’m talking about connectivity and throughput).
There is no fundamental difference in the workstation-server model and the frontend-cloud model. The mechanics will be different, but the results are the same. The reality is that there is no reason, beyond data portability, for the cloud model (as the expense factor that spawned the workstation is no longer present... modern desktops can do just about anything you want them to do). And data portability doesn’t require a Chromebook... just a dropBox or VCS.
Only the software companies drool over the “cloud” (because it is in their benefit). And I’d like to see you open your cloud-based business in Iowa...
(In other words, you pretty much ignored every point I made in my post...)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2042801/microsoft-investing-over-670-million-in-iowa-data-center.html
...Microsoft is investing $678 million in the expansion of its data center in West Des Moines, Iowa, to bolster online offerings such as Xbox Live and Office 365.
The plan, dubbed Project Mountain, was awarded tax benefits and is expected to create 29 new jobs, the board of the Iowa Economic Development Authority said in a statement on Friday. The data center will be used to support Microsoft’s cloud services...