Links for 07-13-2010

• The 'false cloud' is false | Apps Meet Ops - CNET News - "If cloud computing is going to mean something practical, important, and central to enterprise IT over the next few years, cloud must be broad enough to include privately-owned and operated infrastructure. Cloud's benefits must be accessible to enterprise apps. That will often mean implementing the benefits with heavier performance, availability, and other guarantees than available in today's version 1.x cloud environments."
• Hacker News | Pandas and Lobsters: Why Google Cannot Build Social Applications - Interesting article and comments about the difference between what Google does and what good social does--even if it is overloaded with various mixed metaphors. I think it's also hard to dispute that Google doesn't even use social to augment search especially (except to the degree that Page Rank has an inherent social element). The comments on HN are as interesting as the original article.
• Amazon Web Services: The De Facto Cloud API? « SmoothSpan Blog - However, a number of folks out there are arguing something a bit different--more along the lines that the de facto standard begins and ends with AWS.
• Google - the Moscow-Vladivostok: a virtual journey on Google Maps