... The cloud-thing is very similar to the X-windows of old in that they act as 'thin clients', with a few important distinctions: 1) It's widely supported -- most user computers have access to the network in one form or another and also the web. 2) There exists the possibility to do client-side processing via javascript/flash/NaCL as well as accelerated content WebGL/HTML5-video/etc. 3) Bandwidth has improved dramatically since the early days of X as well as the methods of connection It borrows the thin-client aspect of X, but there are other attributes that make the web unique.