Forget the exaflood -- get ready for the "exacloud"!

Bret Swanson, the man who coined the term "exaflood" (referring to the exabytes of data surging through the Internet's routers), filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission this week about the "exacloud" -- call it online gaming or cloud streaming... "It is cloud computing but of a scope and scale never seen before."

He adds, "This exacloud will transform video games, movies, virtual worlds, business software, and most other media. Piracy goes away. So do DVDs, game boxes, and maybe even expensive personal computers. New content and software subscription models open up. Based in the cloud instead of on your device, interactivity thrives. This new paradigm generates enormous amounts of Internet traffic. High-definition video requires big bandwidth, and real-time applications tolerate very little delay. UC-San Diego estimates that 55% of total American information consumption, or 1,991 exabytes per year, is (brace yourself) video games. If just 10% of these games moved online, they would generate twice the worldwide Internet traffic of 2008. Video is not always the most important content on the Web, but it defines the architecture and capacity of (and often pays for) the networks, data centers, and software that make all the Web's wonders possible."