Cloud computing

I was having a rant the other day about cloud computing (hi Richard, hi Robbie) being mostly vaporous nonsense, when Richard said it could be useful as a way of putting a technical concept into words that a non-technical business leader could understand, and allow them to see how it relates to their business. So I thought I would compile an industry overview from top technology leaders on "what is cloud computing?".

These are some of the top people in the industry that spend lots of their time talking to customers, so they should be able to articulate this clearly right?

Oracle Larry Ellison > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FacYAI6DY0
(Thinks it's bollocks.)
Microsoft Steve Ballmer > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODE8-D-ABb0&NR=1
(Thinks it's about the way the application is written and delivered, but isn't 100% sure)
Cisco Padmasree Warrior > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkSPi_pybgc
(Inaudible, but thinks it's about abstracting SaaS, so agrees with Steve a bit - but with you buying lots of IT gear underneath to hold it all up in the air)
IBM > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw3QjGgDLvI
(Thinks it's about bees, but actually their explanation just sounds like grid computing to me)
rPath : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdBd14rjcs0
(Thinks it's about pay as you go, and virtualising your applications (what?), a bit like a Hybrid Taxi. Gibberish)
NASDAQ > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghwFvIQlASY (part 1)
(A distribution channel to global/retail audience)
HP > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghwFvIQlASY (Part 2)
(Thinks it's a different approach to delivering capabilities to allow businesses to reduce costs and create new value. Aaagggghhhhhh. Run away!)
Everyone else > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNuQHUiV3Q
(They think it's about having things that are out there, apart from the Google guy who just says it's about not knowing where stuff is. And here is the post referred to by the female CEO who can only say what it isn't http://www.redmonk.com/jgovernor/2008/03/13/15-ways-to-tell-its-not-cloud-computing/)

Personally, I think it's any scenario when you could reasonably represent a particular set of technology, services, data or applications as a little cloud if you were drawing a picture of it, most probably because you don't need to think about the details of what's behind the cloud.
So there.