[PatrickTulskie]

No one actually knows what it is. A few weeks ago, my sister asked me "What's the cloud?" and I had to explain it to her. She still doesn't understand it.

Microsoft and IT marketing fools in general are just throwing around a buzz word, except that this one is confusing to people due to its incorrect and frequent usage.

[Groxx]

They do tend to have a vague understanding that it involves the internet, though. Which is all it really implies, with an emphasis on off-site storage and/or computation when spoken by a geek.

This is a brand-new term, relatively speaking. Ask people what a browser is, something they've had for years and use for hours every day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MwTvtyrUQ