Get On My Cloud
Russ Daniels is rewriting how we compute — and maybe
even how we live our lives
The way we compute today is substantially the same as it was in the early 1980s. We turn on a machine on our desk, and its capabilities are defined by what's inside the box, or possibly what's on the network. That's all there is to it, even though the computing universe has been revolutionized in the intervening years by the Internet and the growing ubiquity of broadband and high-speed access.
However, Russ Daniels of Hewlett-Packard boldly predicts that "cloud computing" — his current focus — will thoroughly disrupt all we know about computing, allowing users to access technology-enabled services at lower costs. Daniels, vice president and chief technology officer of Cloud Services Strategy for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer giant, says cloud computing is about making computing resources available on demand, as needed. In turn, the limits of the user's machine stop mattering.
"Rather than thinking about technology as discrete systems, devices, components, and applications," Daniels explains, "we're shifting to a place where more computing services just integrate into our lives. That's the cloud, and it's where everything happens as a service."
Daniels cites motion picture production to illustrate his point. Movies like Dreamworks' Shrek and its animated brethren consume huge amounts of computing power in the filmmaking process. What happens when the studio needs more computing capacity and there's still fine-tuning to do on movie frames? It turns to HP. "We make available capabilities that let them render more animation frames and produce a better movie," Daniels notes.
If you're guessing that the man who's helping to trigger a computing revolution is a nonconformist, you're right. After Daniels graduated from high school in 1971, it was another 10 years before he earned a diploma from Ohio University. In the meantime he worked in a furniture warehouse and on an Ohio River tugboat. Most important, he served a stint in the U.S. Air Force, where he received training in basic electronics. "That was my introduction to computer technology," he recalls.
Daniels followed up with computer science courses in college, not because he thought they would lead to a career but because he enjoyed them. But in 1981, much to his surprise, he managed to land a job in the industry, with the then tiny Apple Computer. "I never thought they'd hire me," says Daniels, who decided to apply because he knew a lot about Pascal, a popular computer programming language in that era. "I just wanted to understand what they were looking for so that maybe someday I could fit in."
He ended up lasting 15 years with Apple, during which time the Macintosh and the IBM PC leapt into Americans' lives. "We thought the personal computer would change the world, and I think it did," Daniels says.
Now, with HP, he's helping to change the world again through cloud computing. "Cloud lets us use technology to solve problems that would have been too expensive or complex to solve with traditional computing," Daniels points out. "With the cloud, we can deliver services at lower cost and with high simplicity of use."
What's more, the cloud is providing poor users in developing countries, such as India and China, access to greater computing power, at affordable costs. "Technology is allowing us to do so much today," Daniels says. "It's astounding. Computing is about letting us connect, interact, and innovate in ways that just weren't available for most of human history. And now we can do it!"
— Robert McGarvey
Opportunity Knocks
Tony Award —winning director Des McAnuff revives a musical theater classic
Like any proud director, Des McAnuff would like to hear his name announced as a winner at the Tony Awards, Broadway's annual celebration of theatrical superlatives. He recalls the angst he endured at the 1985 ceremony, when he won a Tony for directing Big River, a musical adaptation of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. "If they hadn't called my name, I probably would have jumped out of my seat and run up to the stage anyway," he recalls. "I remember having the worst back pain, being in that seat and waiting."
Then again, McAnuff didn't feel terribly jilted when his name wasn't called in 2006, the year Jersey Boys earned a best director nomination. "Losing can be fun too," he says. "You can stay relaxed and just enjoy the Tonys." He had a hunch the award would go to John Doyle, who won for his innovative staging of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. (McAnuff can still relish a sort of victory, however, since Jersey Boys is still playing to full houses on Broadway, as well as in Las Vegas, London, and other locations, while Sweeney Todd ended its Broadway run months ago.)
Now, McAnuff is enjoying the audience reaction to his latest show, a new production of Guys and Dolls, which opened on Broadway in March. Based on the writings of Damon Runyon, the musical tells the story of gamblers Sky Masterson (played by Craig Bierko) and Nathan Detroit (Oliver Platt). Sky falls for a missionary who seeks to save gamblers' souls. Meanwhile, Nathan has been postponing marriage to his showgirl fiancée, Adelaide, for years.
Guys and Dolls has seen numerous lengthy runs on Broadway, including a 1992 revival starring Nathan Lane that lasted 1,143 shows. So why do another production now? "It's the Hamlet of musical theater," McAnuff asserts. "It resonates with people. It's about love and two couples. About pursuing and being pursued. Everybody has been there."
McAnuff, who won a second Tony for best director in 1993 for The Who's Tommy (which he co-wrote with Pete Townshend), isn't known for revival shows. He first gained notice in the alternative theater scene in his native Toronto, and then, later, in Manhattan. And in those days he wasn't particularly interested in classic musical theater. But Guys and Dolls was different. "When I first saw it, something in it struck me," McAnuff says. "This is quintessential musical theater. I knew that if I ever had the chance to direct it, I would."
McAnuff is now artistic director for the celebrated Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. Looking ahead to the Tony Awards on June 7, McAnuff won't predict his chances of winning, but he does provide an answer to this question: Which of his currently running plays should a Manhattan visitor see if they only have one night for Broadway? "That's simple," he laughs. "See one act each of Jersey Boys and Guys and Dolls. I'm very proud of both of them."
For more info on Guys and Dolls, visit guysanddollsbroadway.com; for the Tony Awards, check out tonyawards.com.
— Robert McGarvey
Continental is the official airline of the Tony Awards
Photographs: Timothy Archibald (Daniels); Andrew Kist (McAnuff)
