Data Center in a Box

In my mother's programming days, a computer filled whole floors of a building. Now, a comparable computer can fit in my watch. I didn't really think my kids would have the same experience until now. Currently, when a business needs a new data center (i.e. place to put all of their servers for a website, etc.) they have to buy a warehouse and fill it with computers, air conditioners, and guys with beards and pocket protectors. Well, now Sun Microsystems has shrunk the whole thing to fit inside a shipping container! How significant is this? This means when Google or YouTube or even your local ISP needs to expand operations, they don't have to buy any more property. They just need to get a bigger power line from the electrical utilities, and have another container shipped in. And Sun claims the efficiencies from this design mean saving huge amounts on power, as well. So not only are you paying less for land, but for electricity as well!

This could change the industry in big ways. It could also mean that claustrophic admins need no longer apply, since they'll have to wriggle inside a shipping container to swap out bad RAM or power supplies.