It hits me as i dig though the comment pile that what has changed is that while compute power has grown, storage has downright exploded. The power of Google et

It hits me as i dig though the comment pile that what has changed is that while compute power has grown, storage has downright exploded. The power of Google et al is not the compute, it is the storage. The amount of data that Google have on tap and sifts through is downright staggering, and clearly not something that is possible to store locally for home users.