Key Idea: Computing moved from machines people owned to machines in buildings they will never visit. Possession of the device no longer implies control of the capability — which is the point almost every question in this topic turns on.
Paper 1
- Part a: identify types of computer or its components
- Part b: explain why where processing happens matters
- Part c: evaluate the shift to computing in data centres
Paper 2
- Q2: explain a source's claim about dependence on a provider
- Q3: compare sources on ownership and control
- Q4: synthesise sources on cloud services
Everywhere else
- Networks: the same concentration appears at the service layer
- Environment: manufacturing dominates a device's footprint
- Power: the terms are set by a party the user did not choose
Four functions, and where each one now happens
| Function | Where it used to be | Where it often is now |
|---|---|---|
| Input | The device | The device |
| Processing | The device | A server the user did not choose |
| Storage | The device | A data centre under another country's law |
| Output | The device | The device |
Input and output stay where the person is, so the experience is unchanged. Processing and storage moved, so the capability, the record and the applicable law moved with them — invisibly, because nothing in using the service reveals it.
What cheap computing changed
One mechanism, several consequences
- Recording everything became rational, because storage costs almost nothing and a dataset gains value when combined.
- Capability stopped depending on what you could buy, so a cheap device reaches services an institution could not have bought.
- Failures became shared, because organisations that appear independent rent from the same few providers.
- Embedded computers became invisible, so people form opinions about the device in their hand while the decisions sit elsewhere.
Important: When a question asks about a digital capability, ask where the processing happens. The answer decides who holds the data, who sets the terms and whose law applies.
Exam-style questions
Suggest two consequences for a school of moving its systems to a cloud provider.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Examine the consequences of a small number of companies providing most of the world's computing capacity.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Quick check
What moved and what stayed? Processing and storage moved to data centres; input and output stayed with the person, so nothing in use reveals the change.
Why does location matter? It decides who holds the record, who sets the terms, and whose law applies.
Why did collection expand? Storage became almost free, so recording everything and deciding later became the rational choice.
Why do unrelated services fail together? They rent from the same few providers, and the dependency is invisible to users and often to the services themselves.
Exam tips
- Ask where the processing happens. It converts a vague cloud answer into a specific one about control.
- Most computers people depend on are ones they never see.
- 'Widened access and narrowed control' is a real judgement because the gain and the loss fall on different dimensions.