Just throwing this out for discussion. I'm in the process of implementing a cloud based database for a large corporate client of mine. It struck me that this might be the future of the DAW, given the speed of fiber optic networks currently installed in my home town and elsewhere in the country. In cloud based computing software resides on a server on the "internets". In my client's situation, we'll be maintaining a database available to many with varying degrees of permissions. Large companies are migrating to this format to save money on implementing their own server applications. Basically, anyone with a computer with access to the internet can use the software, so hardware incompatibilities are eliminated.
The same set up might have applications with the DAW provided upload and download speeds are lightning fast, as they would be in a fiber optic configuration. And maybe this is what's happening with these online session websites I surfed into recently...I don't know. Anyone care to comment?
Edit: Check this out:
http://www.insidehomerecording.com/?p=762