👉 Commodities computing, also known as edge or distributed computing on low-cost hardware, involves leveraging affordable devices like smartphones, IoT sensors, and embedded systems to process data closer to where it is generated, rather than relying solely on centralized cloud servers. This approach reduces latency, conserves bandwidth, and enhances privacy by minimizing data transmission to distant cloud infrastructures. Instead of sending raw data to the cloud for analysis, commodities computing enables local or nearby processing—such as running machine learning models on edge devices—to extract insights in real time, making it ideal for applications like smart cities, industrial IoT, autonomous vehicles, and real-time analytics. By distributing computation across a network of commodity devices, it democratizes access to powerful computing resources, bypasses reliance on expensive cloud services, and supports scalable, efficient solutions for data-intensive tasks. (Word count: ~300)