"Cloud computing is a model for the enabling of ubiquitous, convenient, and on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and other services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction." This somewhat jargon-laden definition is from the USA's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Most readers will already be quite familiar with the characteristics of what is, arguably, the "IT buzzword of the year." This article will discuss the potential benefits and hazards of a cloud-based approach to distance-learning. Its objective is to evaluate to what extent the current talk about placing one's e-learning courses "in the cloud" is just fashionable buzzword jargon or a prediction of a major shift in the way educational institutions will implement distance learning.