I agree with your point - as hackers, we are often too quick to dismiss something as "nothing new" because we have seen something similar before ("I don't need Dropbox, I have rsync").
That being said, in this case these three dots have been joined up multiple times already, so there really is nothing new here. The interesting challenge is in reducing latency so that remote games are actually playable when the server is not on the same LAN.
This is my point, it's been done. The problem that still exists is the lag you'll get when not playing at your house, so nothing has changed. Apparently people don't get that.
Now, if he gets this running between his house and work, I'll be give him some credit.
This guy isn't running it from AWS though, like I said. He's running it from a "server" that's right in front of him. By the way, have you ever tried RDCing a remote Windows machine and done some trivial tasks in the GUI?
I actually have an AWS machine that runs Steam + VPN and I can stream games to my home laptop, it works really well.
I also have non-steam games that I've added like Star Wars: The Old republic, Starcraft II and Diablo III and they all work well using the same system.
The only glitch I've noticed is that if steam starts before the VPN, I have to RDC in and restart steam so it picks up the VPN network. (If anyone has any idea how to fix this I would be very grateful)
These are not running in the browser, though. And previous Remote Desktop solutions that are viewable in a browser can't handle 60fps (let alone anything >10fps for full motion).
1. AWS can run Windows and therefore Steam. Nothing new. 2. Steam home streaming works over VPN. Nothing new. 3. VNC can stream games. Nothing new.
etc.
But put all these pieces together and the first person to wrap it up and make sure all the legal parts are in place might make a fortune.