Cloud Computing -- Where to start?

Hello Cloud-Computing Forum,

I'm a new member to this forum and I had some questions:

Where I work, we're interested in exploring more about cloud computing, but because of all the hype, we're not really sure where to start.

So...

1. Are there any "Cloud Computing" conferences one can attend to get more cloud computing information, and perhaps view a few demonstrations?
2. What companies/products are legimately in this space?
3. Where can a newbie go to get useful information about implementation?

Thank you and best regards,
Michael Moran