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Living In The Cloud

The Cloud.  A nice, ethereal-sounding technological concept that tells you absolutely nothing about what it does or how it works.  Yet it is the fastest-growing facet of the internet.

It's a great example of how cool-sounding names and slick marketing can overcome logic and common sense, even here in the 21st century.

Obviously, "The Cloud" isn't a cloud at all.  It is actually a collection of computers scattered all over the world that houses information.  That's it.  Most of the time, the computers are run by huge companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and thousands of others.  They provide the computer storage space for free because it helps them sell their other products (like iPhones, iPads, Office, and Kindle).

In the 1990's, the same concept was forwarded, except the common term was "server farms."  It wasn't particularly successful, because early computer and internet users were uncomfortable with having all of their client data, critical company information, and secret love letters stored on somebody else's computers.

Apparently, there must be some sort of techie bias against "farms."

There seems to be no such bias against "clouds," because millions of people are now trusting their programs and data to be stored on computers in other parts of the world.  Not only that, the users don't seem to be concerned with the fact that they don't even know which computers, who owns them, or in what country their data is being held.

One of the biggest reasons that "cloud computing" has been embraced these days is because of a truth that didn't exist back when Bill Gates owned the world.  In this era, almost everyone has more than one computer.  They have at least one PC at home; use another computer at the office; lug around a laptop when they travel; use an iPad, Kindle, or other tablet for fun, reading, and emails; and carry an iPhone or other smart phone everywhere else.

The problem with having all those information devices is the propensity for always having the wrong information in the wrong place -- leaving an important report for the office on your home computer, or needing a particular email address that is only stored on the iPad you left in the car at the train station parking lot.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that most smartphones and a lot of tablets have no way to plug in a flash drive or other means by which to easily transfer data from place to place.

By using the Cloud, you can access programs or information from anywhere -- even a stranger's computer or a library PC -- so long as you can get on the internet.

Ironically, that's also the downside to the cloud.  If you happen to be in a car, a train, a plane, or a hotel out in the country or on the Las Vegas strip, you probably don't have wireless internet (unless you're using an iPhone 4 or some other hotspot device with an expensive data plan, or paying $10 an hour for the hotel or airline's "service"). 

That caveat aside, the Cloud is a major convenience that usually doesn't cost anything extra.  It is often provided free as part of a program you bought, or a device you already have like an iPhone.

The only trick, and sometimes it's a trick worthy of Lance Burton himself, is getting your desired data onto the Cloud.

These days there are more than a few apps and services that can accomplish this. 
A couple of our favorites include Google Docs and something called Dropbox.

Using Google (www.google.com), you can share calendars, address lists, spreadsheets, Word documents, and a variety of other data with just about any computer or internet device.  All it takes is a free Google email account and you're in business.  Once it's set up, you can create docs right online, and they're saved instantly.

The upside is that you don't have to own or use any word processing or spreadsheet software.  The downside is that the documents and spreadsheets don't have all the Microsoft Office features to which you've become addicted.

That's where Dropbox comes in (www.dropbox.com).

By signing up for a free Dropbox account and downloading the app onto your desktop, laptop, tablet, and smart phone, you can actually use the documents created in Word and Excel. 

The big trick is, once you've installed the app, you have to drag the desired docs and spreadsheets from MyDocuments into the Dropbox folder.  If you mess up and forget to move one, Murphy's Law dictates that the document you need the most is precisely the one you didn't move. However, the great news is that once you move them, the files automatically update and transfer to all of your other Dropbox-equipped devices immediately, so you don't have to think about it anymore.  The downside is the same as Google Docs -- when working on documents and spreadsheets from a device that doesn't have Microsoft Office installed, you won't have some of the cool formatting and formula features.

One place that Dropbox really shines is as an excellent automatic tool for effortlessly transferring photos from your iPhone to your computers, and vice versa.  Again, once it's set up, you don't have to think about it, new photos will automatically go back and forth.  Unfortunately, that can lead to the big drawback: Dropbox only allows up to 2.5 gigabytes of free storage.  You can get more, but you have to pay for it (starting at $9.95/mo.).

With both Google and Dropbox, your data is actually stored "in the Cloud" and dropped onto your device, without a lot of setup and effort, and at no charge. 

So as long as nobody mistakenly starts referring to it as a "Cloud Farm," expect this method of computing to continue growing in scale and popularity.

Have a question? Running into a computer problem?  Have a particular topic you would like to see discussed?  Simply e-mail “The Computer Dude” at help@compuhelpus.com and your answer will appear in an upcoming column.  "The Computer Dude" is a weekly help column published every Thursday at www.MesquiteCitizen.com.  It is provided by Computer Help, a computer firm in Mesquite which offers computer tutoring, training, troubleshooting, and repair for individuals, retirees, and small businesses. If you need help with your computer, call Computer Help at 346-6357.