Keep your head in the clouds
Source: Google Images.
Whenever you use an online service to send an email, watch movies or play games you are cloud computing. Cloud computing is when data is stored over the internet, instead of a physical piece of hardware. Examples of the cloud include; Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, iCloud, Evernote, Adobe creative cloud and Instagram.
Why should you bother to use the cloud? You should use the cloud because it’s a much cheaper alternative than buying storage hardware. Microsoft charges $2.50/month for One drive or $6.99/month when you have a office 365 subscription. If you purchased an 1TB external hardrive from staples it would run you $84.96. It is clearly more cost effective to use the cloud than to buy external hardware.
Cloud computing is also more reliable than saving data on a external hardware. A external hardrive could break or get damaged. It could even get lost. Data stored on a cloud is saved at multiple sites on the providers network. This makes it easier to recover data and back it up. In some unfortunate cases people have lost entire photo albums and important documents due to fires in their homes. Saving everything on the cloud will keep all your memories safe.
The other benefit of the cloud is you can easily share that data with anyone in the world. You can share photo albums with your relatives all through the cloud. The other benefit with the cloud is you can access your data anywhere and anytime in the world. You no longer have to worry about forgetting your powerpoint/presentation at home. The flipside to this is that without an internet connection you cannot access your data.
There is something to consider before using the cloud. It’s privacy. You know for certain the files stored on your CD or USB are secure because in order to access your files someone would need to have physical possession of your hardware. Is data stored on the cloud safe from prying eyes?.
It all depends on which cloud service you utilize. Companies like SpiderOak and Wuala encrypt your files locally to ensure your files are completely private. The files can only be decrypted using a password of your choice. This means if you forget your password. There is no way for you to retrieve the files anymore. Therefore, it might not be such a bad idea to save your password somewhere. Steer clear of Microsoft’s Skydive and Apple’s iCloud. Microsoft scans files for malicious content. In 2011, Microsoft restricted a photographers business account because they believed his content was inappropriate. Similarly, Apple has openly stated that they scan files on iCloud for illegal and harmful content.
So keep your head in the clouds but remember not all clouds are made equal.
Source: Life hacker, Microsoft Azure
