Apple introduced the “Cloud” and the next generation of computing is now just beginning. What is the Cloud and how will it change everything? This excerpt from Apex Technology is a quick introduction to what the Cloud is:
Cloud computing has made it possible to interact on the internet without having to install certain applications on your computer, negating the need for software and hardware updates and making it simpler to access information and data online. Just as you can access an e-mail account from virtually any computer with an internet connection, it is quickly becoming possible to access a myriad of other types of data and information in the same way. There are many examples of what cloud computing is attempting to achieve, such as Google Apps and Google Docs, Amazon Turks, YouTube, Flickr and other web based applications and storage systems for example.
There is a lot of information moving around on the internet. There are purported to be more than 5 billion users on the internet today, and with so many people online, there has never been more information available at our fingertips. With so much information moving around, now is as good a time as any to begin to work with more capable information systems, and cloud computing is making this happen. By making it possible for different web technologies to communicate with one another, a business can easily take all of its important information and communication to the web for easier accessibility, better security and increased usability. The improvements in accessibility and usability that cloud computing is achieving are making the internet simpler to use both for businesses online and their customers as well.
Cloud computing technology may have been around for a while now, but we are only beginning to realize its full potential. Right now, cloud computing is the future of the internet, and the future of technology collaboration for many businesses. The future is currently in our hands, and it will be interesting to see what can be done by leveraging the power of cloud computing to improve business on the internet.
Cloud computing technology may have been around for a while now, but we are only beginning to realize its full potential. Right now, cloud computing is the future of the internet, and the future of technology collaboration for many businesses. The future is currently in our hands, and it will be interesting to see what can be done by leveraging the power of cloud computing to improve business on the internet.
So in a nutshell the Cloud is taking us back to when we didn’t have a PC (personal computer) but we had a terminal that didn’t have its own hard drive to store files and programs. Back then our terminal was connected to a “server” that was located somewhere in your office that stored the programs and files you needed. We then had access to a few programs and files. With the Cloud technology we are connected to the world and not a server in our office. As the article above mentioned we are already using this concept in ways long accepted. Web based email servers such as Gmail and Yahoo store our emails offline. Flickr stores our pictures offline. Mozy stores our files offline. The Cloud adds our programs offline too. You won’t have to have a hard drive to store programs like Office or Quickbooks or Photoshop when you can have access to the entire world of programs available offline. The end of the PC is in sight. Microsoft and Google are developing their own versions of the Cloud and there will be completion to get you to use each platform. It is the "next" computing war.
Last night I watched an episode of “Mad Men” that I had DVRed from last season and for some reason looking at how life was in the 1960’s I began to notice how the digital revolution had impacted our lives. As looked back at this past week and started to right down some digital application that changed how we did something different they people did in the 1960’s or the pre-digital days. From the list I came up with I compiled my top 10 which didn’t even include the previously mentioned DVR that allows me to watch any TV show on my schedule. I listed in order the 10 ways the digital revolution changed the way I did things and how frequently I use each application.
1) World Wide Web
2) Email
3) Cell Phone
4) Google
5) Blogging
6) Digital CD music
7) GPS
8) Online shopping
9) Skype
10) Digital photography
You might notice that I don’t use two common applications---texting and a smart phone apps. I will be getting a smart phone in September when Verizon comes out with their 4G phones.
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