What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing is the management and provision of data and applications via the internet. In non technical jargon that basically means is that it is the storing your programs and documents on the internet, rather than on your computer.
What is an example of cloud computing?
If you watch the tv, you will probably have seen those adverts that promote laptops and phones which allow you to work anywhere because of the ability to store your data in the cloud.
This basically means that your device merely holds the operating system and sometimes the software. The date you access is stored on a server somewhere. This means that you can access your data from almost anywhere with multiple devices.
The good and the bad…
As with most things in life, cloud computing has positives and (you guessed it) negatives. Here is a list of the pros and the cons of cloud computing:
The Pros
- Less hard disk space needed
- Your computer runs much faster – like the Chromebooks are meant to (this is dependant on your internet connection)
- You can access your data from anywhere at anytime
- Most providers of cloud services, regularly backup your data, meaning if you loose some data or if they loose some, it shouldn’t be too hard to recover
- Avoid costly hardware (and to some extent software) upgrades
The Cons
- If your internet dies, you can’t access your data, and in the case of a Chromebook, you can’t even access your programs
- Some security risks are removed (like if your PC is stolen, someone may steel your data too) but loads of new threats from corrupt employees, hackers etc. are born
- The services (initially) probably won’t be as reliable as you would like them to be
- Big brother is watching you! – every move you make online or in a cloud based application can be monitored by your provider
- You need a really fast internet connection, both download and upload, to really feel the benefit of it – the problem is, most peoples download speed is really fast, but their upload speed is rubbish!
Where is cloud computing data stored?
Good question – presumably not in the clouds! Applications, data etc. would be stored in server farms. Server farms are massive, usually very cool (air conditioned to increase machine performance and to prevent overheating) areas, full of loads of server towers.
A Server Room in a Server Farm
Google, Facebook and similar massive sites generally have their own server farms, which they often store underground, and they make sure that they are very well connected!
What’s your opinion on cloud computing? Is it the way of the future, or will it do more harm than good?
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Last month many here in the US experienced the “risk” of cloud computing when an Amazon EC2 server went down. HootSuite and Reddit were just a couple of the casualties.
I believe cloud computing will increase because it reduces the cost of computing dramatically. As I understand it, small and medium businesses won’t need to manage as much of their IT in house when they rely on cloud services.
Obviously, improvements will need to be made to ensure security, speed, and continuation of services.
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I think I would say that I agree with you there Tammi. It just makes those classic computer hacker movies when people try to take down the nations defences etc. seem just a bit more possible
Lets hope that doesn’t happen!
In general, the idea of cloud computing is interesting and I would say innovative but the most sensitive part of it is its dependence on others – servers, hosting companies, etc. I can be sure only of myself but with cloud computing you can’t control the situation. And it is the main disadvantage of this new trend.
You do loose some control over your data DiNaRa, but there are positives too
Cloud computing is an effective solution to data integrity problems as long as the servers being used are reliable and efficient. It also depends upon the user friendliness and swiftness of the interface being provided to access your documents.
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The idea of cloud computing is definitely going to be more popular as more and more people use the internet. Instead of putting everything in you pc or laptop it will be more ideal to use cloud computing. Of course if your internet connection goes ‘dead’ you can always use a cafe!
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I never thought of that Chadrack, how could I forget the humble internet cafe!
Apple’s very recent news (3 hours ago) about their iCloud could revolutionise the way that data is stored and transferred between Apple devices. $25 a year for virtually unlimited data storage could destroy Amazon’s cloud service but Apple need to make sure that they have no down time otherwise no-one will by into their system. It’s going to be very interesting to see whether Amazon and any other cloud storage companies change their pricing structures now they know about Apple’s iCould.
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Sounds cool! Just had a quick look at the iCloud, and it looks like it has potential.
Interesting that the announcement has given the competition a shake up!
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icloud has been announced but Apple is still not powerful enough to challenge playes like MS and Google in this field. However Apple certainly has shown that some simple things like sharing music and messaging can be done in a smarter way than what is being done by MS and Google or Amazon for that matter.Let us see how the whole thing works out!!
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I heard that Google is soon to release it’s own music store. Could this not rival Apple, as Google also has high brand loyalty?
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Cloud computing is surely going to be the next big thing. And the battle between the elites is gonna heat up again as all of them will want to cash in on it. Microsoft’ Azure vs. Apple’s iCloud.
It’ll be awesome.
Cloud computing platforms
Cloud computing will have a difficult time establishing itself as mainstream due to the fact the people are concerned about privacy. Especially these days that both Google and Facebook had been questioned about what they do with the information we provide them.
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