by Christine Cupaiuolo
Until recently, if you announced you were writing a cloud guide, your audience would likely assume your work involves knowing how to differentiate between a cirrus fibratus and a cirrus uncinus.
Now, most people who spend time online have their heads–or at least one part of their digital lives–in the clouds.
This is a guide to that other cloud known as cloud computing. Even though there are no fancy Latin terms to invoke, the forms these modern clouds assume can be just as complex and as awe-inspiring as their meteorological eponym. And understanding how they work can prove just as elusive.
The short definition of cloud computing, according to PC Magazine’s encyclopedia, is: “Using the Web server facilities of a third-party provider on the Internet (the ‘cloud’) to store, deploy and run applications.” In everyday terms, that means your data doesn’t exist in a nearby physical location. You instead call it up online from any computer or mobile device–no more installing software that takes up precious memory and bogs down systems.
Large companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple provide their own file-management and cloud-storage services for all kinds of media. When it comes to music, some of the most popular and competitive cloud environments, Apple’s iCloud, Amazon’s Cloud Drive and Google Music, allow users to access their own music collections online and on mobile devices without needing to sync those devices. To varying degrees, they also allow users to add new music without having to download files.
Other services, including Spotify and Rhapsody, provide a tempting alternative to the Big 3 by providing unlimited access to almost every song imaginable for a small monthly fee. A big hit in Europe, Spotify recently entered the U.S. market and quickly captured music lovers’ imaginations. Closely integrated with Facebook, it encourages users to share their music in unprecedented ways–it’s like making personal mixtapes for the masses.
The cloud can also enhance collaboration and productivity. Using a free document collaboration tool such as Google Docs, co-workers in different locations can input comments and corrections simultaneously, instead of emailing a document back and forth. It helps, of course, to make sure everyone is on the same (virtual) page. Successful collaboration is easily hindered by half-hearted buy-in, says Deanna Zandt, a media technologist and author of “Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking.” “I've even had a client who went into the Google Doc, downloaded it as a file, made changes, and then emailed it around,” said Zandt.
The real game-changer, she adds, has been Skype, which enables users to schedule free calls and video chats with family and colleagues around the globe or across town. “It saves the time and hassle of setting up in-person meetings,” Zandt said. “The face time is also invaluable; I'm so much more productive on a long call when I can see the other person.”
Not all clouds are equally accessible: Public clouds offer a suite of productivity and data management tools to users worldwide, while private clouds are aimed more at businesses and institutions, including DePaul, that need to control access or make specific software and programs available. Nor does everyone agree on where to draw the line. Many tech people, for instance, debate whether Facebook is an example of a private cloud (one of the biggest, in fact), or if it’s just using cloud technologies.
The good news is you don’t need to understand the science behind cloud computing to take advantage of its many benefits. But it does help to be open to experimentation–services are frequently upgraded or new services are introduced–and be willing to work with imperfect systems. While the technical requirements are minimal–a strong Internet or cellular connection–it can cause major headaches if online service is unavailable.
Service interruptions can happen sporadically and without warning (a show of hands if you’ve experienced dead zones in areas where data is slow or non-existent). And data costs money. Some Internet plans charge for high-speed connections, and cellular companies may penalize customers who download or share data beyond a certain limit.
Security and privacy remain the biggest concerns. Education and awareness are essential to reducing the risk of information exposure on any site. So here's a tip for Google users: google.com/goodtoknow includes information on how to create secure passwords and manage personal data shared across the Web and on Google services.
Despite those fears, I prefer to trust my information to the cloud; the risk of a hard drive meltdown or losing my smartphone seems a bigger threat. And I confess I get excited about collecting, organizing and sharing information online. I’ve also been able to let go, slowly, of the notion that our physical collections (of, say, books or photos) must be preserved to help define and represent us.
Massimo Di Pierro, an associate professor in the College of Computing and Digital Media, offers another reason to trust cloud-based storage systems: They’re run by professionals. An avid user of Skype, Google Groups and the file-storage system Dropbox, Di Pierro says that when it’s a matter of security, not regulation (which may require special disaster recovery policies), the cloud offers the most secure environment.
“I trust, much more, a professional in the business of storing and protecting the data than I trust myself to do that, and that should be the attitude of a lot of people,” says Di Pierro. He adds by way of example that he may forget to upgrade or monitor his intrusion detection software; a company responsible for millions of people’s data will not make that mistake.
Di Pierro creates software, including the award-winning web2py, an open-source application development tool. His basic philosophy is that if tools are easy to use, people will use them. And that’s a big advantage of cloud services; each of us ideally should be able to select and interact with a service that matches our individual preference, while sharing the same information.
“It does not matter which software you are using locally, as long as the data is communicated using some standard protocol,” says Di Pierro.
“In those areas where people have succeeded in creating standards, it’s very easy to exchange data and use Web services. And when it’s easy to exchange data, I, as a consumer, can decide how to handle and how to present the data. This freedom of choice is now more available than ever,” he adds.
The virtual cloud promises blue skies ahead.
Author’s Picks from the Cloud:
Research
Delicious: Save and tag article links, which can be kept private or made public.
Evernote: Clip and save text, images and entire Web pages. Information can be organized and shared via “notebooks” (also great for recipe storage and planning trips).
Communication
Gmail: The filters are useful to reduce inbox clutter, and the conversational threads make it easy to follow back-and-forth communication.
Google Voice: In addition to providing free voice and video calling worldwide, you can record and store conversations.
Deadlines
Google Tasks: Though not the most robust task management program, I appreciate the ease with which I can turn emails into tasks and integrate them with calendar due dates.
Writing
Google Docs: I write and store articles online, though I sometimes keep drafts in a free desktop program called Notepad++.
Backup
All the data on my computer is backed up each night to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3).
Christine Cupaiuolo is the managing editor of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” (Simon & Schuster, 2011), a project she could not have completed without the aid of Google collaboration apps. She also consults on technology and social media and lives online at Christine2.com and @cmc2.