So I hear computer people talking about "the cloud." What exactly is "the cloud" and how does it work?
I know it's metaphorical and all, and supposed to give us this impression that there's all sorts of computer data that we'll be able to access from anywhere at any time (all the while remaining secure and safe from predatory types), but what exactly is "the cloud"?
Because despite assertions to the contrary, computer stuff either exists materially (electrons and stuff!) or *poof!* It may only exist virtually on my screen, but if there are electrons hanging out in some binary organization, it's either got to be physically recorded somewhere or not, right?
I just wrote a long response that was eaten by Blogger. I just started using a cloud, and it's cool, but I don't have time to retype my message now! I'll do it later if others haven't responded first . . .
ReplyDeletedon't mix me up with stuff! but i'd like to know if you find out what this cloud thing is about. in the meantime, i've waited too long to do backup on my little external doohicky, so this was a reminder.
ReplyDelete"The cloud" is just a general term for the numerous online services that make some subset of your data available to you no matter where you are--provided you have an internet connection. So Flickr is cloud storage for photos. Mozy, Carbonite, and others provide cloud backup solutions. Dropbox, SugarSyc, etc are cloud document syncing/sharing services. Gmail/Hotmail/etc are cloud email--no need to store it on your computer.
ReplyDeleteThe "cloud" metaphor comes from the setup of servers. You're not just connecting to one particular computer that houses your data, but to a whole network or cloud of them (creating a certain amount of redundancy and therefore safety for your data, assuming that you have access!).
ReplyDeleteAnd you can limit access. Currently, a colleague and I are collecting documents from faculty--documents that faculty want to be housed with us rather than with administrators. By using the cloud, we can limit access (to ourselves) while also avoiding having our e-mail inboxes stuffed and cluttered with all of these document submissions. For our particular task, the cloud is a lifesaver.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, faculty will all submit their docs directly to the cloud where they can be stored while my colleague and I review them.
ReplyDeleteSo the cloud is just a fancy way of saying the "ever expanding internet"? And when one posts something to "the cloud" it really means one is putting it up on googledocs or somewhere similar?
ReplyDeleteThanks, all!
Everyone else beat me to the answer, but yes, cloud=internet=a bunch of computer connected together.
ReplyDeleteAt least they came up with a nice metaphor this time. :)