What you need to know about the cloud

Grazed from PCWorld. Author: Lincoln Spector.

The cloud is the Internet, when used for chores that are traditionally handled by local hardware and software. For instance, if you back up your files to an external hard drive, that’s local. But if you use an online service such as Mozy or Carbonite, you’re using cloud-based backup.

Another example: If you use the installed Outlook program to read email, you’re using the Internet, but not the cloud. But if you read your email on the Outlook.com webpage, you’re reading it in the cloud. Other cloud-based applications include storage/sync services such as Dropbox, and web-based office alternatives like Google Docs…

The word cloud suggests something that’s not quite real, not quite solid. And while cloud computing can feel that way, that’s not quite true. The software and data are stored on a server somewhere—probably multiple servers in various places. But the very nature of the cloud brings problems. Speed, for instance. Almost any sort of local data connection—ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB 2.0—is going to be faster than most home Internet connections, especially when you’re uploading (the exception, of course, is if you’re lucky enough to have fiber to the home). A backup that would take minutes to an external drive could take hours online…

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