There used to be a time when we lived in one-car households and with just one TV set – for those younger than 40: really it’s true, we really did live like that.
Then the 80s came, and that all changed.
In the 90s more and more households got into having a computer, and in the 2000s the kids got a computer. Now in the 10s (or whatever people decide to call this decade – I shall hereforth call the decade the Tens) everyone will move towards having 2 computers or more.
Personally, I’ve got 4 computers. One I hardly use, one for testing or grinding large datasets, the laptop I am now using, which is my main computer, and now I have a netbook – so now I am really portable.
Keeping it all together
Now I’m using the netbook on a regular basis, as well as my laptop, I have a problem: I’ve stuff on my laptop that I might need on my netbook but I don’t want the hassle of duplicating things.
I want to be able to work on something when I’m away from the office, then work on it when I’m back in the office on my main computer, without needing to copy the files or doing a back-up and then getting in a mess about which file is the newest file.
If I was in an enterprise situation (not Star Trek) I would have my own server and a document management system that does that kind of thing. I would also need to splash out mega-bucks to install and manage it.
So, as an ordinary guy with 2 computers that need to be kept in synch, what’s there to do about it?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the cloud
Cloud Computing! “Ooofff!” you say, “now you’re going to get really technical, and I won’t understand a thing you say.”
Fear not – here’s a picture.
Cloud Computing
So, what’s it all about? Cloud Computing, or The Cloud, is about using the internet to keep a secure copy of the files you want to be available to you wherever and whenever you want it.
Let’s take my example.: I want the “My Documents” folder on my laptop to be available to my netbook. I simply tell The Cloud that I want to link to that folder, and it will make a secure copy of it on the internet. I don’t need to change how I do things, or where I put files – that’s all taken care of invisibly (magically) by the cloud.
On my netbook, I want to access a file. I simply go to my Laptop folder that The Cloud has put on it, and browse the folders in “My Documents” as if they were really on the netbook. When I click to open a file, it will download it.
When I save it, it will keep a copy on my netbook, and then update the cloud. So, when I next log into my laptop, the cloud will know there have been changes and download the updated file for me.
The magic is: I don’t see any of this happen. It’s just there, ready and waiting.
Getting Started
“Where do I get this Cloud from?” There are a number of providers out there – and most offer a free entry level option. Now, there are a number of things to take into consideration when choosing a cloud provider – the main one for me was simplicity. I needed software that didn’t change the way I did things; and worked on Windows and Ubuntu. That narrowed the field down somewhat, and I am now using ZumoDrive.
It offers 1GB of storage up front for free. And then you can earn another 1GB simply by going through their training DoJo. Which I think is a great idea. “Only 2GB? Are you kidding?” Well, if you want more you can pay for more. Personally, I think it’s good practice to be selective about what you store – do you really need to have all 300,000 photos you’ve ever taken available to you on a netbook?
When ZumoDrive installs, it will create a new Drive on your computer, usually the Z: drive. Click on this and you will know exactly what is available in The Cloud. But right click on any folder on your computer, and select “Link Folder to ZumoDrive” and that folder will become available in The Cloud.
That’s it – you’re good to go. Happy computing.
ps Also works on Macs and iPhone, but I don’t have either so can’t really tell you about that.
