Cloud computing – a traveller’s best friend
Written by Jacinta Lodge
Recently I suffered from a massive technological meltdown, right before I was leaving home on a three month trip. Due to one thing or another (primarily budget and the inability to decide if I should make the leap to Mac) I wound up departing without a laptop, something which would have caused me unending headaches if I hadn’t already made the change to cloud computing.
If you haven’t yet heard of this latest web phenomena here’s a very simplified run down: rather than working on your computer, you work on the internet, with your files hosted elsewhere and accessible over any internet connection from any connected computer.
My “cloud” of choice is the megalithic Google which offers Word-like documents, Excel-like spreadsheets and Powerpoint-like slideshows. You may share documents, collaborate with people simultaneously on them and even publicly publish them. It’s nice stuff to use – especially if you’re like me and more likely to open the browser than a word document. One less hurdle to overcome in turning off Desktop Tower Defense and knuckling down to work.
But the biggest benefit for me in the last few weeks has been the accessibility. From bookshops in Milan to hostels in Tokyo to a friend’s blackberry in Melbourne, I have been able to find documents, check contracts and get work done even though my own computer is on the other side of the world and in multiple pieces.
There are of course security issues to consider in how you use cloud computing. Think twice before putting really sensitive data into the system. We don’t yet know how secure and private these systems will prove to be and we may find ourselves data mined (in the best case) or completely electronically compromised (in the worst). Also consider backing up your data locally as well. Installing Google Gears on your computer will allow local copies to be kept and continually updated with the latest versions, as well as letting you continue working on your documents offline.
Cloud computing has worked out wonderfully for me so far. I don’t have to worry about which USB stick or external hard drive has the latest versions, nor do I get stuck at those annoying hotel/hostel/internet cafes which don’t allow you to insert external drives into their computers. I don’t have to worry if I have my data on me (or in which pocket I last had it) and if my laptop goes on the fritz while I’m stuck in Lucerne, I can work on uninterrupted on any internet connection available.
But did you make the leap to Mac? I did 5 years ago and I was surprised to find how simple was the change… although I still use a Windows pc for some things, I prefer the Mac.
A suggestion about your blog, if that is not too presumptuous, I find having a “share this” button helps to generate some “social buzz” – it’s a WordPress available widget (and, no, I’m not the developer).