Microsoft and Google Computing in the Cloud

Ed. Note: I wrote this for the class I'm taking this semester, and it barely got used, so, here you go, Internet. - FlawlessWalrus

To understand cloud computing, one must first understand the term “cloud” as used in this context. The cloud is a data and information stored on the internet, and not on a user’s computer. The cloud can be accessed from a user’s computer, but is not limited to one computer, location or device. The cloud can be accessed by many applications and can allow for data sharing and integration.

Perhaps the most common example of cloud computing is webmail. Whether using AOL.com to get AOL mail, Microsoft’s Outlook Web Access to remotely access email on an Exchange server, or using free webmail like Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, this is cloud computing. Compare it to using Microsoft Exchange on a computer: With Exchange, your computer holds all the emails, does word processing functions in the composing of the email and sends of the email to the server, to be mailed. In webmail, the emails sit on a remote server, accessible through the internet and are never stored on your computer. The word processing functions are shared between your computer in the browser and the server. Your webmail can be accessed from any number of places or devices. You can get your Gmail on your cell phone, your AOL mail at a friend’s house or your Yahoo! Mail at work. Webmail is not tied to any one device or location, and is thus part of the cloud.

Another emerging part of cloud computing is Microsoft Office-style document creation and editing. Google has created Google Docs (formerly known as Writely, and for a while Google Docs and Spreadsheets), a cloud-based word processing/spreadsheet/presentation suite that competes directly with Microsoft’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint, respectively. Google has created a solution the problem that occurs when one has a computer, but doesn’t have access to Office-type software. All a user needs is an internet connection, a supported web browser and a free Google account. Documents can then be created and stored online, whether the user has a Windows-based PC, a Mac, or other operating system. Taking Office one step further, users can easily share documents, either by emailing them, sending links to a version of the document published online or by downloading the document to their computers just like a file produced by Office. The documents can be collaborated on by other users and allow for versioning (tracking of changes and rolling back to previous versions). The files are stored in the cloud, and much of the processing is shred between the user’s browser and the online server.

Lately as trends have moved toward cloud computing, it has become evident that a user’s choice of operating system is becoming less relevant to a user’s computing experience. Computer manufacturers have begun manufacturing what they call “netbooks.” These netbooks have significantly less substantial hardware specifications than standard laptops or desktop computers. They run on a version of the UNIX operating system (a free, open source OS) rather than Windows, a move that saves the manufacturers many dollars per machine in licensing costs. Also, netbooks are delivered with little to no software aside from the operating system and a free web browser, like Mozilla’s Firefox. The reduced hardware and bare-bones software allow manufacturers to keep costs way down and prices as well. Netbook users don’t miss the accelerated computing hardware, since most of their computer usage on a netbook is cloud computing where the processing is shared with a remote server. Users also don’t miss software like Microsoft Office because they have access to cloud computing alternatives like Google Docs.

Steve Ballmer of Microsoft has just announced plans for Windows Cloud, an OS based heavily on cloud computing, most likely designed for use on netbooks. Microsoft, as a seller of both operating systems and software that stands to lose market share to cloud computing, wants to create a lightweight, cheaper OS to stay in the netbook market.

There are more than a few downsides to cloud computing, especially at this stage of its development. First, and most important, cloud computing relies heavily on the benevolence of massive corporations like Google, Yahoo!, Apple and Microsoft. All of these players and more offer gigabytes of free online storage to users with free accounts. This storage holds emails, documents, contacts, personal information and more. Users are expected to implicitly trust these companies, not only as holders of their data, but as providers of secure access to that data. Should these systems become compromised, many users’ data could be stolen, and should they fail, many users’ data could be lost. These corporations tend to be leaders in the field of internet security, and they also have tons of redundant storage, so this type of loss is unlikely, yet possible.

Cloud computing as depends heavily on ubiquitous internet access. There are many places in the world that do not yet have internet access and those that do rarely offer it for free. While most cloud computing occupations are free to use, there are costs associated with internet access and those should be considered when calculating the savings of a netbook. Having data stored in the internet cloud requires internet access to retrieve that data. Google offers a solution to this called Google Gears that allows users to keep their documents synced with their local computers for access even when not connected to the internet. This offers the very un-cloud-like position of tying a user to a certain computer that has been synched with the cloud.

Cloud computing clearly represents the near-future of internet-based computing. As more and more applications are moved inside the web browser, software that sits on a user’s local computer becomes obsolete. Photoshop-like image editing software is already beginning to make its way into the cloud, and YouTube and Google Video could soon be the place to go for video editing. Practical use for cloud computer increases directly with increases in internet access. In higher education, where students are becoming required to have computers than access the internet, cloud computing applications like Blackboard are becoming a dependable space to users to access classroom materials from anywhere, any time. Cloud computing is increasingly removing the concept of the personalized personal computer, where what makes a user’s internet experience is what lies in their online accounts. Cloud computing even allows for new kinds of computing that have no parallel in the non-cloud era, such as social networking, like facebook. Expect cloud computing to be a part of every computer user’s daily life, and expect computers without integrated dependence on access to the cloud to disappear.