Cloud Computing guide
Cloud Computing

Gadgets Channel / Bullz-Eye Home

Cloud computing has come a long way since we started this website. Now we take it for granted with the massive amounts of data we all have at our fingertips. Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, particularly especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. You can also understand cloud computing as data centers available to many users over the Internet. This type of service is dominated by tech giants like Amazon with AWS and Microsoft with Azure. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations from central servers. Companies can now use the cloud as opposed to having tons of servers hold their data. Individuals using social meda apps use the cloud on a daily basis.

This is a more recent development. When we first launched this page, we asked you to imagine a world in which your friends, your family, your neighbors, and whoever else you care to mention has access to any program in the world with nearly limitless computing power. This was the idea behind cloud computing, which was at the time an emerging technological innovation that could be the next evolution of the computing world. Now it has arrived, and together with better broadband connections, cloud computing is changing the world we live in.

At first glance, cloud computing sounds a lot like the internet – giving people access to information and computational power anywhere in the world. This definition is actually much less than what cloud computing can offer. Like the internet, the resources for a cloud computing grid are accessible from anywhere, but it’s more than just information to be shared and absorbed. Cloud computing offers access to actual computing power, meaning you can use the programs and resources currently available from your hard drive from literally anywhere, and from almost any device. We asked you to imagine running Photoshop on your cell phone, playing World of Warcraft on your car’s GPS system, or rendering video on your TV, and now we all take stuff like this for granted . Every application and computer resource you need can be accessed from a simple client machine, as small or as large as you like.

Forget the duplicate hard drives and fire-proof safes for your family’s digital pictures that we needed just a short time ago. Those gadgets can be helpful but they are not always necessary anymore. Cloud computing includes off-site storage for literally as much data as you can possibly dig up. The days of the ultimate gaming rig or video editing machine have given way to subscriptions to the cloud from the client machine of your choosing. Popular programs you had to install on your computer like Microsoft Office are now subscription services updated automatically from the cloud.

Obviously the cloud has its limitations. Who gets to play Zeus, for instance? And what happens when illegal or self-incriminating information is stored in the cloud. Who can have access? As invasive as the internet may seem at times, cloud computing can take private information anywhere in the world for safe-keeping. Is that a price you’ll pay for all the computer power in the world? Thess are some of the issues we are grappling with today. We've all seen the stories about hacking of personal information. Privacy is practically gone as companies share our private information. It's a brave new world, but it's here to stay.

Our latest gadgets content can be found in the gadgets category in our new magazine format. Archived travel content can be found in the gadgets section on our blog.

Resources

Cloud Computing at Direct2Dell
Dell recently launched this blog that deals with cloud computing from a developer’s standpoint. This site is definitely not for the faint of the heart, or the technologically challenged. Dell’s gone all out, posting videos, pictures, and diagrams on a fairly regular basis for such an emerging technology. Obviously, this is a site worth watching.

ZDNet - Cloud Computing
This site has tons of content to help explain and leverage cloud computing, which encompasses everything from Google Apps to data center services to virtualization to software-, infrastructure- and platform-as-a service. Key players include IBM, HPE, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Oracle and VMware.

Gadget Teaser - Cloud Computing Blog
Gadget blog covers tech topics along with gadgets, apps and the Internet.

Gadget Teaser - Cloud Computing Blog
Follow the recent developments.

Linkedandloaded.com - Cloud Computing Blog
This new media blog covers a wide variety of topics related to new media and technology and and how they impact our lives and businesses.

Articles

What is cloud computing? Everything you need to know about the cloud explained
An introduction to cloud computing right from the basics up to IaaS and PaaS, hybrid, public, and private cloud, AWS and Azure.

6 Steps for Planning a Cloud Strategy
Helpful article from Gartner on how organizations can advance the use of cloud across the business.

Three actions CEOs can take to get value from cloud computing
Consulting gurus at McKinsey explain what CEOs should be doing with cloud computing.

How Cloud Can Benefit Your Small Business
Cloud computing can be the great equalizer for small businesses who now have enterprise level services and apps available the Saas applications.

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.

Around the Web