You’ve probably heard about the cloud by now: that magical playground on the internet where your data is stored and your software computations run smoothly and quickly. But between the futuristic predictions of ubiquitous, personalized, context-aware applications, it sometimes can be hard to discover what you can actually do with the cloud, right here, right now. Well, here are five examples.
1. Back-up your data
We’re not going to hammer on the importance of back-ups: you already know that. But your external hard drive can still get lost, be stolen, get dropped in a pint, or end up in a car crash. The cloud can’t. You can rent storage space from cloud hosting providers, who then store your data on multiple connected servers. If one breaks down, there is always another one to take over. And the best thing: you only pay for what you use, when you use it.
2. Be entertained
Streaming services will only get bigger and bigger, and will extend from music and movies to include video games. There’s no need to fill your hard drive with terabytes of albums and TV shows if you can just access them online at any time, from any device. Browser games are already a success, but with Sony taking over cloud game developer Gaikai, the future for traditional console games seems uncertain – but exciting!
3. Collaborate
The cloud is not only useful for leisure, but also for work. Instead of sending a message through e-mail, sharing a document in Dropbox, talking on Skype, and discussing the latest news on a forum, you can use one cloud network that combines all of these services. Here, you can store, share and edit files simultaneously on any sort of device you want. You no longer have to wait for slow uploads and downloads, because documents only exist in the cloud and can be accessed from anywhere, resulting in increasing flexibility that suits or increasingly mobile lifestyles.
4. Build your own applications
This may seem complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Many developers offer free APIs that let you use parts of their software as tools to build your own programs, without needing as much experience in coding, and their websites usually include well-frequented support forums. A good example is the Flickr API garden, where developers share their ideas to create interactions with the huge amount of photos published on the platform. Also, there are lots of tools out there that let you build your own app without writing a single line of script, as a quick online search will prove.
Livedrive being one of the rapidly growing cloud storage companies is meeting demands of individuals as well as businesses customers. It not only offers a wide range of services and apps, but also facilitate you for sharing and syncing files between all your computers. Use Livedrive coupons to get the best prices on its products.
5. Throw away your desktop PC
No, stop – don’t take this too literally! You shouldn’t chuck out your computer straight away, of course, but this is the full potential of cloud computing: using any device with an internet connection to do all of the above, from smartphone to tablet. The whole point of the cloud is that it not only contains data but can also run software, so you don’t have to worry about the specifications of your computer. This means cheaper computer systems that won’t lose their value over time: good for your wallet and for the environment.