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Cloud computing has become quite the buzzword over the last year or so. It seems like every major company wants a piece of the “cloud,” from IBM to AMD to Microsoft. Definitions for the phrase vary, but the most common aspect of any cloud computing service is the notion that you can use the internet to run applications on remote computers, making you less dependent on any one physical machine.
And while the idea of software as a service is hardly new, the number of online “cloud” apps has reached a sort of critical mass lately, making it possible to do the vast majority of your computing online. In this article we’ll show you some of our favorite cloud applications, and explain how they can help make the move to cloud city.
One of the first applications of cloud computing to make a significant impact on the mainstream was the advent of online office software like Google Docs, which allows you to edit and save your documents on a remote server, accessible from any computer. Although Google’s online office apps are the best known, and very solid in their own right, we recommend you give the suite at zoho.com a chance. Read on to find out why.
If you’ve ever used Google apps it’s very easy to try out Zoho, for two reasons. First, the interface will be very familiar to any users of Google’s offering, making for a tiny learning curve. Second, you can actually log into Zoho with your Google account, so you won’t even have to register.
So why use Zoho instead of Google Apps? Well, for one, you get pretty much all of the same functionality. Here are some screenshots to illustrate the functionality of the word processor and spreadsheet apps in Zoho. If you've ever used Google Maps, you should recognize the interface as very similar.
And in addition to doing all the Google Docs stuff, Zoho has some additional features. To name a few, Zoho can automatically post to blogs, create and host wikis, and sort documents with an intuitive tagging system, rather than a simple folder hierarchy. All that aside, there’s one feature that really makes us like Zoho better than Google for document management: The Zoho Plug-in for Microsoft office.
With this plug-in, you can create and edit your documents and spreadsheets with the Microsoft Office applications you’ve gotten used to, and then hit the Zoho button to automatically save it to the cloud. The plug-in also makes it easy to download and edit files from the Zoho servers, then upload your edits. In essence, this plug-in removes what we consider to be the greatest hurdle to the widespread adoption of online office services: the fact that the online client is simply never quite as powerful as a system-based client like Microsoft Word. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it, too?
Getting set up with the Zoho plug-in is easy; all you have to do is to download the plugin here, then run it. It’ll automatically install the add-in, and all you have to do is log into your account next time you start up Word. Once the plug-in is installed, there’ll be a new panel in the “Add-Ins” section, which will give you the option to open from or save to the Zoho servers. It’s that simple. It’s so simple, in fact, that it’s almost baffling that Google Docs hasn’t released a similar functionality yet. Nonetheless, the convenience of this feature alone, in addition to the slightly larger featureset of Zoho means that it gets our recommendation.
Sure, there are plenty of services like last.fm or Pandora that let you listen to music online, but it’s really not quite the same as listening to your own personal library of music. If only there was some way to store our music files online, and listen to them anywhere…
Oh, right! There is. In fact there are a couple of services which allow you to do exactly this. Both Lala and MP3tunes.com fit the bill, and while they’re both excellent services, we’re inclined to recommend Lala, for a couple of reasons. Read on to find out more about Lala’s features, and about why we think it’s the superior offering.
Cloud City image copyright Lucasfilm
Comments are closed on this article
shortbus88
February 04, 2009 at 12:08pm
We are talking about music, pictures, social networking.
Stuff for personal use.
It is a no brainer that corporations should not be storing sensitive data in the cloud.Class group projects could benefit from cloud computing just for convenience. I would also save a copy of the data on my own harddrive to backups, but save the changes in the cloud for the rest of my class project team to see as well.
i think that cloud computing has its place for data that you would not care if others could see it.
WildmanCAL
February 04, 2009 at 7:10am
If a person relies solely on cloud computing, then they are asking for big trouble if they lose their internet connection. Most broadband connections are fairly reliable these days but there is always that "I need to work on my school paper" and BAM! your internet connection is down and you cannot access your documents because they are stored on SOMEONE ELSE'S COMPUTERS! Thank you, no, but I will take storing on MY hard drive and it be MY responsibilty to backup MY data.
Keith E. Whisman
February 03, 2009 at 1:37pm
I think this is a big mistake for companies. With a third party holding a companies information it's going to be easy for companies to secretly sell it's customers data to rivals and hackers to break in and steal information. I don't like it one bit and It's a terrible idea for companies to rely on cloud computing entirely. Perhaps for receptionists at doctors offices and maybe market research companies for it's mass call centers. But to store information on a third parties servers it's a mistake. I can't believe people are so excited about this technology. It's definately not a technology enthusiasts like us here enjoying MaximumPC could possibly get excited about.
I Jedi
February 03, 2009 at 2:20pm
Agreed. I will never put private and sensitive information of mine on cloud computing. Too dangerous. I'd have to see some hard core reviews/statistics. etc to prove to me that this technology is safe, reliable, and without worry.
