One of the biggest buzzes in technology is the proliferation of “The Cloud”. Part of the attraction of the cloud is the thought that it is an ultra-convenient place to store ones files, documents, pictures, music or what-not.In theory, there are some really interesting benefits of cloud storage and portals. As a writer, I often struggle with the dilemma of “oh gosh, my documents are at home and I had a great idea for my story!” The theory being that if I store my documents in “The Cloud” then it will remain always accessible to me and it doesn’t matter if I’m at home, or anywhere else. Presto – chango! Connect to the ‘net and Bob’s my uncle, there’s my story!
Fundamentally, this method of accessing files is only as good as one’s Internet connection. If I have my notebook on the subway and there’s no Internet connection, then there’s no access to the cloud and my documents. Even if I’m above ground on a bus for instance – unless I have a WiFi card on my network, then I’m out of luck. Now, it’s true that many new cellphones have the ability to serve as WiFi hotspots and once again – in theory – you can connect to the WiFi network on your phone, you still have to be concerned about data usage and other charges with your cell plan.
Let’s pretend for the sake of argument that we all have instant connectivity wherever we are. Is everything good? Is “The Cloud” a viable alternative?
The answer is not so simply…it depends…there’s a slew of other issues to consider when storing documents online.
Alright, so how many of you have Facebook – hands up! Now, everyone who has read the entire terms of service of Facebook, you can put your hand down. So now that everyone still has your hand up – if you store pictures on your Facebook page, or have any personal content, are you aware that when you signed up for Facebook, you have granted them the right to use any of your content, for any purposes, royalty free? I’m not picking on Facebook, carefully read the TOS for many of these free “services” and you’ll see that they may be free but they don’t come without a price. A similar example is DeviantArt – where I actually store my artwork. I checked tonight and it’s TOS (terms of service) also grants them royalty free use of any of my artwork without requiring my permission. Fortunately, my art pretty much sucks so I don’t have to worry about it being turned into millions of coffee mugs or such.
Legalities aside, think for a moment on if you’re having a fantastic time using some online portal to store your documents – like I sometimes do with Google Documents. Access to your documents are only as good as the service is up and running. A perfect example is the recent MegaUpload issue. This was a website that was being used for people to be able to store their documents, music and movies. The problem was that these files were then shared and legal action was initiated against the site for copyright violation. The net of copyright infringement was cast far too wide and it caught some innocent fish that did not share a thing – but just used MegaUpload as online storage.
It’s a scary digital world out there and sometimes I find that I will use a technology just for convenience sake without really looking at the consequences and to think of the possible impact.
Like so many areas of technology, it tantalizes us and hooks us with the promise of ease and convenience. Kind of like the wizard in Oz, sometimes it’s necessary to pull back the curtain to see what is really there.
Alright, so how many of you have Facebook – hands up! Now, everyone who has read the entire terms of service of Facebook, you can put your hand down. So now that everyone still has your hand up – if you store pictures on your Facebook page, or have any personal content, are you aware that when you signed up for Facebook, you have granted them the right to use any of your content, for any purposes, royalty free? I’m not picking on Facebook, carefully read the TOS for many of these free “services” and you’ll see that they may be free but they don’t come without a price. A similar example is DeviantArt – where I actually store my artwork. I checked tonight and it’s TOS (terms of service) also grants them royalty free use of any of my artwork without requiring my permission. Fortunately, my art pretty much sucks so I don’t have to worry about it being turned into millions of coffee mugs or such.
Legalities aside, think for a moment on if you’re having a fantastic time using some online portal to store your documents – like I sometimes do with Google Documents. Access to your documents are only as good as the service is up and running. A perfect example is the recent MegaUpload issue. This was a website that was being used for people to be able to store their documents, music and movies. The problem was that these files were then shared and legal action was initiated against the site for copyright violation. The net of copyright infringement was cast far too wide and it caught some innocent fish that did not share a thing – but just used MegaUpload as online storage.
It’s a scary digital world out there and sometimes I find that I will use a technology just for convenience sake without really looking at the consequences and to think of the possible impact.
Like so many areas of technology, it tantalizes us and hooks us with the promise of ease and convenience. Kind of like the wizard in Oz, sometimes it’s necessary to pull back the curtain to see what is really there.
