Up, Up, and Hopefully Not Away...Full Cloud Computing - Are We Ready for It?

With the recent news of Microsoft Mesh and Albany, I have been wondering if we, as users are ready for cloud computing. In fact, when I first read and looked into the details, I began thinking about what would happen if there was an internet tornado and the little people that push the data around to the emerald city got caught in the mesh...wait, that could have been because I just watched Tin Man ...nice adpatation by the way...

However, really...are we ready to have: all of our devices work together?...all our data and applications available from anywhere?...the people we need to connect with just a few clicks away for sharing and collaborating?...our the information to stay up-to-date and always be available?...You bet you we are...Where has this been?

We have a home and a business network, but have to add on multiple applications and even more security measures to be able access things on the road. We have to purchase as many variations of software as we have computers. This can get costly and time consuming...not to mention crazy when everything needs to be updated all at once. We would like to purchase the newest version of Office for our business and home, but the economics don't always work out...so, we have re-installed an older version and accepted the short comings. We are looking forward to more of this cloud computing.

While some of you may say that you prefer to have programs and documents locally, that is fine...hopefully, the options will remain. However, considering how expensive the upgrade or new install of MS Office is and how time-demanding other options can be, I would enjoy spreading out the time and expense elsewhere. Please Microsoft, hurry, but make sure it works well...it can be difficult explaining another cunning data-sharing plan to our parents and grandparents...again...

To read a more thourough review of Mesh, Albany, and other Cloud Computing...please use the more versed resources:
Paul Thurott's Supersite for Windows
Paul's Albany Information
Microsoft's Mesh Screenshots
Microsoft's Mesh Blog

The OS of the future...Mi Apploohoo

The wave of the future is here, ladies and gentleman, the new software that will run everything from your lamps to your toilets...it will set your alarm clock and start your stove for a pancake parody breakfast that was supposed to be big in the early part of the century...It is Mi Apploft...Two of the best names in technology eventually merged and became one to run the home of the future...future...future...

OK, OK, while this is a far cry from the one source for making the home of tomorrow a home of today, the Mac has been named the only computer to run all available operating systems, or at least all of the top operating systems. It has also been named as the fastest Vista machine. What is this world coming to...? What will the future bring? Why would we need to run Windows on a Mac? The answer is to another question, yet relates to this idea, because we can...

We have begun the migration from Windows to Mac...or, should I say Apple...however, during this migration, we realized that as much as we would like to stay away from the spyware and viruses, we actually like and, more importantly, need a windows-based machine. I know, I know, just make the switch...just find the solutions for one source and stick with it...yeah, not going to happen. We will migrate from one to the other when needed, but it will be on the Apple hardware...for now...

There is software that is included in both that would have been helpful as we grew up. Even if these two giants were to combine, it would not be a harmful monopoly...Just having Wordpad or Notepad available in high school would have saved me from spending $40+ on a new word processor because the 5 1/4 disk "went bad" on my only copy; the company that made it did not have a web page; and the bulletin boards did not have freeware or pirated versions of these things...or, at least not as available and not something your could explain to someone step-by-step without writing a best-selling pc book...All this, while making $5.00/hour and begging my parents to look for an alternative typing program while I worked at a wonderful retail job, trapped just a few doors from the local software store...It would have been just plain awful if this was built in DOS or earlier versions of Windows....

Just having Garageband available for our Jazz concerts would have saved extra fundraisers and great gaps in tapes or missed songs while the machine rewound or fast-forwarded to start a new section...OK, so this was a stretch, but is it really so bad?

I know, I know, the whole monopoly prevention is supposed to "protect" the consumer. It is supposed to keep prices low and creativity high...it is supposed to...As we hold Microsoft and Apple to a standard that claims "monopoly" whether it is on a computer or music player, let us first think about the momentum and impact of a large company making progress for all of us rather than random little ones trying to influence the masses...I'm wrong, I know...but who could resist writing about that outsourced-to-Mexico-wave-of-the-future...Mi Apploft...

Enjoy...

Windows With Answers

There are many, many sites out there that "talk" about windows and its many variations. There are also many sites out there that are just a waste of bandwidth. It is difficult to determine which ones to trust and which ones you should dismiss. There is one site that I have used and review every couple of days to see if I missed something in my adventures with any version of windows, it is Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Paul writes books, does podcasts, provides reviews and tips for the masses. Most of all, he is a "normal" human being. He plays XBOX 360. He spends time with his children. And, he uses many products he shares. If you have questions about Window products, search Paul's site, read one of his books or blogs, or listen to his podcasts. If you don't find it somewhere there, it may not be worth the adventure.