Previously, I explained what “The Cloud” is. Today, I’m going to explain some great cloud computing resources for end users as well as addressing some of the concerns from last time.
Netbooks
HP just released their Mini 1000 series netbook, one in a long line of smaller, lighter laptops. The early reviews have been very favorable, but there are a couple of main points that are appealing to myself and those I’ve spoken with about this computer.
- It starts at $400!!!
- Weighs less than 3 pounds!!!
- Energy Star Certified!!!
- Powerful enough to run Firefox and Google Chrome!!!
The last point is what makes cloud computing so incredible. Although this laptop is by no means a powerhouse, it is powerful enough to run every single one of the cloud services I’m about to mention.
Word Replacement
I love Office 2007 and the ribbon, but many people haven’t become comfortable with the new user interface. If that’s you, you should love Google Docs word processor. It has toolbars far more similar to those found in Office 2003. I consider myself to be an expert-level Word user and Google Docs does 99% of everything I want to do, including saving as a PDF. The number one complaint I receive is that there aren’t enough fonts. This is a document, it should be easy to use, which doesn’t require thousands of fonts.
- Price: Free
- Offline Access: Yes (via Google Gears)
- Ease of Use: Very Easy
Excel Replacement
Google Docs for the win again! Again, more similar to Excel 2003 than 2007, but a very robust package. Here’s a disclaimer about Excel: most people use less than 10% of the true functionality of Excel. Excel was not designed to be a database, but most people use this to track their contacts – first name in one column, last name in the next, email in the next and so on. THIS IS NOT THE NATURE OF THE BEAST! But if this is all you use it for, that’s perfectly fine, Google Docs spreadsheets will do the trick perfectly. Again, 99% of the advanced features I use can be found here including your charts and graphs. BONUS TIP: you can use this service to create EASY, FREE survey’s!
- Price: Free
- Offline Access: Yes (via Google Gears)
- Ease of Use: Easy
PowerPoint Replacement
This is a tricky one for me all of a sudden. I used to love SlideRocket, but they went out of beta and are now charging “from $10/month” for the version that is a must-have. Why not use the free version, you ask? You don’t get the offline player, which for me is the single must-have feature. I’m cheap. I already have PowerPoint, so I’m not sure I’m willing to pay $10/month. Google Docs has a presentation tool, but right now it’s not very impressive. So for me, since I do a ton of presentations, I’ll just bite the bullet and pay my $10 per month, but I’m not happy about it. So about SlideRocket…
AWESOME! Far better than PowerPoint! Better transitions, template systems and image tools! Import your old PowerPoint presentations easily.
- Price: Free (with paid options)
- Offline Accesss: with $10/month paid upgrade
- Ease of Use: Very easy
Photoshop Replacement
This is a tough one, mainly because there are so many options. My current favorite is Picnik. It’s very easy to use and integrates with my favorite online photo sharing/storage sites. It allows for all of the basic tools needed to fix photos (crop, resize, brightness, contrast and color correction) as well as quite a few creative tools.
- Price: Free (paid upgrade available and worth it, only $24.95/year)
- Offline Access: nope (the only real downside I’ve found)
- Ease of Use: Very easy
Your Calendar Program Replacement
Thanks again to Google, this is an easy one. Google Calendar is easy to use, fast, syncs with several devices and can easily be shared with others. Just try it, you’ll be happy.
- Price: Free
- Offline Access: nope (but can be synced with several mobile devices)
- Ease of Use: Very easy
Outlook Replacement
Made you look! Sorry folks, right now there isn’t anything I’ve found (and I’ve been looking for a long time) that can reasonably expect to replace Outlook.
Those are the main programs I run into people using daily and have thoroughly researched, but if you have additional requests, please let me know in the comments.
Concerns about Cloud Computing
- What do I do with my old data?
- In some cases you can sync it, in others you can import it and yet in others, you have to recreate it. This is an apparent concern of all of these developers and will become a mandatory feature for new offerings.
- Is my data safe?
- As safe as logging into your bank account online or even calling your credit card company. All data can be hacked. If you really want to be “safe”, you need to go completely off the grid ala Gene Hackman from Enemy of the State.
- How can I be sure my data is safe?
- I still don’t store credit card numbers or logins/passwords in the cloud, but then again, I don’t store then on my desktop either. My credit cards are stored in my wallet and my usernames/passwords in my head. If you have something truly sensitive, many of these services offer secure connections. With Google, change the “http” of your web address with “https” for a secure connection. As I mentioned in my previous piece, major healthcare companies are trusting Google and Microsoft to store your medical documents in the cloud, all of my financial information is stored in the cloud on services like Mint, so why can’t I store a class presentation online too?
- How is cloud computing superior to what i’m already using?
- Save hard disk space, which allows you to use the new SSD (solid state drive) hard disks that typically have smaller storage volume, but better speeds and battery life.
- Updates are almost always included. Adobe just released Creative Suite 4 and to UPGRADE it’s going to cost me at least $899.99! Picnik, SlideRocket and Google Docs are constantly adding new features for FREE to compete with their desktop counterparts.
- You don’t need your computer! You can access these sites from any computer, so you don’t have to lug yours around.
- Computer horsepower requirements are less. So if you decide you do want to carry around your computer, it can now be less than an inch thick and weigh less than 3 pounds.
- Isn’t storing personally identifying information in the cloud is a liability if my clients don’t provide consent?
- Do you send emails with customer information? Do you EVER let customer information out of your sight? Do you ever discuss customers and transactions over the phone? If you answer YES to any of these, cloud computing is perfectly safe for you.
Like last time, please ask your questions in the comments below. The last article in the series will be a bit shorter, I promise.
