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The cloud is all-powerful, but it’s also our human to digital link to the next stages in computing technology: AI. With the cloud, we’re creating the evolution of machine learning which will help us through the coming years as we rely more and more on technology to help us in our daily lives. In this book you’ll discover what the cloud is, how it works, and how it can benefit you can your business. We look at the major players in cloud the storage market, and reveal in-depth analysis of key features. There’s guides on how to create your own cloud, how to use Google’s Home devices, and tons of information that will get you up to date with the latest in cloud terminology and technology. Read on, and let’s…

FROM CUMULUS TO CIRRUS The considered and accepted evolution of the cloud, from concept to daily use, starts as far back as the 1950s. 1955 According to a popular myth, John McCarthy, the computer scientist who coined the term ‘artificial intelligence’, dreamed up the concept of computing time-sharing. In those days, computing cost millions of dollars, so McCarthy came up with the idea of renting time-shared computing resources to companies who couldn’t afford the technology. This moment is regarded as the beginning of the cloud concept. 1969 J.C.R Licklider developed ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), a network that eventually became the basis of the Internet. Using McCarthy’s initial concept, Licklider’s vision was “for everyone on the globe to be interconnected and accessing programs and data at any site, from…

CONCERNS IN THE CLOUD With the responsibility of entire company fortunes and user’s private data, cloud providers do their best to limit problems; but they do appear from time to time. UPGRADES While unquestionably beneficial, automatic upgrades in the cloud can have a negative effect too. For example, in 2011, Amazon’s EC2 suffered a huge outage as a planned upgrade went horribly wrong. Storage went off-line and, in extreme cases, some customers lost data. MOUNTING COSTS Although the initial cost of cloud ownership is much cheaper than a traditional on-site solution, as the service grows, so can the cost to the company. Social gaming company Zynga moved away from using cloud-based services when the costs started to rise beyond $150 million. NOT ALWAYS ONLINE Working from the cloud is all…

HOME CLOUDS Agile business models and elaborate disaster recovery plans aren’t always at the forefront of what the average user wants from a cloud service. So what can the consumer expect? STORAGE The most significant section of the consumer cloud market is undoubtedly online storage. The likes of Dropbox, Google, Microsoft and Apple all cater for the home user with 5GB, 100GB or more, in some circumstances, of storage available. And it’s all accessed via a friendly, and easy to use, portal that integrates all your devices. EMAIL ACCESS The second biggest consumer cloud service is email. Webmail has taken off in the last decade or so, moving away from traditional ISP or work-based email, to offer the user an area where space is plenty and very few restrictions apply.…

VOICE TYPING The days of using the keyboard for entering text are seriously numbered. If you use Google Chrome, and you have a microphone attached to your system, click the Tools option in the Docs menu, followed by Voice Typing. Make sure the microphone is working, and click the Mic icon to start talking. Click the icon again to stop Voice Typing. FONTS Docs has a good number of fonts from which to choose when creating a new document. If you want, though, simply click on the fonts box, followed by More Fonts. This brings up a new window displaying hundreds more from which to choose. Just click the font to start using it. TRACK CHANGES When you’re collaborating on a document with numerous people, it can be difficult to…

1 SEARCH You can search Google Drive in the same way that you can search Gmail or one of the other Google products. 2 NEW Click the New button to open a new document, spreadsheet, presentation, form or drawing. 3 FOLDERS Your preset Google Drive folders are shown here, along with any that you have created. Click More to see Labels. 4 CURRENT FOLDER The contents of the currently selected folder are shown here. You can change how items are displayed (List or Grid). 5 DISPLAY CONTROLS Change how items in your folders are displayed and how they are sorted. The gear icon lets you access the G Drive settings. 6 UPLOAD LIST When you upload multiple items to Google Drive, the Upload box appears, to show you the progress of each item. INSTALLING BACKUP AND…

OFFICE IN THE CLOUDS There are quite a lot of cloud services on offer from the Redmond Company, but for the sakes of the consumer enduser, these are by far the most utilised. ONEDRIVE OneDrive is Microsoft’s answer to cloud storage for both consumers and business users alike. The basic plan comes in with a free 5GB of storage available, but you can soon expand that to 50GB or 1TB, all for a fairly reasonable monthly fee. WORD ONLINE You may not be aware of this, but the world’s most used word processor is available as a cloud application. We are, of course, talking about MS Word. Using its latest version, you can log in to your Microsoft account and use the online version of Word in your browser as…

DO MORE WITH ONEDRIVE To start using OneDrive you need a Microsoft account. Head on over to www.onedrive.live.com and click the Sign Up For Free button to begin. STEP 1 Once you’ve signed into your OneDrive account you’ll be presented with the default Files view. From here you can drag and drop any files and content into your OneDrive window to populate it. You can also click the Upload link at the top of the screen to open your OS File Manger to browse for files or folders. STEP 2 You can create folders within OneDrive by clicking on the New link followed by Folder. You’ll then be able to click to enter the new folder and drag files into it, or use the Upload link. You’ll also notice that…

DRAG ‘N DROP Thanks to a recent update, Dropbox reintroduced the ability to drag and drop folders from your computer to the Files area in Dropbox. Naturally, you can use the desktop client, but if you, like us, dislike installing yet another third-party app in the background, the web interface now works much better. SHARING Once you’ve uploaded files, images, or documents, for example, you can click them to view the contents. You’re also able to share any of the folders and individual files with others by clicking on the content in question, followed by the Share button. CONTACTS Sharing content works in much the same way as the other cloud storage solutions. You enter a user’s email address; if you’ve logged into Dropbox via Google, it uses your Google…

START You’ll obtain Transfer from the root level of the main Dropbox menu, on the left side of the screen. If you can’t see it, click the Dropbox icon to go to the root level where you can find and click on the Transfer link. FILES Transfer allows Dropbox users to send a copy of files. Recipients won’t need a Dropbox account to receive Transfers, and alterations made by recipients won’t change the original file. Dropbox says it’s “designed for times when you need to turn over large collections of final files to clients and people outside your company.” TRANSFER You can start a Transfer by clicking on the Create Transfer button to the right of the main area. This opens a lurid pink screen where you can drop files…

STORING YOUR DOCUMENTS IN iCLOUD STEP 1 Click on your desktop to open Finder, then open iCloud Drive from the Go menu. You may need to log into iCloud using your Apple ID. You’ll see a Finder window showing the contents of your iCloud drive folder, with folders for some apps that store output in iCloud. STEP 2 To save files of any type into your iCloud Drive folder, simply drag them from their current location (in this screenshot, that’s the desktop) and drop them in the open iCloud window. They are now stored remotely and accessible from any connected Apple device. STEP 3 You can organise your iCloud folder like any other folder, including creating new folders within it. To move files into a new folder in your iCloud…

If you’re able, pick up your phone, activate it, and ask either Siri or the Google Assistant a simple question. Now ask it a more complicated question. You’ve just talked to an AI system designed to listen out for your voice, analyse what’s being asked and respond to it in an appropriate fashion. Significantly, it also learns from what’s being asked. The Google Assistant, Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and whatever else is available now, are all cloud-based natural language intelligent bots that use the complex computing capabilities of the cloud to provide a personalised consumer experience. There are two sides to the AI coin: the intelligence side that, when asked something, knows what to do or can work out what needs to be done, and the learning side, that will actively…

CLOUD SALES Businesses need to consider many aspects when it comes to choosing the eCommerce platform that best suits their needs. Out of the many, here are ten excellent examples to investigate. SHOPIFY Hailed as one of the best eCommerce cloud services available, Shopify covers pretty much every aspect of sales for your business. It’s easy to use, has a vast range of services, and can be customised for your company. BIGCOMMERCE Another of the top names in e-Commerce cloud computing is BigCommerce, a company that prides itself on handling huge volumes and more web traffic. With an average uptime of 99.99%, BigCommerce is an ideal solution for those businesses that can see significant growth in their sector for the future. YAHOO AABACO SMALL BUSINESS Using Yahoo! as an e-Commerce…

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF EMAIL The importance of finding a good cloud-based email provider goes without saying. There are plenty of services to research before choosing, which can be time-consuming. Here’s ten to help start you off. GSUITE Google’s Gmail for business is an obvious first choice for most small business users; there’s a good chance you and your workforce already use the personal version. Gmail for business offers 30GB of storage, compatibility with MS Outlook, and a personalised email address for your company. MICROSOFT EXCHANGE ONLINE The competitively priced Microsoft Exchange Online offers the business user premier, disaster recovery solutions, global server coverage, anti-spam and anti-malware filtering, and a range of plans from which to choose. It’s easy to use, familiar with its users, and easy to maintain…

THE PRIVATE CLOUD While public and private clouds share many benefits, opting for a private cloud can yield better results for a business – depending on what the business wants from its cloud service. CONTROL A private cloud setup gives more control to the business over the cloud’s servers and configurations. In a private cloud, the servers are dedicated to the business therefore you can tailor it to your own company specifications. IMPROVED SECURITY Sensitive data such as banking, medical or other confidential material, requires a higher level of security than that of so-called non-sensitive data. Using a private cloud solution means that your company, and your company alone, has access to your data. REDUNDANCY More often than not, a private cloud setup factors in better redundancy than that of…

If you’re interested in making a cloud storage solution at home, or the office, then you’ll need to factor in a few elements first. Some work better than others; some can be quite tedious to set up and get going, whereas others are really very simple. Either way, here are some examples of what you’ll need to begin. COMPUTER A fairly obvious component, in this case. The computer itself doesn’t need to be the most powerful PC available, so don’t go spending thousands on a new PC for a cloud at-home project. Nevertheless, you are going to need a few extra components to make it work better. STORAGE Inside the computer, you’re going to need ample storage for you, and your friends and family if you want, to which content…

NAS BENEFITS NAS technology has come a long way in the last few years. No longer the monolithic boxes dominating the room, in fact, they’re now quite discreet, media-type installations hidden away in the corner of a living room or office. They are remarkably powerful these days too. With specifications that surpass those of a top of the range PC from not so long ago, a modern NAS is a far more capable ‘computer’ than some of the PCs found on desks. This improved processing power allows more services to be run simultaneously, and with support for more users. In terms of service and software, many modern NAS units run a customised version of Linux, which serves as the backbone to their file and media sharing capabilities. There’s also a…

SAFE CLOUDS Ensuring Cyber security is often endeavoured by having multiple layers of security in place. Here then are ten golden rules for cloud security. RULE 1 Always use a cloud service that offers full encryption for your data. Ideally, the cloud service should offer 256-bit AES military-grade encryption across all its communications and storage. This way, it’s going to be exceedingly difficult for a hacker to gain entry through brute force alone. RULE 2 Encrypting your data before uploading it to a cloud service is a highly sensible idea. Providing you take steps to ensure the encryption keys are safe then, should someone ever gain entry to your account, all your data appears as a jumble of characters. RULE 3 If you’re going to use a cloud service to…

Sony, Nintendo, Amazon, Electronic Arts, NVIDIA and Microsoft; each of these companies must look to the future of gaming in the cloud, and change the way that games are played, distributed, sold and owned. Google’s Stadia project launched in November 2019, and, while the hype behind it was reaching a fever pitch, the actual launch was something of a damp squib. A catalogue of issues, mostly due to latency issues, meant the company’s first foray into gaming in the cloud didn’t quite rock the boat as the Google team had hoped. Not that the Stadia is a bad idea, on paper it’s great. Create a device that’s capable of delivering games as a service that can be played on any medium, be that a PC, tablet, phone or even just…

This artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant was developed by the AI teams at Google and released in 2016. It’s written in C++ but utilises Python libraries to help understand the communications between people and the actions that are required of it. CThe AI side of things, alongside the wealth of information that’s incorporated into the Google Assistant, are all held within the labyrinthine corridors of the many Google data centres scattered around the world. Its mission is to “Create a more helpful Google for you”, and as such is designed to interact with all of Google’s services, as well as third party services and the ever-growing collection of Google’s hardware devices. Since it’s not the only AI Assistant on the block any more, Google’s slice of the AI market share needs…

$500bn Public cloud spending will grow to nearly $500 billion by 2023. An estimated of all companies will be using a cloud service by the end of 2021. 80% 2020 85% 85% of all new software developed in 2020 will be for cloud delivery. 14% of all companies that have fully adopted cloud solutions have downsized their IT workforce. 60-70% It is estimated that 60-70% of all IT enterprises will be investing in cloud-based solutions by the end of 2020. 95% It is estimated that by the end of 2020, 95% of all workloads will be cloud-based. However, 20% have hired more IT staff since adopting a full cloud solution. ENTERPRISE COMPANIES WILL SPEND 33% MORE ON CLOUD SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS IN 2020 OVER 2019. ACCORDING TO STATISTICS, USING CLOUD…

AHEAD IN THE CLOUD We’ve touched on a few areas and benefits of using a cloud provider for your business and home use, so let’s break these down a little more. FLEXIBILITY Cloud-based solutions are incredibly flexible in their design. They can grow as your business needs increase and they can be scaled back, should you ever require it. It’s this level of operational agility, or elasticity, that makes a cloud solution perfect for the business and consumer IT model. DISASTER RECOVERY Both businesses, of any size, and home users should be concerned with building a robust disaster recovery solution. In the event of a localised catastrophe, the loss of personal files or critical business data is a nightmare situation. However, recovering it can be quick and easy if it’s…

GROUPS Group emails are great, but they can become a distraction when you’re trying to work. Clicking on the More button in a groupwide email and selecting Mute will let you get the message conversations but without the notifications. SETTINGS Gmail Labs were once one of the best elements to the company’s email service, but they’ve been replaced with the Advanced tab now. Click on Settings and then the Advanced tab. In here are numerous features, such as Preview Pane and Custom Shortcuts. ACCOUNTS You can easily switch between multiple Gmail accounts by clicking on your profile image in the top-right corner of the Gmail interface. However, you can also quick change by entering a number into the Gmail address. For example: https://mail. google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox, for one account, https://mail. google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox, for…

TEMPLATES There are different ways of getting started with Google Sheets. You can create a new spreadsheet, upload an existing spreadsheet from a computer, or use a template from the Templates Gallery, to create a spreadsheet with a specific purpose. CONVERSIONS When you upload a spreadsheet into Google Drive, you have the choice to keep your spreadsheet in the original format or convert it into the Google Docs format. If you don’t convert the spreadsheet, you may not be able to access it collaboratively within your teams. SHARING Sharing and collaboration within Sheets is easy. Simply click the Share button in the corner of the screen, then add the Email collaborators and enter the details of those with whom you wish to share the file. This allows you to edit…

1 MAILBOXES These links let you display the messages in those mailboxes. A number next to any mailbox shows the amount of unread messages, rather than the total amount in the mailbox. 2 LABELS Labels allow you to categorise your messages into various pre-set or custom folders. You can save messages under more than one label for better cross-referencing. 3 CHAT CONTROLS This section shows a list of your available Chat contacts, as well as containing the various chat controls: Add Contact, Status Update, etc. You can read more about Gmail Chat later in this section. 4 SEARCH BOX Search for any message or contact in your Gmail inbox. Clicking on the small arrow at the end of the search box allows you to refine your search in several different ways. 5 MESSAGE CONTROLS This…

STORAGE Although there’s only 5GB of storage available (which is still quite a lot for most folks), you can easily upgrade to 100GB for just £1.99 per month. Beyond 100GB you can move up to 1TB of storage for just £59.99 per year, or opt for the more comprehensive solution of adding more users (six, with 1TB available each). SECURE VAULT A great feature of OneDrive is its newly added Personal Vault. Here you can store sensitive files in a heightened secure environment, complete with two-step verification, which auto-locks after twenty minutes of inactivity. PHOTOS Photos stored on your OneDrive account can be easily navigated and explored through the All Photos options from the main OneDrive menu. You’ll also be able to create Albums, Tags and share them with others.…

OFFICE FOR EVERYONE Take a moment to sign up for a Microsoft account, then head over to office.live.com. You’ll notice a range of Office icons, click one to get started. STEP 1 There are ten Office cloud options available from the office.live.com site. The familiar, and well used, Word, Excel and PowerPoint take the first three places, with OneNote, access to your OneDrive account, Mail, and so on after that. The last option is Docs.com, the Microsoft collaborative portal; similar to that of Google Docs. STEP 2 Clicking on each of the Office cloud icons will launch the product, asking you to sign in to your Microsoft account and linking the cloud app with your OneDrive account. There are numerous templates within each of the main Office apps from which…

PHOTOS Dropbox Photos can be found by navigating through the Files area, then clicking on the Photos link on the menu to the left of the main area. Note, if you’re currently uploading content via the web interface, you won’t be able to change locations within Dropbox without cancelling the upload. TIMESTAMPS The Photos in your Dropbox storage are listed according to the timestamp on the image or photo itself, with the most recent date and date displayed first followed by older images as you scroll through the Photo area’s timeline. PHOTO SHARE As with any other part of Dropbox, you’re able to share your photos by clicking on the photo, or ticking the box to block select multiple images, then click the Share button. From there you can enter…

USING DROPBOX Getting up and running with Dropbox’s Basic Plan doesn’t require much computing legwork. All you need to do is sign-in to www.dropbox.com. STEP 1 You can sign up with Dropbox either as a separate account or through your existing Google account. It doesn’t matter which you opt for, as any alerts, notifications and so on are automatically emailed to the account you use. STEP 2 Getting content into your Dropbox account can be done either by dragging and dropping the files and folders from your OS File Manager or by clicking on the blue coloured links to the right of the interface. STEP 3 Once you’ve uploaded files, images or documents for example, you can click them to view the contents. You will also be able to share…

STEP 1 To switch on iCloud Desktop Documents and Folders on your Mac, open System Preferences and click on Apple ID > iCloud. Click on the Options button next to iCloud Drive and then check the box next to Desktop & Documents Folders. It may take time to set up. STEP 2 On iPadOS or iOS open the Files app, or the iCloud Drive app if you’re using an old version of iOS. Under the iCloud Drive option, there are folders called Desktop and Documents. These contain all files currently stored on your Mac’s desktop or Documents folder. STEP 3 Documents and data on your Mac’s desktop can now be accessed through the iCloud Drive folder of any Mac, iPad or iOS device signed into the same iCloud account. All…

GOOD FOR BUSINESS Cloud-based tools and services that are best suited for SMB/SMEs are quite varied, depending on the type of business you run. Here then are ten examples of what’s on offer. COMMUNICATIONS Voice over IP (VoIP), video conferencing, email marketing and social media engagement, are an essential part of the modern business. You’re no longer limited to word of mouth within the town in which you operate, with cloud communications services you’re a part of the global market. E-COMMERCE A web-based storefront is a powerful element of the modern business, but it needs to be flexible enough to work for you and what you’re selling. Cloud computing services that cater for e-Commerce solutions are ideal in helping you win more custom and gain ground in an ever-competitive market.…

CLOUD FINANCIALS A typical cloud accounting service offers invoicing, banking, purchasing, expenses, and tax management, with the ability to integrate add-ons such as PayPal. CLEARBOOKS ClearBooks is an excellent start when researching cloud accounting for your business. With it, you can create customisable invoices, set automatic payment reminders, and schedule recurring invoices. It’s also excellent for keeping up with your tax returns and managing your banking. XERO Xero allows online invoicing, a mobile app, stock management, payroll management and bank reconciliation. It can handle multiple currencies, has a significant level of security, and customisable reporting. In short, it’s considered one of the best online accounting solutions available. FRESHBOOKS According to FreshBooks, you can save 192 hours a year just by using its software. Hailed as one of the easiest to…

GOING GREEN Fewer machines, efficient climate control, reuse of generated heat, and many more environmental benefits can be delivered from cloud computing. Here are ten cloud providers who are ‘going green’. EVRY CLOUD SERVICES Based across Scandinavia, this cloud hosting company offers many excellent services through its green datacentres. Powered by hydropower and operating in accordance with ISO 14001 Environmental Standard Guidelines, this Nordic datacentre is one of the greenest in the world. NETAPP Headquartered in California and ranked in the Fortune 500, NetApp was founded in 1992 and is a cloud data services and data management company. It recently purchased the Icelandic cloud data company GreenQloud, and as such inherited GreenQloud’s excellent environmental processes. Further to this, NetApp conforms to ISO 14001:2015, is Energy Star recognised, and holds LEEED…

THE HYBRID CLOUD An ideal hybrid cloud setup allows a business to move its workloads between in-house, private and public clouds seamlessly; giving the business a host of extra benefits. WORKLOAD FLEXIBILITY Without a doubt, the greatest benefit a hybrid setup offers is the flexibility of an in-house server setup while being able to move into private and public cloud setups. Information, according to its sensitivity, for example, can be arranged between the three models ensuring greater security. BIG DATA A business that uses Big Data – a term that describes voluminous amounts of data mined for information collectively – can utilise a hybrid cloud approach to store the vast data collection locally, while simultaneously running cloud-based analytics in the cloud. ABSOLUTE CUSTOMISATION The hybrid cloud approach also ensures that…

DESKTOP ANYWHERE What are the advantages of setting up or using a cloud-based virtual desktop, then? As it happens, here are ten examples of where a VDI will help you out. RUN LEGACY PROGRAMS One of the advantages of running a virtual desktop in the cloud, is the ability to execute old programs and apps in the operating system environment for which they were designed. For example, running a DOS 6.22, or Windows 95 virtual desktop in the cloud allows you to play all those DOS classic games and programs. VIRUS TESTING If you think a downloaded file from a website may contain a virus, you can safely experiment with it in a virtual desktop in the cloud. This way your actual PC isn’t going to be infected, and, thanks…

CREATING YOUR CLOUD We’ve pre-fitted the two IronWolf drives, and run through the initial setup process. Note: changes to NAS firmware and the OS can result in different screens from shown below. STEP 1 First we need to install the Cloud Station Server from the Package Center, located on the DSM desktop. In the Package Center, you’ll find the Cloud Station Server app in the Business section. Click on Install and agree to allow the new app to install on your Synology NAS. STEP 2 Open the Control Panel from the DSM desktop, and scroll down the side panel until you come to QuickConnect. Click the QuickConnect link, and in the right-hand main pane, tick the Enable QuickConnect box. You’ll need to enter your email and sign up for a…

The education in the cloud concept takes on many forms. Cloud technologies are used in a variety of ways throughout the education sector; from enrolling students, to providing course materials, aiding teachers in the delivery of their lessons, and even teaching entire lessons remotely over the cloud. There’s a lot the education sector can get from using cloud resources, so it seems strange that it’s taken so long to get to this point. CLOUD IN SCHOOL One of the main reasons why education is moving exceedingly slowly into the cloud is thanks to the government, in the UK at least. The formation of academies in 2000, the brainchild of former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was to help drive up standards in schools where local authorities were struggling. However, that…

STADIA SPEED TEST Before you begin your Stadia set-up, you need to ensure that your Internet connection is fast enough. Google has provided an online tool to do just that. STEP 1 Open a web browser, preferably on the device with which you intend to use Stadia, and enter the following URL: projectstream.google.com Before you start testing your Wi-Fi speed you are advised to limit web traffic, such as downloads or streaming. STEP 2 Once your Wi-Fi connection is free of other users, and clear of apps, tap the blue Check Now button on the left side of the web page. This activates the process, so you can simply sit back and wait for the results to appear. STEP 3 When your Internet connection test is complete, it displays the…

SILVER LININGS The meaning of the cloud has changed somewhat in recent years, more as it became the new buzzword that pundits and marketing executives liked to throw about. In its most basic, layman’s terms, cloud computing is simply accessing a form of digital resource, or service, that isn’t installed locally on your computer. For the home, consumer user, that could mean accessing Gmail, Google Drive, Dropbox, or, in some circumstances, even viewing content through the likes of Netflix or listening to music via Spotify. It’s a loose interpretation of what a cloud is, but essentially, it’s the same. From the Small Medium Business (SMB), or Small Medium Enterprise’s (SME) point of view, it’s a way of consolidating your digital resources and mission-critical content into an always-available, online and accessible…

ON-DEMAND AVAILABILITY Cloud services come in many guises and bewildering acronyms. Here are ten of the more popular cloud services and what they mean exactly. GAAS GASS (Gaming As A Service) is set to take more of a foothold in 2020, with the launch of Google Stadia and Microsoft’s Project xCloud; enabling the player to launch any title in the company’s library and play them on various devices (PC, tablet, phone etc.) over their Internet connection. It’s said that if GAAS works well beyond 2020, the console could become obsolete. CAAS CAAS (Communications As A Service) sounds more complicated than it actually is. Simply put, CAAS is a cloud-based telecoms, messaging and video conferencing solution that uses a company mobile phone plan, with cloud integration to the company’s resources. Skype…

CLOUD STRUCTURES Let’s take a moment to build the anatomy of the cloud from the ground up. Starting with you, the user, sat in front of your computer or device. STEP 1 While connecting to a cloud resource may seem seamless, there’s actually a lot going on in between you and where the actual item you’re viewing is stored. Starting with you, either as a home user or in the workplace, there’s the PCs, Macs, tablets and so on all connected to a home or work network via a switch. STEP 2 The switch, or switches, are connected to a router, which in turn provides the link to the Internet via an ISP (Internet Service Provider). We’ll view the Internet here as a separate connection, where you’ll browse for websites…

Google is famous, or rather infamous, for pumping millions into the next big project only to drop it after a few years, or even less in some circumstances. Take Google+ for example, a service that was to be Google’s answer to Facebook. While good, it never really enjoyed the kind of virtual footfall that Facebook ever did, and as such Google closed it down mid-2019. Imagine if you’d invested time and effort to create a personal, or work-based Google+ page only to have the rug pulled out from under you? GMAIL Gmail is one of the most popular web-based, cloud email solutions available today. With everything from custom themes to cross-platform compatibility, it’s little wonder that there are over one billion active Gmail accounts. DRIVE Google Drive is the company’s…

ADD CALENDARS You can add another Google account user’s Calendar to your views easily by clicking on the ‘Add a Friend’s Calendar’ box, under the Other Calendars option. This launches a separate window, which sends a message to the other user’s mail account requesting permission. VIDEO CALLS It’s surprisingly easy to add a video call to any Calendar appointment. All you need to do is click on the Create button in Calendar, set up the event, and click Add Video Call. When the invitees receive their Calendar event email, there’ll be a link to a Google Hangouts video chat session. IMPORT CALENDARS You can import all sorts of Interesting Calendars by clicking on the down arrow, next to Other Calendars, and choosing Browse Calendars of Interest from the menu. You…

BACKUPS Automatic backups are important to many users, particularly of their images. Imagine taking an important picture, only to drop your device into the sea moments later. Providing you have a good connection, that image is backed-up and categorised with a time and date stamp. EDITING Each image stored in Photos is editable with a number of filters, along with altering the contrast and colours and rotating. The effects are minimal, but with the right image, they can be quite stunning. METADATA You can even upload images that haven’t been taken by a smartphone. What’s more, if you click on the Info button for a nonsmartphone image, it tells you which device took the picture and that device’s settings at the time. SHARED ALBUMS You can easily share your images…

When we look at cloud technologies, we normally think of how it enables collaboration, reduces the cost of digital ownership, ease of access, simplified management and the ability to securely store content. One aspect, however, that’s often overlooked is the environmental impact cloud technologies have on our world. GREEN CLOUDS Global warming is a, excuse the pun, hot topic at the moment. The arguments for and against; those who believe our climate is changing rapidly, due to our industry, versus those who don’t, and the impact of pollution over cost have been ongoing for a while. However, the problem isn’t going away, in fact, depending on to whom you listen, it’s possibly going to get a lot worse very quickly. Using cloud solutions to help reduce the environmental impact of…

PRICING As Microsoft Office 365 is subscription-based, it means that your versions of the individual apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on, are always going to be updated to the latest release. So there’s no concern over compatibility, across versions, with other Office 365 users. SUBSCRIPTIONS What’s more, with the Home Subscription you get Office 365 for PC, Mac, tablets and phones (for up to five users in your home) plus, with the company’s OneDrive cloud service, 1TB of storage. You can even try it for free for a limited time. COLLABORATE As Office 365 is partly cloud-based, you can set up better collaborations with other users than with previous Office versions. In Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, it’s possible to have multiple people editing a document at the same time.…

BOXED CLOUDS Dropbox has a worth somewhere in the region of $10 billion and a user base of over 500 million. Thanks to its newly implemented features and ease of use, it’s not difficult to see why. FILES The most used feature of Dropbox, and its primary purpose, is the cloud storage functionality. You get 2GB free when signing up for an account, but, with various incentives, you’re able to gain some more free space, up to 16GB is available through referrals. SHARING Sharing allows you to create shared files and folders, which you can invite and set up others to access. You can share content, collaborate in a single environment, create groups of team members and organise a shared resource more efficiently. PAPER Dropbox Paper is where you go…

TEMPLATES You can create a new blank document from within Dropbox Paper or opt for one of three, already available, templates: Brainstorm, Project Overview and Meeting Notes. All documents are personal until you choose to share them. TOPICS The Templates are nicely laid out and easy to follow. Depending on the one you’ve launched, it’s just a matter of editing the content that’s already present and substituting it with your own words and ideas. AUTO LAYOUT Depending on what content you enter, Dropbox Paper can automatically change its layout. For example, entering C++ code will start line numbers, colour coding for variables, and so on. DOCUMENT HISTORY Dropbox Paper can: keep a history of any documents you, or others, have added, display the word count for individual documents, download them…

TEAM CLOUDS Using Dropbox Sharing is remarkably easy. It’s quick to set up, simple to understand and implement and yet can be quite powerful when used with other members. STEP 1 To get started with Dropbox Sharing, locate and click on the Sharing link in the Dropbox interface sidebar. This will launch the currently shared files and folders set up page, with some brief but handy feature information. STEP 2 Let’s start by creating a new folder that will be shared with others. Click the blue button to the right of the screen labelled Create Shared Folder. This will open a pop-up box offering two options, ‘Create and share a new folder’ and ‘Share an existing folder’. For now, make sure the first option is highlighted and select Next. STEP…

Apple is going to be investing a considerable amount of time throughout 2020, upgrading its leading products, including the likes of tvOS 14 and newer versions of macOS. The iPhone 12, due for release later in 2020, will see significant improvements in AR experiences, and more. There’s also the rumour of an updated Apple TV, or Set-Top Box, which would make for some interesting predictions of how iCloud will function in the future. APPLE TV AND iCLOUD Launched in November 2019, Apple TV Plus is Apple’s video-on-demand service equivalent to Netflix. The launch of Disney+ around the same time did put something of a dampener on the Apple TV Plus launch, but the service is strong enough to compete, and there’s some exciting content already available. Of course, all this…

WORKING TOGETHER There are countless cloud collaboration services available, which can be quite bewildering. Here are ten proven business solutions to help you fine-tune your choice of provider. DROPBOX BUSINESS One of the more popular cloud collaborations services available for businesses is from Dropbox. With companies such as National Geographic, University of Cambridge, AA and more, the service is designed to scale and grow as your collaboration with others does. CITRIX SHAREFILE Citrix has a long history of working with collaboration services. The company’s newest cloud-based resource is ShareFile, which provides a simple, secure way to collaborate with teams from around the world. HUDDLE Huddle offers a secure cloud collaboration service for customers such as the Department for Work and Pensions, the NHS, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.…

DATA CLOUDS Cloud storage can greatly improve a business’s operation by offering unlimited access to its data, from anywhere and at any time. There are countless services available, so here are ten for your consideration. DROPBOX The business side of Dropbox is one of the top, cloud storage choices for the SMB user. It’s priced competitively, offers storage, centralised administration and better management of your online documents. SUGARSYNC SugarSync has been a great value cloud storage provider for many years. The company offers a range of flexible features and solutions for the end-user, along with the usual collaboration, syncing across devices and operating systems, and disaster recovery. BOX Box offers the SMB user a great cloud storage platform. Collaboration, file sharing, security, content management and mobility are all catered for…

THE PUBLIC CLOUD So, what are the benefits of using Public cloud computing over traditional setups, private or hybrid clouds? Let’s have a look at what the public cloud model has to offer the SMB user. PAY AS YOU GO One of the main benefits of the public cloud is that it’s decidedly cheaper to set up than dedicated, in-house hardware, software and everything else. Public cloud servers and space is rented, and therefore you’ll only pay for what you use. Plus the initial investment is very low, even zero in some examples. CHEAPER ENERGY COSTS To expand the Pay as You Go benefit, if you’re considering a traditionally installed server, with other hardware, then you’ll also need to factor in climate control and upkeep for that server, and possibly…

YOUR VERY OWN CLOUD In such circumstances, having your own cloud is preferable to that of using one of the current solutions. A home user, for example, can set up their own cloud with the computer hardware they already own; making it available for friends and family to access, or just for their own private use. Likewise, a business can opt for their own cloud, again using available computer hardware connected to the company’s router and providing as much storage as needed for home workers, or those on the road. Taking a few points into consideration here, let’s see what advantages and disadvantages a DIY cloud can offer both the home and SMB user: SECURITY A DIY cloud may not have the backing of the likes of Google; however, it…

DESKTOP AS A SERVICE For business, many of the benefits of virtualisation in the cloud cross over with those of the home user; however, for a business, those benefits can yield great advantages over the competition. REMOTE WORKING Remote workers can help make substantial savings across the entire business. You don’t need to provide office space, or the power costs therein, and you can reduce software and hardware costs. Aside from these savings, your workers can access their desktops from anywhere in the world. EASIER SUPPORT Using a virtual desktop hosting service ensures that you receive the highest possible support, 24/7, without the need to have an extensive in-house IT team. Any issues with the virtual desktop setups are quickly resolved, and broken images easily replaced with a previous snapshot.…

CREATING YOUR CLOUD The Buffalo TeraStation we’re using is updated to the latest firmware and has cycled through the initial set up process. Note: Changes to models can alter the screenshots and steps below. STEP 1 Log in to the Buffalo TeraStation admin page. When loaded, click on the File Sharing link in the left-hand sidebar, followed by the link button to the far right of the Web Access entry. Enable HTTPS/SSL Encryption, enable Access via BuffaloNAS.com, click the Generate Random Key button, and enter a name for the cloud server in the BuffaloNAS.com Name box STEP 2 Once you’ve named the cloud server, click OK to save the details. Still in the File Sharing section, click on the Folder Setup link button, located at the top of the screen.…

RISE OF THE MACHINES Big Data, AI, Machine Learning, cavernous datacentres and quantum computing are all terms bandied about when it comes to discussing the future of the cloud. In truth, no one really knows which direction cloud technologies will take over the next five to ten years. However, it’s generally agreed that the aforementioned terms will play a big role in defining what the future of the cloud will look like. Cloud technologies are still in their infancy, in technical terms at least. As consumers, we’ve only just started to use the cloud for everyday tasks. Equate to physical technology, and we’ve just reached the point in the early ‘80s when the home computer became accessible and popular. While it’s a little disconcerting to think that we’re putting our…

CLEAR SKIES AHEAD Here’s a quick list of some of the terms you’re likely to come across as you explore cloud technologies further. Needless to say, the industry loves its terminology, so expect many more as you delve deeper into this sphere. AGILITY Refers to the faster implementation of IT within a company, specifically cloud implementation; Often referenced when a company moves from in-house to cloud technologies particularly quickly. AIRFRAME An open-source cloud platform that targets businesses in the thinking stage of adopting a private cloud service model. BACKUP AS A SERVICE Another form of online mass storage; whereby a company can effectively back up its entire system’s data to the cloud. This service is of interest to audits, as off-site backups are secure and safe from accidental damage. BPaaS…