Cloud Computing – Using Software on the Internet

Cloud computing means using software that is installed on the Internet. You can also save your work on
another computer instead of the hard drive of your own PC or laptop. Music, letters, presentations and
other projects can be stored on clouds, data storage areas on giant servers on the Internet.

There are many so-called web applications that can do the same as normal desktop software. Google
Documents, for example, gives you a text editor, a slide show application and a program for creating
tables and diagrams. You can use these programs for free – from any computer all over the world.

Up to now web browsers were only used to search for information on the Internet and show it. But now
they have become something like operating systems which can give you almost everything that you have
on your own PC desktop.

Cloud computing can also be cheaper than buying expensive software. Many basic
applications on the net are free, but you may have to pay to use some of the more
complex programs. Companies do not have to buy expensive software licenses for all
their workers and computers do not have to be better and more powerful all the time
because all you need is a simple web browser, like the Internet Explorer and Firefox.

Cloud computing allows people from different parts of the world to work on a project
together. Teachers and pupils, for example, might work on the same text together.
Companies around the world can work together on a single computer and do not have to
send data back and forth.

There are, however, some things that make computer users sceptical. One of the big
problems is security. With cloud computing, you give your data to someone else. Users
are also worried that they might lose their data on other computers. In any case,
cloud computing is marching forward and in a few years, we may only be having a web
browser running on our PCs.