What does this have to do with cloud computing? Basically the cloud is a metaphor for the Internet. Cloud computing basically means having computing services provided on the Internet. Using my example you can see the benefits of the cloud (in my case the cloud computing service was provided for free), i.e. I had access to a list of my favourite sites from any computer with an internet connection, I have one centralised bookmarks file and I can now share my favourite sites with everyone with an internet connection. Since more and more people are getting connected to the Internet and we are getting faster Internet connections, this really seems like the future of computing. Businesses will no longer need to buy computing equipment, hire administrators or even web designers; they just need to pay for cloud computing services. Individuals will also prefer the cloud, as it can mean many things such as they don’t have to worry about backing up their data or can have access to their files from anywhere.

Google at the moment is really positioning itself as THE service provider for cloud computing. They provide services (mostly free) for you to store your conversations, your documents, your internet history, your journal, your photos and countless other things. I don’t like the idea of having everything owned by one company which is pretty much the only disadvantage I see in cloud computing, since it will only make Google stronger. But oh well, we’ve been living under Microsoft for so many years now, time for a change I guess.