Why do we even need the cloud?

I was checking out the latest celebrity nudes leaks this last weekend, and it got me thinking. Back when I started in web marking there was this company that kept trying to get me to push their cloud accounts. Only back then they didn't call it the cloud they called them virtual hard drives or simply online storage. The concept never made sense to me back then as I thought why would I want to upload my most sensitive documents, photos and videos to the Internet? Even though the venture was well funded and they would pay me $5 a pop for giving them away it was a dismal failure. Trying to give those free accounts away was like trying to sell ice cubes to Eskimos nobody wanted them or saw any value in online storage even when hard drives were small and expensive.

So it sort of boggled my mind when Apple, Google and Microsoft reintroduced the concept and took it even further backing up your entire phone or computer on the cloud. Every picture or video you take even if you delete it right away is sent to the cloud by default, and so is your browsing history. It makes no sense for the end user as mechanical hard drivers are dirt cheap and SSD drives are getting cheap too.

The business model even back in those early days was to get you addicted to the cloud so you started paying monthly fees for storage and that is what it is now. For instance if you buy a chrome book your first two years of Google Drive are free, but from that point forward you have to pay for it.

The cloud will always be susceptible to hackers because they gain access to it by breaking into email accounts and getting or resetting the cloud passwords from the hacked email accounts. So no matter how secure you make the cloud your personal email account is always going to be the Achilles heel.

So I was just wondering out loud why we even need the cloud with TB drives going for less than $70 and I have seen 128GB SSD drives for less than $70 too. With storage this cheap it seems kind of foolish to put your stuff on the cloud, but yet these big companies more or less force you to when you buy their products.


BTW loved the pic of JLaw and her boyfriend's two fingers, and what gives with Hope Solo and her A hole fetish?

The cloud and its bit has been around since the just after the internet explosion in the 1990's. People were messing around with the concept, but until MS got on board it was just one of those "fads" that were not going to make it...Somewhat like charging license fees based upon how many cores one has on a chip.

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Joni Mitchell

It is interesting the legislation that is being purposed to make the cloud safer is just stuff like longer passwords with upper, lower, caps, no caps and symbols. These types of passwords just make it impossible for people to remember so they reset them more often making the account more likely to get plundered. The simple solution seems to me is to make people have to opt into the cloud rather than having it on by default and I am guessing 95% of the population wouldn't. I don't think it will happen though as every company seems to be scheming to set their own toll booth up on the Internet.

In July I came home to find much of my electronics were fried by what I presume was a lightning strike. GFI's tripped on opposite sides of the house. A TV that was unplugged but connected only to the cable was fried and another TV that was fully plugged in to both was fried as well. The neighbors on both sides of me had their phones knocked out. And everything connected to the USB system on my computer, including my external hard drive and printer, was zapped, even though they were all on good quality surge protectors.

As long as you have an external hard drive that just sits next to your computer you are vulnerable to fire or things like lightning strikes. And I'm proof that it does happen.

I'll agree that sites like OneDrive or Google are not exactly the best places to store your data, but that doesn't mean every one is worthless. I did a lot of research looking for the level of service and security I desired. Most places have encryption during the upload, but not all keep it encrypted when stored. But for me the only level of security that was acceptable was encryption using a key that only I have, on my computer prior to uploading. Unless you have that key the data is worthless. Wikipedia has a table showing a number of cloud service providers and what features they have, including "personal encryption" which you can find here:

Wikipedia - comparison of online backup services

As for cost, I'm paying less than $50 for 2 years for more storage than I need, (I don't have tons of pictures and I'm selective about what goes up on the cloud), and for me that's a bargain for the knowledge that my most important documents can't get lost. I also use OneDrive for really inane things, but also for a couple of self-encrypted password protected documents that I want to have universal access to. No matter where I am in the world I am I can get to those, and from that I can get to everything I need. I just hope nobody ever figures out I use "12341234" for my password.

And of course the most important rule is, if you don't want naked pictures of you to get out on the internet then don't take any naked pictures.

I am just about 100% in the cloud, and I recommend it. Everything worth keeping gets scanned and loaded into Evernote. And not only can I access it from my laptop, phone, or any computer, but it's searchable by custom tags and within documents by keyword, meaning I can find anything quickly. Basically, I can google my life from anywhere.

As a result, I am almost paperless. I keep casino mailer coupons and similar store coupons as hard copies - end of list. Everything else gets scanned to the cloud and then trashed. I recently received three legal documents, two affixed with seals from the court. I scanned them and the originals are now in the garbage can. Keeping my stuff instantly searchable, accessible, and shareable is infinitely more important than keeping a hard copy. All of my photos are automatically uploaded to Dropbox, and all my original documents and spreadsheets are stored in Google Drive. And my schedule is on Google Calendar, and I have a wi-fi bathroom scale.

No, I don't store my bank account passwords and trade secrets and the secret launch codes in the cloud, and I haven't gotten around to taking any nude selfies. I supposed if I was involved in some criminal activity or had some, um, strange habits, I'd keep that stuff off of the cloud. Other than that, I've come to realize that no one gives a shit about the petty details of my life. Or yours.

"I am just about 100% in the cloud"

That explains a lot about forky

I am somewhat in the cloud, however I do understand how fragile the cloud really is and exactly how one can steal all of your personal information with a very small amount of equipment.

The best surge protectors tend to be the ones that run $40 or more a good maker is Triplite, they have my seal of approval. Although the best surge protector can't beat unplugging the appliance from the wall.....

The cloud was basically advertised as being "bullet proof". We had a sister firm using the cloud and raving about it. They claimed that they cut back the hours of their IT guy because the network was no longer on the premises.

Then they were down for three days. When the firm tried to see if the company representing the cloud would give them the equivalent of three lost days of fees, the company told them that they could only give them 10% off of the current monthly bill. Needless to say, the network is back at the office and the cloud is long gone at that firm.