When it comes to computing with “the cloud”, I’m of mixed opinion. Conceptually it’s brilliant. In terms of how it’s being implemented, not so much.

The great thing about the cloud is that you can access (and optionally work on) your data, potentially from anywhere. All you need is an Internet connection. Yep. That’s all you need. If it works. If the pipe is big enough. If you have enough bandwidth remaining in your account. If. If. If.

But what if I can’t get a signal? What if the company hosting the cloud goes out of business? Or is hacked? What then? How do I get to my data?

Cloud proponents tend to discount these small inconveniences. They instead tout the data anywhere line. They also cheer on the applications that are also hosted on the cloud. Trouble rears it’s head if the cloud–for whatever reason–is not to be seen in my computational sky, then I don’t even have the software to work on it the only fashioned way: on my own computer.

“But,” they will say, “you can download special apps that allow you to work on your data off-line.” You mean…just like programs? Wow. What a novel idea.

Don’t get me wrong. The app-cloud does have the great advantage that someone else is taking care of the updates and upgrades. Keeping up with those on your own computer(s) can be a royal PITA as the number of programs and computers you manage grow.

On the data side, my big issue is with data security. Not only should the data be encrypted so that the host company can’t mine it for its own, I’ll assume, nefarious purposes; but it should be distributed among several other cloud hosts that are equally accessible to the user, as well as having the user maintain a local off-line copy when wanted and possible. Data protection is the key. Without that, the cloud’s lining for the user isn’t silver but coal.

I guess the thing I most irked about the cloud is that it isn’t new. It’s fundamentally no different from the app server and a data server of yore (sadly, I’m old enough to remember “yore” very well). That’s it…just connected to the internet instead of the corporate IT department . Calling it “the cloud” makes it’s sound all web-two-point-whatever, but it’s still very big-blue in flavor.

If they can solve that data security/accessibility thing, though, I might not mind so much.