News
19. 11. 2019

What is cloud?

Cloud works like a library and looks like a big computer from a distance

Everybody has a bookshelf at home. We bought these books in a bookstore, read them and put them on a shelf. Think of the cloud as a library. Instead of buying books, we pay library membership and borrow books when we need them. The advantage is that we have many books to choose from. We can choose the book that interests us most. If we don’t like it, we can easily return it. We do not have to store books that we have never read at home. It works similarly in the cloud. We pay the “membership” and we can use the cloud services we choose when we need to.

In the past, we had apps installed on our computers. When the computer broke down, we lost the written texts, the tables in progress and the applications themselves. After purchasing a new computer, we had to reinstall the applications with the necessary components. It was often difficult. It would be easier if we did not have to install anything on a new computer, we would simply log in and find all the applications as we last left them. The cloud allows us to do this. Applications installed in the cloud work no matter what happens to our computer. They are accessible not only on a PC, but also on a phone or tablet.

Why is a cloud called a cloud? We know that a cloud consists of small drops of water. From a distance, however, we do not see these drops, but they appear to us as a unit – the cloud. The same applies to the computer cloud. It consists of several separate computers, connected and placed in one unit, to which we connect via the Internet. From a distance, the cloud looks like one big computer. The cloud is usually owned by a large technology company, such as Google, Microsoft, or Amazon, and sells its services.

Do you need a place to store your files so that they are always accessible, and you don’t want to carry a hard disk? Just buy storage space on Microsoft OneDrive. Do you have a full mailbox and need to access it by phone? Just use Gmail and your emails will be accessible on any device. To use these services, we may not understand exactly how the cloud works. We only need to use the Internet and save files. To get to the cloud service, we need an account for security. With this account, we get to services whose basic version is often free.

 

Here are examples of popular cloud-based services:

Google Drive – is like USB in the cloud. It offers space for storing files, writing applications, creating presentations, online questionnaires and more.

Microsoft OneDrive – just like Google Drive, it offers storage space for files and is also connected to office applications.

Netflix – unlike previous services, does not provide storage, but offers a library of movies and series. There is no need to store them on your computer, they are available on the Internet and can be viewed on both your computer and your phone.

Spotify – Like Netflix, Spotify offers thousands of songs that you can listen to on any device. All music is stored in the cloud and does not need to be downloaded.