The idea is as simple as ingenious: Instead of storing data locally on many different devices, you can store them centrally – on the net. To make this more exciting, advertisers have dominated the term cloud (unclear, strongly changing structures, as in a cloud).
Criticism of the Cloud
From the desktop PC to the TV, via the Internet, thanks to Internet access, each device can theoretically access the data in the cloud. Increasingly faster Internet connections in the fixed network and mobile phone shall contribute to the success of this idea. But the cloud does not just promise good weather.
Space and more
From a legal point of view, the question is, who can use freely available data from the cloud - or not? For example, imagine your public photos on Flickr or Picasa would be printed in a book without asking for permission. Of course this is forbidden, a copyright violation.
Simple and good: Dropbox
But if all the data on the Internet land in the future, who can then control what is happening with these data? Providers of cloud services are required to exclude the misuse of data. How the all-encompassing process is to be achieved is currently largely unclear.
The test: How good are free cloud services?
The best security-freeware
The legal aspect is directly linked to the security aspect. Again, this is about preventing the misuse of data. Cloud service providers are already using a number of efficient security mechanisms to control access to data in the cloud.
But critics are not quite worried about the fact that online data storage will break security gaps. Users also need to secure their data, for example, by encrypting particularly sensitive data before storing it. Considering that a lot of users already have a lot of problems with local storage - what should happen when all the data is on the network?
Buying advice: The best security suite
Finally, critics of the cloud also see technical problems. The infrastructure of the service providers will probably work properly. However, exclusive data storage in the network requires that the user is always online. However, Internet connections are not guaranteed at any time and at any time.
Our Praxistest has shown that it is currently not possible to work exclusively in the cloud without storing important data locally. For example, Dropbox automatically performs a mirroring on each client is extremely helpful in this respect. As we've tried the cloud services, see the box above.
The core idea of the cloud is the data storage in the network. A few GByte of online storage space is available at different providers free of charge. However, if you need a lot of space, you have to pay for it.
Other cloud services have evolved. The plan: If all the data is stored on the net, you can edit it online. Thus, there are more and more attractive web applications that form small parts of the large cloud, such as office solutions, image management and image processing tools, as well as programs for appointment and contact management (PIM).
Test: cloud services vs. Freeware
Test results
In addition, there are online applications for e-mail that make the use of a local e-mail client superfluous - GMX (www.gmx.de) and Web.de (www.web.de) are the best-known in the German-speaking world Code>
If you want to try to save data in the cloud, Dropbox (www.dropbox.com) usually lands. The online service was a pioneer of free online storage and is one of the easiest-to-use services of its kind today. Two GB of online storage is free for everyone, 50 GB costs 9.99 USD and 100 GB 19, 99 US dollars per month.
Guide: The Best Windows Security Tips
The Dropbox is easy to set up: simply download the client for the respective platform, run the installation wizard and enter the access data - ready. During the first installation, the user account is added, which requires only one e-mail address and a password.
Good: Dropbox creates a special folder on all connected PCs and Macs, which is kept synchronized with the online storage. This means that all data can be accessed without an existing Internet connection. No FTP or WebDAV connection required.
PC Magazine has tested the cloud services presented in the article during the workday. We chose three test environments where we tried all the free services
On the desktop computer we worked over a DSL connection (6 MBit / s). The notebook and the smartphone we have taken with us on the road. In a hotel we went by WLAN online. During a train journey in an InterCity we tested the cloud access via 3G / UMTS.
Desktop: iMac with Mac OS X Lion, Notebook: Samsung Netbook with Windows 7 Home, Smartphone: iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3.3
Functionality / everyday convenience: All free cloud services are very suitable for the daily work on the desktop computer and with the notebook. Smartphone users can at least use the memory services effectively. Cloud applications are limited or not available in the browsers of the smartphones. Speed: The Cloud services were running smoothly under all existing Internet connections. Saving in the cloud and retrieving the data worked at good to acceptable speed.; Mobility: Only a part of the services could be tried on the iPhone. Unfortunately there were connection problems during the train journey that made working in the cloud impossible.
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