A Look Back

At the end of each year it has been my custom to take a look into the year ahead and highlight what I feel will be some major developments in the digital world. Any prediction, be it the weather for the next day or the success on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium is, at best, a dangerous practice. Predictions about the digital world are no exception. So before looking ahead to next year, let’s see how I did with my crystal ball this year.

One of my major predictions had to do with the increase in “cloud computing” for both individuals and businesses. I said that more and more of our information, both public and personal, would be stored on and retrieved from large centrally located cloud servers. Our personal calendars, contact lists, correspondence, medical history, entertainment and embarrassing party videos will reside not on our personal computer’s hard drive, but on drives shared by our neighbors.

For sure that has happened. Apple’s iCloud service is absolutely integral to several applications running on the iPhone and iPad. The new Kindle Fire, as well as the original Kindle models, all have cloud support hosted by Amazon.com. The music we hear, the movies we watch and even the money we make are being stored in the cloud.

I predicted an increase in online access to movies and TV programs and a trending away from traditional cable and satellite services. Cable subscriptions are down especially among the younger more digitally aware generation. Even TV ownership numbers among the 20-something generation is flagging as they watch TV on their iPads and other tablets. This past year also saw missteps by NetFlix as they struggled with changing their company from a “snail mail” based DVD library to a delivery system using broadband Internet.

While the smart phone has not yet morphed into an electronic wallet as I had predicted, other non-traditional retailing applications have increased. For example, there is an increased use of electronic coupons. Price comparison apps for smart phones are commonplace.

So all in all my predictions were close. Next week I will go out on a limb and peer into 2012.

A reminder… In January I will be offering “A Digital Survivor’s Guide” at the Harrison Library. This 2-part presentation covers new technologies, services and devices. Part 1: Monday, January 16 and Part 2: Monday, January 23. Both run from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Please register in advance for both sessions. Call (513) 369-4442 or email Harrison@CincinnatiLibrary.org.

A Look Back

At the end of each year it has been my custom to take a look into the year ahead and highlight what I feel will be some major developments in the digital world. Any prediction, be it the weather for the next day or the success on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium is, at best, a dangerous practice. Predictions about the digital world are no exception. So before looking ahead to next year, let’s see how I did with my crystal ball this year.

One of my major predictions had to do with the increase in “cloud computing” for both individuals and businesses. I said that more and more of our information, both public and personal, would be stored on and retrieved from large centrally located cloud servers. Our personal calendars, contact lists, correspondence, medical history, entertainment and embarrassing party videos will reside not on our personal computer’s hard drive, but on drives shared by our neighbors.

For sure that has happened. Apple’s iCloud service is absolutely integral to several applications running on the iPhone and iPad. The new Kindle Fire, as well as the original Kindle models, all have cloud support hosted by Amazon.com. The music we hear, the movies we watch and even the money we make are being stored in the cloud.

I predicted an increase in online access to movies and TV programs and a trending away from traditional cable and satellite services. Cable subscriptions are down especially among the younger more digitally aware generation. Even TV ownership numbers among the 20-something generation is flagging as they watch TV on their iPads and other tablets. This past year also saw missteps by NetFlix as they struggled with changing their company from a “snail mail” based DVD library to a delivery system using broadband Internet.

While the smart phone has not yet morphed into an electronic wallet as I had predicted, other non-traditional retailing applications have increased. For example, there is an increased use of electronic coupons. Price comparison apps for smart phones are commonplace.

So all in all my predictions were close. Next week I will go out on a limb and peer into 2012.

A reminder… In January I will be offering “A Digital Survivor’s Guide” at the Harrison Library. This 2-part presentation covers new technologies, services and devices. Part 1: Monday, January 16 and Part 2: Monday, January 23. Both run from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Please register in advance for both sessions. Call (513) 369-4442 or email Harrison@CincinnatiLibrary.org.

Party to Mostly Cloudy

The recent announcement by Apple confirms that our computing future will soon go from partly to mostly cloudy. For more than a year now I have been discussing in this column the “cloud” and how it is changing the way we keep and use our digital stuff. If you missed earlier columns, cloud computing refers to storing our data, i.e. documents, photos, videos, music, all our digital stuff, on large servers in some remote location and connecting our computer, phone, iPad or other device via the Internet. Before the cloud, all of this stuff was stored in our devices.

There are many benefits to using the cloud. Since the remote servers are operated by large tech-savvy companies, they provide a level of back up well beyond what most of us have. Even if we do have the capability to back up our files, many of us just forget or put it off to tomorrow often with dire consequences. The cloud servers handle all of that for us.

Another benefit is that all of our materials are always available. Before the cloud, if I had a song on my MP3 player and wanted to play it on my laptop, the song needed to be stored on both devices. With the cloud, the song is available to any of my devices.

There is one aspect of the cloud that needs to be emphasized. You must be connected. You must have an Internet connection, either hard wired or wireless, to access your information. That being the case, important information that you may need in an emergency should be stored locally on a regular storage device as well. That way, if you do not have an Internet connection, that information is still available.

Apple is taking the cloud to new heights (sorry, I couldn’t resist) by essentially making the cloud invisible. In previous iterations of cloud computing, you needed to actively decide where you wanted your files to be stored. Apple is simplifying this process by developing applications that automatically store all files on the cloud. When you turn on your iPad or iPod or iPhone, the device knows that your stuff is on the cloud. When you create a document or take a picture or record a video, that material is stored there automatically. You don’t have to remember where you put it and you don’t have to “synch” your devices. They do it automatically. So that picture you took on your iPhone can be viewed on your laptop or iPod.

Apple’s endorsement and, more important, their skill at making the user experience intuitive and easy will advance the cloud concept. It will soon go from a novelty to the standard for storing and accessing all our digital stuff.

Party to Mostly Cloudy

The recent announcement by Apple confirms that our computing future will soon go from partly to mostly cloudy. For more than a year now I have been discussing in this column the “cloud” and how it is changing the way we keep and use our digital stuff. If you missed earlier columns, cloud computing refers to storing our data, i.e. documents, photos, videos, music, all our digital stuff, on large servers in some remote location and connecting our computer, phone, iPad or other device via the Internet. Before the cloud, all of this stuff was stored in our devices.

There are many benefits to using the cloud. Since the remote servers are operated by large tech-savvy companies, they provide a level of back up well beyond what most of us have. Even if we do have the capability to back up our files, many of us just forget or put it off to tomorrow often with dire consequences. The cloud servers handle all of that for us.

Another benefit is that all of our materials are always available. Before the cloud, if I had a song on my MP3 player and wanted to play it on my laptop, the song needed to be stored on both devices. With the cloud, the song is available to any of my devices.

There is one aspect of the cloud that needs to be emphasized. You must be connected. You must have an Internet connection, either hard wired or wireless, to access your information. That being the case, important information that you may need in an emergency should be stored locally on a regular storage device as well. That way, if you do not have an Internet connection, that information is still available.

Apple is taking the cloud to new heights (sorry, I couldn’t resist) by essentially making the cloud invisible. In previous iterations of cloud computing, you needed to actively decide where you wanted your files to be stored. Apple is simplifying this process by developing applications that automatically store all files on the cloud. When you turn on your iPad or iPod or iPhone, the device knows that your stuff is on the cloud. When you create a document or take a picture or record a video, that material is stored there automatically. You don’t have to remember where you put it and you don’t have to “synch” your devices. They do it automatically. So that picture you took on your iPhone can be viewed on your laptop or iPod.

Apple’s endorsement and, more important, their skill at making the user experience intuitive and easy will advance the cloud concept. It will soon go from a novelty to the standard for storing and accessing all our digital stuff.