A few days ago, a firmware update was released for the Nokia N8 and as I rushed to download it, I was greeted with Nokia’s friendly reminder that I should backup my data before proceeding. I have always ignored that warning because normally none of your data is affected, but Nokia plays it safe to make sure people have another version of their important information. However, this time, it actually occurred to me that the reason I ignore it isn’t because the N8 supports data preservation, but because all my important data is in the cloud. I had to stop for a few minutes and consider the weight of that realization.
Image Courtesy Of D.K & Wei
When On Earth Did That Happen?!
Sitting down and trying to go back in time to the first real cloud service I used, I guess it was Google Reader. I had tried some local RSS readers on my computer but I understood how that wouldn’t easily work with me doing some of my reading on the university’s public library computers. I moved to Google Reader and was instantly hooked. Any computer, any time, just type http://reader.google.com, sign in, and have all my news in front of me, perfectly picking up from where I stopped the last time. Then, two years ago, I was heavily commuting in Paris and my reading followed me with the mobile version of GReader on my Nokia E71. Then I was offered an iPod Touch and when I got Reeder, I shifted 60% of my RSS reading to it. I was mobile, I was free, and everything relied on a cloud service I could access from anywhere at any time.
The “Cloud” Promise
One of the reasons I have been looking for cloud-based services (even more lately) is cross-platform compatibility and availability. I use a Mac as my only computer, which limits me a bit in terms of software choice, and my mobile setup is what you can call broad. Although 90% of my mobile usage nowadays is on the HTC Desire Z, there are still situations when I resort to my Nokia N8 or my iPod Touch 4G. Between OS X, Android, iOS and Symbian, things get confusing, and I want to pick up a device and continue from where I stopped on another, the only thing I’m willing to concede on is pressing a “Sync” button, no cables, no long manual sync procedures, no proximity limitation. I want things to move fluidly and effortlessly accross devices and not be tied to anything. That’s what I have come to expect of mobility nowadays and I’m not taking anything less.
Right now, my contacts are all clean and grouped on Google Contacts, my calendar recently moved to Google Calendar, I write posts like this one on Evernote, my important files are on Dropbox, Springpad has the list of everything I own or would like to buy, my reading is divided between Read It Later and Google Reader, my music preferences and habits are on Last.Fm, my browsing bookmarks are on Opera Mini & Mobile, most of my online comments are managed by Disqus when possible, my exercise is logged to Google Health, my Bible reading is on YouVersion, my media uploads are handled by Pixelpipe, the storage divided between Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, Audioboo and YouTube. I am also looking for the best cloud service for task management and study flash cards.
Are You Oblivious To It?
It’s safe to say I have embraced the cloud in my everyday life. I realize I am not the only one in this situation. Me, Ricky, and you as a reader of MobileRnR, we live on the edge of technology, always wanting to try and embrace the newest trends. However, trying to explain an adoption as wide as this to my friends and family baffles them. I know people with their contacts still on their SIM card, yes, with the one phone number per contact limitation! Wow. And when something goes wrong on their phone, they panic and sweat. No wonder Nokia wants to remind them to backup their data before upgrading a firmware.
Testing The Limits Of The “Cloud”
The first limit of cloud-based data is making local backups. I got bit once by this, when Vox closed and I lost my first blog, where Dotsisx was born, so right now I try to make local backups whenever I find it possible. I don’t do it as often or for as many services as I would like, but should something go wrong, I have the stuff that matters.
The second limitation is bandwidth. In countries with (pseudo) unlimited mobile plans and fast and unlimited broadband services, this issue makes no sense. But where I live, it is impossible to embrace Spotify for my daily music, or upload all my videos and photos online, or stream movies and TV episodes. I download, I buy DVDs, I keep all of these locally and I transfer via cables to my other devices. I would like it to be otherwise but so far it isn’t.
The third limitation: sensitive data. Am I ready to trust my passwords to LastPass? Or will I stick with SPB Wallet? Where do I draw the line on embracing the cloud and where do I take a leap of faith? I honestly don’t know yet.
The Name Is Irrelevant, The Beauty Is In The Execution
About two years ago, when I started hearing the term “The Cloud”, I would instantly cringe. Despite the wonderful promise of having everything out there for you to access at your convenience, despite having adopted it in my daily life, I still do cringe and I didn’t really know why until a few days ago. The “Cloud” might be a concept, an idea, a marketing term, one of those monikers branding people throw left and right to feel relevant, or anything you want to describe it as or call it, it does not matter.
The reality that matters is that these services have infiltrated our daily lives in such a manner and with such simplicity that we’re only going to go deeper and deeper into them. Is “the cloud” worth talking about? Maybe yes, maybe no, the beauty of it is that none of us think about it but we adopt it and enjoy it. And in my opinion, it should stay that way: an unsung hero of modern and future technologies.
