Exercise 5

In your blog, define Cloud computing. List its advantages, disadvantages, and give a few examples of cloud computing in PCs, Tablets, and Phones. Which major operating system relies heavily on cloud computing?

     Cloud computing is whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers as a utility, like electricity, over a network. It is essentially computing as a service rather than a product. It does not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services.

     Among the advantages of cloud computing are the improved collaboration between employees on projects. Since the projects are saved on secure external computers, more than one individual can access them at the same time. Secondly, extra hardware resources are not required which leaves more room for capital expenses. Thirdly, with cloud computing, the service provider is responsible for updating the software and ensuring the safety of the data stored on their data centers. However, disadvantages of cloud computing also exist. For example, there is always a risk of the internet service provider breaking down or being inaccessible. The integration between computer and network applications is also not as smooth with cloud computing.

      An example of cloud computing in mobile phones is the Android market. With access to the internet, users are able to get apps from an internet database. An example of cloud computing in PCs is the Google Chromebook laptop. It is a cloud-based computer where apps, documents, settings and other data will be securely stored in cyberspace and accessible from any Chrome computer. In tablets, the Amazon Kindle Fire uses cloud-based browsing system, attempting to speed up mobile web browsing "by using cloud computing to do some of the heavy lifting that used to be handled only by the browser in your device, which can't compete in power with a huge number of computers in a warehouse somewhere."

     A major operating system that relies heavily on cloud computing is the Microsoft Azure. These are Windows Azure (an operating system providing scalable compute and storage facilities), SQL Azure (a cloud-based, scale-out version of SQL Server) and Windows Azure AppFabric (a collection of services supporting applications both in the cloud and on premise).Microsoft Azure is a Microsoft cloud platform used to build, host and scale web applications through Microsoft data centers.