I was reading this Gizmodo article and it helped me come to a rather shocking conclusion; there’s a mad rush out there to grab your data.
If you haven’t introduced to the next-coming trend in computing, take a look. It’s called “cloud computing”, and it means a lot of things to a lot of people. Some people see it as a drive on the internet to which they can dump data to. The pundits see it as an entire operating system and program suite that resides on the internet. Tech-heads see it as a way to publish data that is easily consumable between many different devices and different computers. Whatever it is; there is one thing that is very clear, and it’s also the thing they try to sell you on: it’s easy to access your data. There are three major companies out there that are making the most transparent efforts to advance cloud computing; Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
I’m sure you heard all the jokes about Google and how they are the forerunner to SkyNet. Those may not be far-off! The cool thing about Google is, they’re very transparent about indexing data, and they tell you up front that they do not aim to sell your personal data, just use it to curtail advertising to your specific area/tastes (based on your search history). Anyway, when you sign up for a Google account, you use all their services with that one account. Picasa, Calender, Gmail, Google Docs, etc. You can upload personal docs to these services, and Google will index and sort them and make them as available as you want them to (and as most of the default options lean towards “share this with the world”, they encourage you to do so). This makes data easily accessible among multiple devices and computers, as all you need to access most of these services is a web browser. This can be a pretty large security risk, as auto-logins are often saved.
Microsoft is slightly less transparent, but trend-spotters will be able to spot this one a mile away. Quite a long time ago, Microsoft began offering many online services, but each required its own login. When Microsoft began rolling out various “Live” services, they began selling the point that one login combo could unlock so many possibilities. After rolling out the Live services, they integrated these previous services into the Live “suite”. The Live suite now includes Windows Live Mail, Photos, “Spaces” (a MySpace ripoff), Xbox Live, SkyDrive, Live Mesh, etc. Again, Microsoft is rolling into cloud computing by opening up these services to many of its own devices. There is a fundamental difference between Microsoft’s approach and Google’s approach however; openness. You can access 99% of Google’s internet services through a web browser. Microsoft on the other hand generally requires you to either buy one of their products or download a program to access these services. You need an Xbox to take advantage of Xbox Live (obviously) and you need a program to use automatic file syncing in Live Mesh. This allows Microsoft more control over the access points of your data (think of gate-keeping). It also give Microsoft an excuse to keep on using its proprietary methodology (like the certain Office file formats).
Apple’s offering is even more locked down than Microsoft’s (who would’ve thunk of that?!). Their MobileMe service is pretty much the same thing as the Live service; though you have to pay for it and it is supported by Apple (meaning His Holiness Steve Jobs will attempt to solve your issues on your Apple-branded device or computer if you run into one). You again have an online disk service to which you can upload anything you want, and you can access that disk through both a browser or Finder if you own a Mac. This makes access to your files pretty easy, as long as you stay logged in.
The answer to this upcoming trend is simple; while you still have control over what you upload, please watch what you upload. Don’t upload things with personal info on it please. There is always a way to read that.
Brandon Backlin
