What Is "The Cloud"?

One of the hottest topics in the computer world today is "The Cloud".  This mysterious meteorological phenomenon is really actually a really simple concept.  In old fashioned (i.e. 2004 era) network diagrams large portions of the internet that weren't relevant to the diagram were often shown as a fuzzy, cloud enclosed, area.

Why it's called the cloud.

The Internet Loves Acronyms

The techies that shape the internet have a love of acronyms.  It often makes for confusion and intimidation among new users.  CSS, HTML, WWW, SMTP, IMAP, POP, DNS, DDNS and so on.  I could tell you what all those acronyms mean but then I'd have to kill you  you really don't need to know what they stand for.  

What's In (and On) A Computer (Part 2)

When last I wrote on this topic I covered the processor, the motherboard, the RAM, the hard drive, and the power supply.  For the most part I'll probably never really talk about the power supply or motherboard again because there's just not that much the average user needs to know.  However, the topics I'm going to cover in this post will likely be discussed in greater detail in a later article, so I'm going to keep these descriptions a little shorter.

The items I discussed in Part 1 were the parts of the computer that you really don't interact with directly.  Today I'll be discussing the items that involve getting data into, or out of, the computer.  I like to think of these as the "higher level" functions.  Just like in a human, the brain does the processing of visual stimuli, but it's the eyes that do the actual collection of that stimuli.

The Internet. The Basics

Though I plan on doing a series of more in-depth looks at parts of the  internet, if you don't understand what the internet is at all, this is a good starting point.

The internet is a concept as much as a thing.  There is no one person or entity that controls the internet.  There is no one big bank of computers hold the content of the internet.  There is no one company responsible for the network infrastructure that carries the data through the internet.