Why Like Cloud Computing - Here is an explanation from a Digital Managing Editor

Despite some raging concerns, this is why Jigsha Desai  digital managing editor  still  likes working in the cloud. Here’s why:

My personal laptop is more than 5 years old. It’s outdated and has no CD/DVD drive (a long story about a mug of tea and my keyboard and the tea winning). But that hasn’t stopped me from using recently updated programs at no cost.

The Google Chromebook Pixel

I wrote my first edit of this column in Google Drive. In fact, copies of all my written work may be found in Google Drive. When I need to prepare anything I turn to it first. Think of Google Drive as your “My Documents” folder on the Internet. The beauty is I can create or access these documents from anywhere I have a computer login, or even my smartphone!

The ease of Google Drive has made it such that even when I am on my Apple machine at work, I turn to it for drafting a document or a PowerPoint-style presentation.

Google is banking on the cloud computing experience with the rollout of its new Google Chromebook Pixel. The new laptop by Google promises an innovative experience with a touch screen and “crisp text, vivid colors and extra-wide viewing angles.” It’s also offering one terabyte of cloud storage free for three years. Any computing work that requires creating documents, presentations and spreadsheets will be done via Google Drive.

Another one of my favorite cloud computing experiences is Dropbox. The service acts as a virtual folder you can access anywhere and with any device, just as long as you are connected to the Internet. I’ve saved photos, PDFs and large files on Dropbox that I can later access on my home and work machines, smartphone or iPad. The beauty of Dropbox is you can easily share your files with others. (If you'd like to join Dropbox, consider using my referral link.)

My favorite photo editing program in the cloud is called Pixlr. This free Web service mimics the experience of Adobe Photoshop and allows you to create images and crop, edit and tone photos easily.

Cloud computing has enabled me to work more efficiently without having to spend much money, which in my opinion is always a good thing.