The system is down!

Today started off just like any other day until the power went out at the building that are server is at.  The test that I needed to give my kids was on the server so that left me with no lesson plan.  All of my back up plans needed internet so they would not work.  Lesson learned - Have a back up lesson on had that uses MS Office or another application that is on the hard drive.

This is also the one draw back of doing everything in the cloud...I could not do any word because we had no internet.

The value of a hard copy

The sever was down this morning for our 8am meeting.  The PBS team was presenting data and they had the files saved on the server.  They had a had copy of the data, not the slide show, so they where still able to present using a document camera.  Just another reason to have a back up that is not on the server, in the cloud, or online. Remember to have a plan B....maybe I need to go find my flash drive I have not used in 6 months.

What is the cloud?

Some people still have questions about what the "cloud" is.  Check out the link to the video by Common Craft to learn more about the cloud.

Cloud Computing in Plan English 

Is the cloud safe?

This is just another reminder that you need to back files up even if they are on the cloud.  Last week 40,000 Gmail users had no emails in there account when they logged on.

Listen to the NPR story How To Keep Data From Disappearing In The Cloud.

Check out the Google Gmail Blog post from Feb 28.

Why the Cloud?

I am so happy that I started doing most of my work in the cloud and NOT saving it on my computers hard drive.  My home computer got a nasty virus over the weekend. I was lucky because I did not have to panic about loosing my important documents because they were not saved on my computer.  I have been using the Sky Drive that is a part of my Hot Mail to do my computer work for home and school. The reason I started was because I could work on things at home and at school without having to remember my flash drive.  I never thought about the fact that my computer could crash and I would loss all my work. I am just happy that the 15 pages of my masters thesis are safe on the cloud, and backed up on a flash drive. There are several ways to work in the cloud Sky Drive is just one of them. I have used Google Doc too and I think I am going to start using it full time...more on that later. Be looking for more information about using the cloud.