Cloud Computing is a really cool concept that is driving some interesting innovations on the web. The term ‘Cloud’ is really a synonym for ‘Internet’, where the applications that people use are located on the Internet or in the Cloud rather than on their computer. The Google Docs, Google Video and Google Sites, Google Calendar and Gmail applications are all examples of Cloud computing, where commonly used applications such as word processing and email are made available to consumers in the Cloud and usually for free.

Windows Live Workspace is an example of Cloud computing that is potentially extremely useful for anyone who needs access to their work from multiple locations and it’s free

A student working on an assignment can upload the document (PowerPoint, Excel or Word) to their Windows Live Workspace and then access it from home or school/Uni or their mate’s house. They can also choose to share the document so other students can access it if working on a collaborative project. No need for one of those unreliable memory sticks that so often fail just at the critical moment when the assignment is due.

A teacher working on a class project can easily collaborate with other teachers and with students using Windows Live Workspace.

Not quite finished a critical sales report and you need to do some more work on it at home? Upload the document to your Windows Live Workspace and you can access it from home and then again when back at the office. This could be really useful for telecommuters who often work part of their week at home and part in the office.

In my work, I frequently use computers in multiple locations, so if I’m working on something like this article, I can upload it to Windows Live Workspace and work on it when I get a free moment – it might be in the office or the workshop, or I might have an idea whilst out and about, so I can log in to Windows Live Workspace with a mobile Broadband account using my laptop, make a few changes, and it’s done. Or I might need to do a quote whilst out at a customer’s premises, I can just log in to my Excel quote workbook in Windows Live Workspace using the customer’s computer, do the quote and print it off then and there whilst saving the original in my Windows Live Workspace.

No need to cart around a copy on a memory stick or to keep track of changes on multiple computers. If you want someone else to check out what you have written, no need to email it to them, you can choose to share the document and they can login and even edit it directly.

Windows Live Workspace is a standalone application that does not even require you to have Microsoft Office installed as it comes with light versions of the popular Office applications.

But Windows Live Workspace also integrates with Microsoft Office XP, 2003 or 2007, so once you have downloaded and installed the ‘Windows Live Update 1.3’ you can access your online documents directly from within the Microsoft Office application. Just open Word or Excel or PowerPoint, select ‘Open from Office Live’ and within a few seconds you have access to your document just as if it was saved on your hard disk drive. You can to store up to 500 Mb (approx. 1000 documents) of data in your Windows Live Workspace.

Are your documents safe? Absolutely, your data is stored in an ultra secure data centre – it could be located anywhere in the world, but it is mostly likely in the U.S. Your data will be far more secure than sitting on your hard disk drive at home where it might get stolen or be damaged in a flood or fire or get zapped by an electrical spike or destroyed by a virus.

One feature on my wish list that is not yet available is the ability to share an Office Outlook calendar, but Windows Live Workspace is still in Beta (test) mode, so I’m sure it will come soon. In the meantime, Google offer an excellent online calendar in the Cloud that can be used to organize your schedule and share events with family, friends or colleagues.

I’m looking forward to the day when accounting software companies such as QuickBooks offer their equivalent of Windows Live Workspace in the Cloud. It would be really handy to have the main data file online so it can easily be accessed from multiple locations where a tradesperson or mobile professional might need to print off an invoice without having to wait until they are back in the office.

So here I am, sitting in a restaurant with my netbook (mini laptop) on the table connected to a 3G mobile Broadband service and working on this article that I started at home on my office computer and then saved to Windows Live Workspace. I’m waiting for my wife who just sent me an email from her smart phone to let me know she has been delayed. We both have busy schedules, but she made the date to meet in the restaurant earlier in the week on my Google calendar with a note: “Sunday, 12.45 pm: Meet me for lunch – *** restaurant”

Actually, I just made up most of that story; I’m not really that much of a sad Geek. The point is that Cloud computing makes the scenario perfectly possible, so check out it out and you will have yet another reason to be plugged into the Internet 24/7.

It was a good lunch, though.

Check out Windows Live Workspace

Paul H.

© March 2009