Cloud computing refers to the use of remotely accessed facilities and data storage to solve your computing needs and thus eliminate the use of installed programs and data on your computer.

The "cloud" is accessed via the Internet and contains a variety of hardware servers (usually large hard drives) containing the files for web pages, data, information, programs and much more. You access the cloud from your computer, either at home or work or from a Wifi hotspot, iPad, smart phone or any other Internet connection.

Access to the cloud is commonly done using your Internet browser to log onto a web site such as www.zoho.com or www.google.com/apps. These sites provide a gateway to the cloud, either as limited free usage, by subscription or fee-for-use arrangements.

What do you access from the cloud? A variety of programs such as word processing, photo editors, spread sheets, presentation creators, calendars (and much more) that you don’t have to buy--just use. You can also save documents and data, photos, videos and backups in the cloud for later use.

For instance, if you want to create a letter to a friend, you’d first log on to the cloud web site, download a word processing program into your computer, create the letter and then print it, send it via email, copy it to our computer’s hard drive and likely send it back to the cloud for safe storage. When you’re done with the word processing program, it disappears back into the cloud, having been only temporarily used by you. Later, if you want to retrieve the letter for editing, you’d log on to the web site and check the list of your documents stored there and download the desired one, along with the word processing program needed to edit the letter.

One example of the usefulness of cloud computing is calendars. Keep a single copy of an appointment calendar in the cloud, and then several people can access that calendar and keep everybody up to date as, for example, in a business with multiple salespeople or an organization planning an event. Cost savings are possible for individual computer users because users do not have to buy programs that they may not use often. Businesses, organizations or institutions using many computers save by not having to buy programs for every computer, since each person can access the cloud and download programs as needed. Cloud computing also reduces the need for extensive local storage hardware.

Backing up your computer to the cloud emphasizes a security issue. The backups, using a service such as carbonite.com, are stored off-site and kept safe from flood, fire, burglary and other disasters.

Still skeptical about cloud computing? You’re already using cloud computing if you have a Gmail email account or store your photos online at Picasa, Flickr or similar. Cloud computing is a new way to handle your computer needs and is likely to continue to be much more commonly used in the future.