Thursday, August 30, 2012

Marketing in the Clouds

Marketing in the Clouds


Just Cloud

Just Cloud is a solution for storing files that can easily be accessed from any of device. Other cloud storage services offer one or two nice features, but Just Cloud really has the whole package. Just Cloud has every feature this cloud storage company has unlimited storage and lets the user access it from any device. While I have not used this service myself I can say that an obvious disadvantage to the service is that it has a monthly fee. At the same time this service only costs like four dollars a month so that can also be an advantage.


Steam Cloud

Steam is a cloud service that I actually use myself. Although, my son does use it every day I have also had a bit of time on the steam cloud playing games. This service is free but the user has to buy the games from the Steam store which keeps up to date with the latest games at good prices. My only complaint on the steam cloud is that when the internet is out the game can be inaccessible. Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to distribute games and related media online, from small independent developers to larger software houses. Steam also has community features, automated game updates, in-game voice and chat functionality. The software provides a freely-available application programming interface, Steamworks that developers can take advantage of to integrate many of Steam's functions within their software products.

Steam cloud provisioning has expanded from 1 MB per user to 100 MB per user, per game. The Steam Cloud API allows your game to write and retrieve files for each user. Use it for personalized settings like keyboard, mouse, and gamepad configurations, multiplayer sprays, or even saved games. Steam Cloud is a natural extension of the portability that Steam affords gamers. Shipped first with Left 4 Dead, Steam Cloud is now a proven resource and is becoming an integral part of the Steam experience.

Carbonite

Carbonite is an online backup service, available to Windows and Mac users, that backs up documents, e-mails, music, photos, and settings. It is named after carbonite, the fictional substance used to freeze Han Solo in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. The generic purple color used on the company's website is also reminiscent of the color of carbon paper. It was the first such service to offer unlimited backup space for a fixed price. Again with Carbonite I have never used the service but it has a monthly fee which is a big disadvantage to me. The advantage of Carbonite is that the service can save the user a lot of problems by keeping their files safe and ready for if ever they may need them.

Conclusion:

This is my unit 3 project covering the three different cloud services as required by the rubric. I have concluded that in my opinion while cloud computing may be very convenient and even more cost efficient in many cases, it is just not for me. I do not trust the security of cloud computing and I have already had a few bad experiences with the little cloud computing I have done. With using Steam, I have had one occurrence where I bought a game on the steam network and then had an internet outage that caused me to lose access to the game that I had just paid nearly fifty dollars for.

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