“Cloudy, with a Chance of Genealogy” - Genealogy in the Cloud - a simple and down-to-earth explanation of what “the cloud” is and how genealogists can use cloud computing to simplify their own computer usage.

1. Cloudy, with a Chance of
Genealogy
The online world of Cloud Computing, as it
applies to genealogists.
- Dick Eastman
- January 28, 2017

2. Cloud Computing
Today’s slides are available in the cloud at:
http://www.eogn.com/handouts/cloud

3. Cloud Computing
• The digital world loves buzzwords, and
one of the newest is "cloud computing."
• What do techies and companies mean
when they refer to doing things in "the
cloud"?
• What does it mean to genealogists?

4. Cloud Computing
• Hint: they aren't talking
about the weather!

5. Cloud Computing
• Turn your desktop or laptop or
tablet computer or smartphone
into a "super computer.”
–Unlimited disk space
–Unlimited computing power
–Unlimited access wherever
you are

6. Cloud Computing
• At its most basic level,
the "cloud" is simply
the Internet, or the vast
array of servers around
the world.

7. Cloud Computing
• The file or application lives
on a server you access over
an Internet connection, via a
Web browser or app, rather
than on "local" devices, such
as your computer or
smartphone.

8. Yesterday’s Computing

9. Yesterday’s Computing
• Historically, the home or laptop
PC has been “an island” for
storing local data and running
programs, while the internet was
a rich resource for information
and communication.

10. Yesterday’s Computing
• However, the home computer
and the Internet have
traditionally been seen as two
separate entities.
• Today, they are being combined.

11. Cloud Computing

12. Cloud Computing
• What is the cloud? Quite
simply it is having your
applications, including data
and software, reside online,
on remote computers that
you can access, in real time,
from any device with internet
access.

13. Cloud
Computing
Your
Computer
Word
Processing
Genealogy
Business
Apps
Email
Banking
Photo
Editing

14. Cloud Computing
• Having information online in the
cloud means you access data
anywhere and anytime there is
an Internet connection without
the need to go to the additional
trouble of buying or installing
new software for access.

15. Cloud Computing
• The cloud is similar to the electric
company. When you plug a device
into a wall outlet, electricity flows.
You didn't generate the electricity
yourself. In fact, you probably have
no idea where the electricity was
generated. It's just there when you
want it. All you care about is that
your device works.

16. Cloud Computing
• Cloud computing works on the same
principle. Through an Internet
connection (the equivalent of an
electrical outlet), you can access
whatever applications, files, or data
you have opted to store in the cloud-
-anytime, anywhere, from any
device. How it gets to you and where
it is stored are not your concern.

17. Cloud Computing
• The cloud is a utility.
• The same as:
–The electric company
–The telephone company
–The water company
–And now: the Internet

18. Cloud Computing
• Cloud providers supply:
– All maintenance
– Infrastructure
– All software upgrades
– Repairs
– Backups
– Must meet all surges in demand
– Must make sure the service is reliable

19. Cloud Computing
• This isn't a new idea.
• It is reminiscent of mainframe
computing in the 1960s and 1970s.
• It also expands on a newer
technology called "thin client
computing" that has been around
for years but never gained much
popularity for in-home use.

20. Cloud Computing
• Cloud computing backup services
have been around for years
–Mozy
–Carbonite
–Backblaze
–Many others

21. Cloud Computing
• Cloud computing email services
have been around for years
–Gmail
–Yahoo Mail
–Hotmail
–And others

22. Cloud Computing
• What's changed in recent years:
–Large-scale Internet-based
storage has become much
cheaper
–Programmers can now create
more sophisticated remote
software
–The speed of Internet connections
have dramatically improved

23. Cloud Computing
• Some users have expressed a desire to share
and collaborate in easier and richer ways than
emailing files.
• Some users prefer Windows, others prefer
Macintosh, still others use Chromebooks or
tablet computers or iPhones or Android phones.
• Cloud-based services let many users view,
comment on, and edit (collaborate) the same
material, regardless of operating systems or
distances involved.

24. Cloud Computing
• Examples:
–Google Docs
–Facebook
–TripIt
–Dropbox
–And hundreds of others…

25. Cloud Computing
• Your little tablet computer may
lack the huge hard disk needed
to hold all your music or family
photos or genealogy files, but
there are ways to keep this
material in the cloud and access
whatever you wish, whenever
you wish, wherever you are.

26. Cloud Computing
• The cloud has infinite disk space!
• Although charges may be involved.
• Such charges usually are cheaper
than purchasing your own disk
drives. (Mega.nz offers 50 gigabytes
of storage for FREE!)

27. Cloud Computing
• With cloud file storage and apps
that run on remote servers, you
could conceivably travel without
any computer.
• A borrowed PC or tablet or
smartphone might be all you
need to log in and do real work.
• Or a Chromebook

28. Cloud Computing
• Another method is to travel with
a small, lightweight computer,
such as a “smartphone” or
“netbook” or something similar.
• That computer must have
Internet access, which usually
means wireless access.

29. Cloud Computing
• Today, more than one million
apps for Apple's iPhone are
merely small programs that
tap data or services stored in
the cloud to provide
everything from restaurant
choices to driving directions.

30. Cloud Computing
• These one million apps for
the Apple iPhone are merely
“thin clients” and many tap
data or services stored in the
cloud to provide everything
from restaurant choices to
up-to-date warnings of police
radar traps.

32. Cloud Computing
• You can access the cloud
form ANY Internet-connected
computer, such as your
present desktop or laptop
Windows or Macintosh
computer…

33. Cloud Computing
• … or iPhone
or iPad or
Android
device…

34. Cloud Computing
• … or a $180
Chromebook

35. Yesterday’s Computing

36. Cloud Computing

37. Cloud Computing
• My favorites: programs that
simultaneously store data on your
desktop and laptop and handheld
computers and keep them in sync:
•Dropbox
•Evernote
•Google Drive
•Various calendar apps
•Hundreds of others

38. Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a
software application
hosted in a central
location and delivered via
a web browser or other
thin client.

39. Cloud Computing
Rather than purchase and
install the application on
individual computers,
users simply log onto
remote servers to access
the application.

40. Cloud Computing
Example: GPS
Yes, even GPS databases
can be hosted in the cloud
My new favorite is Waze

43. Cloud Computing
• Of course, there are
drawbacks

44. Drawbacks
• An Internet connection is
required
• Privacy and security in the
cloud may be worse or it may be
better than that of a free
standing computer

45. Drawbacks
• For instance, several years ago,
a laptop computer was stolen
from the boot of my automobile
• All the information stored on
that hard drive became available
to the thief, including personal
banking information and more.

46. Drawbacks
• Had a cloud-based
computer been stolen, no
banking data would have
been stored on the hard
drive and the thief would
have accessed NOTHING.

47. Drawbacks
• One study found that
some 10,278 laptops are
reported lost every week
at 36 of the largest U.S.
airports.

48. Advantages
• My bank account is accessible from
my iPhone and other computers, but
no data is ever stored on the iPhone
or on the computers. If they are
stolen, I do not place my financial
data at risk because all the
ENCRYPTED data is stored in the
cloud, not in the local device.

49. Advantages
• In fact, cloud computing
typically provides
INCREASED security
compared to a normal
desktop or laptop
computer.

50. Advantages
There's another beautiful upside:
No longer do you have to update
software on multiple machines.
No more patches, and no
software updates.
Example: GPS

52. Advantages
• Cloud computing provides limitless
capacity. Storage, hardware,
servers, and networking are all
owned by a third-party provider that
is responsible for the maintenance,
operations, and housing.

53. Changes to our lives
“As the power of the cloud spreads, one
effect will be to make software and
computing more invisible.”
-- Dan Reed, vice president of
Microsoft’s eXtreme Computing
Group.

54. What does this mean for
genealogists?
• Examples of collaborative genealogy databases
in the cloud:
– MyHeritage
– (parts of) FamilySearch
– (parts of) Ancestry.com
– OneGreatFamily.com
– The Next Generation
– WebTrees.com
– WeRelate.org
– …and several others

55. What does this mean for
genealogists?
So which one is best for genealogists: your own
island or a cloud-based database?
• Answer: “It all depends.”
• I prefer a blended approach: use both!
• The trend in genealogy seems to be to keep your
own data in your own computer, then add in
online collaboration tools, online backup
capabilities, and ease of transferring data to and
from cloud-based databases.

56. Today
Examples of Cloud
Computing applications
available today of
interest to genealogists:

62. My predictions
I suspect most future genealogy software will allow
the user to access the cloud as much or as little
as he or she wishes.
Most future genealogy software will both store data
locally and also in the cloud.
Some programs do that today: Family Tree Builder
from MyHeritage, RootsMagic, AncestralQuest,
and Legacy Family Tree.

63. What does this mean for
genealogists?
• As usual, other applications will lead the way
(Google Docs, Zoho Docs, Salesforce.com,
iTunes, Picasa, and dozens of others).
• Cloud-based genealogy software will appear
later but probably will be more mature when the
programs finally appear.

66. Cloud Computing
Today’s slides are available in the cloud at:
http://www.eogn.com/handouts/cloud