It's Cloud Illusions I Recall

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now, From up and down, and still somehow, It's cloud illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds, at all." Who would have expected that Joni Mitchell got it so right in her song Both Sides, Now. But with the big Apple announcement today, the question for consumers is, Do you know clouds, at all?"

"Apple’s highly anticipated iCloud is expected to make it easier than ever before to listen to your own music anywhere you have an Internet connection." But consumers may want more. Not just music, not just video, but every scrap of data, from address books to spreadsheets, word documents to recipe cards, accessible everywhere and anywhere, at the touch of your finger. Why clutter your own device, when it can be reached remotely, yet securely.

Ahh securely. Now that is a key issue. With Sony getting repeatedly hacked, and others leaving hard drives with sensitive data stolen from their cars, it is hard to feel safe when it comes to personal information. Safety concerns exist on many levels, from the music industry enabling their songs to be protected to consumers worried about their social security and credit card numbers. While the cloud offers many conveniences, can the risk issues be successfully minimized.

Joni's song gets to the heart of the problem. There is still so much we don't know about clouds. The sensitivity of what is placed in the clouds and the protection from being stolen. "It's cloud illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds, at all."