Can any computer nerds help with iCloud

[justdrinkbeer]

Can anyone more computer tolerant than me give me any pointers on this bloody iCloud thing?

I have a Mac, with Office 2011, the computer says its backed up, the iPhone says its backed up, but they don't have the same info on them.

Put simply, does iCloud work with Office 2011?

 

[Krankin]

Can anyone more computer tolerant than me give me any pointers on this bloody iCloud thing?

I have a Mac, with Office 2011, the computer says its backed up, the iPhone says its backed up, but they don't have the same info on them.

Put simply, does iCloud work with Office 2011?

computer "nerds"


maybe if you reword that ^

 

[Gov]

I did a quick search and it doesnt look like Apple iCloud and Microsoft Office11 work together...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3390268?start=0&tstart=0

 

[KraftyPg]

Put simply, does iCloud work with Office 2011?

Not at this stage, only with Apple Apps as far as I am aware.

Damn I hate this cloud bullshit. 5 years ago it was "where did I store that file I saved with the generic name the computer chose for me because I don't know how to read a bloody screen that tells me this information."

Now it's become, "I've got a cloud and I can't figure out where I stored the information I want, can you help me...No I don't have a password or username...do you really think I need one....Are you sure it wont be the same as my third cousin's grandma's banking password because we are family."

F*&Ken Clouds!!! Learn how to maintain your own software, back up your software and safe keep the damn stuff and just like there's been no need for it up until now there will still be no need for it.

 

[Old.Tony]

Personally I don't like the idea of cloud data storage. While you might think "it makes it convenient and gives easy access to your data from any device", there's something important in that message that you need to be aware of ...

It makes it convenient and gives easy access to your data from any device.

If that hasn't hit home, "any device" means ANY device. Not just your device.

And while you think it might be all safe and "what would they want with my data anyway", all they need to do is delete it to inconvenience you.

1) Get a removable USB hard drive
2) Back all your data up to that on a regular basis
3) Use a sync tool to keep documents etc up-to-date between portable devices

Cloud storage is also a means that the big companies can examine you in more detail. How many people are going to use this to store their CVs? All they need to do is search for certain keywords and find people of interest.

No thanks. Not for me. I won't use it, I won't deal with it, I won't recommend it and I certainly won't help anyone put their neck on this particular chopping block.

As Krafty said, manage it yourself = best solution for privacy and personal security.

 

[KraftyPg]

The idea of cloud systems running operating systems and other software for you to save on your own hard disk space is also a selling point which I believe is made to sucker people rather than help. Sure it might help the software houses fight piracy by selling licenses and not actual software but if everything you do is stored elsewhere and the net drops out for some reason how long can you survive without anything more than an on/off button.

I really think it's sad how many people sign up for things like this. Gmail and to a lesser extent hotmail have had it written in their T&C's for years that any email on their server can and will be siphoned for information and used however the company sees fit. As Tony says people say "what can they get off me" well they can get a lot from the average joe but consider all those business people who signed up for gmail, they are happily sharing their email with Google. Now add to that Googles list of online Apps people have used to save money, or just the email attachments sent and Google has the potential to know a hell of a lot about a lot of people, and that's just one company, yet people still wonder how Google got so big and powerful.

For the cost of a few USB drives you could back up the average personal computer on 5 different sources without being a big in convenience and still get out of it for less than $300.

 

[Gov]

From a home user \ small business point of view i agree, but from a larger scale network where you can secure the data, but have the applications hosted in "the cloud", it does provide some pretty good advantages when looking at upgrades and multiple laptop and platform support. The problem of network drop outs would be the same whether you were working off a server in an office, or from the cloud IMO.

If JustDrinkBeer is trying simply to share some docs between the mac and the iphone, there are applications like dropbox which allow you to have an online storage area you can access from either device.

 

[Geoff3DMN]

There is 'cloud' and there is 'cloud'.

Small scale apps like Dropbox provide an easy and simple way to keep a shared folder (and by this I mean stuff you don't mind being public) accessible from multiple locations.

Would I use it for mission critical and/or sensitive data? Nope.

But cloud storage DOES have a place, I'm just not convinced that it's the same place the marketing droids are trying to sell us!

As for USB drives they're helpful but not all devices can access them. If I want to show people the photos I took last trip where I came across a stuck Toyota (just an example) on my smart phone or on my iPad then a USB stick or an external USB drive simply isn't an option. And storing large amounts of data on mobile devices isn't really practicable because one runs out of storage. I've got 16Gb of internal storage and a 32Gb micro SD card in my Galaxy S2 and I'm forever having to delete stuff to make space for other stuff.

 

[Old.Tony]

I knew there was a reason for buying my Iconia. I just tried it - usb storage drive (320Gb) plugs straight into the USB port on the side of my Iconia and I just surf to /mnt/usb_storage and take my pick of what's there.

I think Apple have a thing about unsecured access to data. In my opinion, if the data's mine (eg photos), then I'll do with it as I please. I understand Apple are supporting WiFi access to iTunes - no more USB cable - but you're still limited in connectivity.

I'm going to be looking at a sync tool for my Galaxy Nexus, which I will probably also employ on my Iconia as well - so I can have all my documents etc readily at hand and keep all of the devices up-to-date. In my case, my "cloud" will cover my laptop, my Iconia and my phone only. Hopefully I can discourage identity theft to a small degree!

 

[KraftyPg]

USB isn't really a limitation for me, I use 6 different 320gb hdd's and several varying size SD cards, there aren't many cases I've come across where one or the other doesn't work for me. Sure I back up to a 2TB external drive running USB3 and a separate power supply but that's a complete back up and it never leaves the house, the USB drives and SD cards are for data I want to be mobile which obviously isn't all the crap stored on my main PC.

Short of someone stealing one of my drives the data is not in the public domain and therefore controlled by me, no cloud can guarantee that even the most secure.

 

[Old.Tony]

That's my issue with clouds - security.

I am absolutely confident that the big guns like Google mean well. Even Microsoft has reasonable intentions.

They aren't the worry. The concern is with the 'bad egg' and as anyone who's made an omelette can tell you, it only takes one to ruin breakfast.

 

[siringo]

Not at this stage, only with Apple Apps as far as I am aware.

Damn I hate this cloud bullshit. 5 years ago it was "where did I store that file I saved with the generic name the computer chose for me because I don't know how to read a bloody screen that tells me this information."

Now it's become, "I've got a cloud and I can't figure out where I stored the information I want, can you help me...No I don't have a password or username...do you really think I need one....Are you sure it wont be the same as my third cousin's grandma's banking password because we are family."

F*&Ken Clouds!!! Learn how to maintain your own software, back up your software and safe keep the damn stuff and just like there's been no need for it up until now there will still be no need for it.

Spoken like a true end user support veteran.

And another thing I hate is when people say "I'm not really computer literate" I can't find the words to express how insanely raged that makes me feel. I couldn't give 2 flying f@cks what you're literate with.

And another thing. When people ask for help, you can see what they've done and you know what to do to fix it and they insist on giving you a detailed recount of all events leading up to their problem arising. Listening to their BS lasts twice as long as it does to fix their problem.

And another thing ..
"What's your username?"
"It's my daughters birthday"
"It can't be, it must start with XYZ"
"oh yes, that's right"
"OK type in your username"
"OK 13 January"
"No, that must be your daughters birthday, your username must start with XYZ"

And another thing..
"I've forgotten my password"
"OK type in your username"
"Is that my password?"
"No, your passwpord is your password"

Now let me liken it to driving a car.

I walk up to the car. Stand on the bonnet, drop my pants and sit facing backward on the bonnet. I use the car radio remote control to turn on the airconditioner. Stand up, walk to the back of the car and deflate both rear tyres.

Now I ring up Nissan roadside assist and complain that my car wont start.

I don't think people are stupid, I think they just don't care if they get their work done or not and so don't take much interest in how to use the tools they're given.

And this isn't directed at anyone I must point out. You're all to blame.

 

[KraftyPg]

And this isn't directed at anyone I must point out. You're all to blame.

Hahaha too true!!

 

[KraftyPg]

I know this is getting a bit off topic but we answered the question anyway. This is 15 tips I used to hand out to staff members when I worked at DSS (now Centerlink). Strange how some people didn't ever see the humour.

------------------------

1. If you ask me technical questions please don’t argue with me because you don’t like my answer. If you think you know more about the topic, why ask? And if I’m arguing with you…it’s because I am positive that I am correct, otherwise I’d just say “I don’t know” or give you some tips on where to look it up, I don’t have the time to just argue for the sake of it.

2. Starting a conversation by insulting yourself (i.e. “I’m such an idiot”) will not make me laugh, or feel sorry for you; all it will do is remind me that yes, you are an idiot and that I am going to hate having to talk to you. Trust me; you don’t want to start a call that way.

3. I am ok with you making mistakes, fixing them is my job. I am not ok with you lying to me about a mistake you made. It makes it much harder to resolve and thus makes my job more difficult. Be honest and we can get the problem resolved and continue on with our business.

4. There is no magic “Fix it” button. Everything takes some amount of work to fix, and not everything is worth fixing or even possible to fix. If I say that you just need to re-do a document that you accidentally deleted 2 months ago, please don’t get mad at me. I’m not ignoring your problem, and it’s not that I don’t like you, I just can’t always fix everything.

5. Not everything you ask me to do is “urgent”. In fact, by marking things as “urgent” every time, you almost ensure that I treat none of it as a priority.

6. You are not the only one who needs help, and you usually don’t have the most urgent issue. Give me some time to get to your problem, it will get fixed.

7. Emailing me several times about the same issue in the same day is not only unnecessary, it’s highly annoying. Emails will stay until I delete them, I won’t delete them until I’m done with them. I will typically respond as soon as I have a useful update. If it is an urgent issue, let me know (see number 5).

8. Yes, I prefer email over telephone calls. It has nothing to do with being friendly, it’s about efficiency. It is much faster and easier for me to list out a set of questions that I need you to answer than it is for me to call and ask you them one by one. You can find the answers at your leisure and while I’m waiting I can work on other problems.

9. Yes, I seem blunt and rude. It’s not that I mean to, I just don’t have the time to sugar coat things for you. I assume we are both adults and can handle the reality of a problem. If you did something wrong, I will tell you. I don’t care that it was a mistake, because it really makes no difference to me. Don’t take it personal, I just don’t want it to happen again.

10. And finally, yes, I can read your email, I can see what web pages you look at while you are at work, yes, I can access every file on your work computer, and I can tell if you are chatting with people on an instant messenger or chat room (and can also read what you are typing). But no, I don’t do it. It’s unethical, I’m busy, and in all reality you aren’t all that interesting. So unless I am instructed to specifically monitor or investigate your actions, I don’t. There really are much more interesting things on the internet than you.

11. I am here to fix your problem, I did not cause it. Do not treat me like I caused your problem just because you see me every time there is one.

12. Your priorities are not mine. Just because you have a meeting in 5 minutes and didn't check the laptop/projector/network connection in the room doesn't mean I have 5 minutes to get you working.

13. Telling me you just did it 5 mins before the exact same way and it did not work for you is pointless because computers do not lie, you could not of done what I did the exact same way otherwise it would of worked okay.

14. The ratio of jokes to friends versus work related emails in your sent emails directly corresponds to the true urgency of not being able to access your email.

15. Icons on the desktop are not the only way to access programs you know!

 

[siringo]

And another thing ...

"It didn't print, so I sent it a few more times"

Should just say "I hit my thumb with a hammer and it really hurt, but I did it a few more times to make sure"

 

[Geoff3DMN]

Short of someone stealing one of my drives the data is not in the public domain and therefore controlled by me, no cloud can guarantee that even the most secure.

I'm not claiming that it can, my only use for cloud storage is 'public' data.

If data is intended to be shared (or already shared) with the wider world (like photos or videos I'm going to post to a forum or have already posted to a forum) then worrying about someone 'stealing' it is rather like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

Fkin cloud!

All i've got on it is my contacts i've found out so I might as well leave it at that.


Iphone is the second worst waste of money i've made recently, after the friggin iMac computer.

I was absolutely happy with Windows & Palm phone

 

[KraftyPg]

hehehe as much as I see faults in MS products I agree

 

[nakedape]

For your Mac - buy a portable disk drive larger than the hard drive on your Mac. Then download CarbonCopy from the web. Set up the program as desired and clone your hard drive to the portable drive. Do this as often as you like - usually something proportional with the importance of the data. I'm writing a thesis - It's F*(&ing important to me & irreplaceable. Therefore I clone my drive 3 times a week - I can live with the lose of 1 - 2 days work, but not a whole week.

Finally - screw cloud technology! It's main purpose is data mining so you can be advertised to more efficiently

 

[Nevyn]

I absolutely love my Mac and my iPhone because they both do everything I was told they could do. Everything is plug and play (so far) no need for drivers etc. drag and drop, sync blah blah blah! I have never owned a Windows POS that could ever do the simple tasks easy. Still a bit dubious about cloud etc. though.

Cheers Brad