I find myself getting less and less patient with having to move data around between devices. I want to have access to things where I want them, when I want them. A lot of this has been building up over recent months, but I think the recent death of my old laptop (it’s GPU died…sad, sad day…) has brought it to a head.
Once the laptop died, I transferred some games to a desktop PC, but one I don’t leave on all the time. This computer used to be my Linux web server, so this 5+ year old system is hardly up to heavy gaming…but that’s another story. The new Linux server runs all the time, so it provides what we need for internet use, but there are a few key things it won’t do: card reader functionality and iTunes. I only have one device that has an SD card reader in it now, and it’s our netbook (Brooke has a USB card reader…somewhere…). That, and iTunes is Windows and Mac, exclusive, so I can’t use it under Linux.
This means I’m relegated to using the netbook until I get some replacement parts to help speed up what is currently serving as my Windows machine. And that netbook only has a 10″ screen, making it less than ideal for any kind of photo editing, or messing with an iTunes library. Sure, it’s fine in a pinch, but netbooks weren’t really designed for heavy use. Also, this poor netbook apparently won’t run Picasa: it actually “Blue Screens” Windows XP every time I try. Because of these shenanigans, I haven’t been able to move pictures from our Nikon DSLR from the SD card up to the interwebs because the Picasa program is how I generally do this.
Which brings me to the point at hand: I love me some cloud computing. Products like Dropbox (or Ubuntu One) to act as online storage, allowing me to share my files between the netbook, my Linux server, my work computer and my phone on the fly. Google Music, so I can sync music from the cloud with my phone, and never mess with iTunes again. Google+, which will automatically upload my photos from my phone to their servers (including Picasa) without me having to do anything. Google Docs, which is where I’ve been typing countless cover letters and maintaining a spreadsheet of various jobs I’ve applied to, giving me access from anywhere on any device, including my phone.
Case in point: I could have transferred those pictures from the SD card to the netbook, and then in turn to a USB stick, and then to the Windows desktop that’s capable of actually running Picasa (or I could have found the cable to plug the camera directly into the computer…but seriously…who knows where it is…), or I could just transfer those pictures to my Dropbox folder on the netbook, allowing them to “magically appear” on whatever computer I wanted to use. So much easier, and just as fast.
In short? I’ve become too lazy for USB sticks and SD cards. The act of physically connecting one thing to another has become a chore. I’m in the 21st century and want everything, including my hard drive, to be “wireless.”
I have fully embraced the cloud.
The only thing keeping me from going “all the way” is my iPod Nano. As our Kia Sportage doesn’t have an auxiliary jack, I can’t plug my phone into the stereo system. My radio transmitter will only accept iPod-like devices: not my phone. Thus, in order to listen to 8 GB of music or podcasts in my car, I have to use the iPod, which means I have to use iTunes, which means I have to use a cable to switch things around and update the playlist.
That, or I spend $250+ to get a new car stereo with an auxiliary jack, or $20,000+ on a new car.
I think I’m just spoiled…