I’ve been thinking recently about the post-PC era and what it really means; for some people it means the end of the desktop and the traditional PC but I think that this is slightly wrong-headed. For me, the post-PC era is my content anywhere and at any time.
Access to data is more important than anything but you might still use a traditional desktop to do heavy-lifting and manipulation; for example, tablets are great but for many tasks, I would still want to use a traditional keyboard, mouse and big screen. But when I’m away from base, I still want access to my data and perhaps do some lightweight manipulation.
So the post-PC world is moving us away from a single tethered end-point device to a multitude of devices, some mobile and some fixed. The applications we use on these devices may be different, in both scope and function but the data will be common and accessible everywhere.
This will bring challenges to us as individuals and as businesses; where do we store that data and how do we protect that data, both ensuring it is stored securely but also that it remains available. The recent Megaupload closure has already lead some people to question the long-term viability of cloud-storage. What happens if the site you store your data on is suddenly shut-down?
Question where you are putting your data; if it becomes obvious that a site has a slightly dubious reputation, then perhaps you should ask yourself whether you want to rely on its availability. But even if it is a site which has the highest reputation, ‘Shit Does Happen’; so you probably want to ensure that you have multiple copies stored in multiple places.
But also be aware of the underlying service, if both your Cloud storage providers are reselling storage from the same Cloud provider; question again.
Your data, your responsibility…
