Are computers getting more complicated?

Although my tech savvy children and their significant others have tried to explain iCloud to me in words of one syllable, I don't "get it", either. What is it? Where is it? More importantly, how do I get stuff out of it that I have put into it?

Another bemused soul here.

me three - suspect theres a degree of resistance in me but if its useful I would like to understand - I don't

With Window 10, you can still save documents to your PC.
I make folders in advance in "My Documents" and then choose,
File,
Save as,
choose My computer, as opposed to Cloud,
then , Documents,
and save to the appropriate folder.
I hate using the cloud.

I think a lot of control we had in the early years has gone. I can't easily do some of small fixes I used to but I equate it to car stuff. The days when you could tinker with your car are long gone too.

Now they need plugging in to a computer to run diagnostics.

I actually like the Cloud, means I can access things on the go. I don't miss my huge desktop computer at all :-)

When I was working, we were advised not to store any confidential info on children on the Cloud.
Initially it was thought to be great means of sharing info with colleagues, then were were told that there were risks involved, so we had to stop using it.
I also have dexterity issues, so a PC with large keyboard is essential.
As they say, horses for courses. Choose what suits you best.

We have our mobile hooked to onedrive, any 'photos we take go to it, also theirs one note which we transfer data from pc to mobile, which is great for address's of nt places.

I've never heard any comments about it being unsafe.

Where you like us, when polaroid first came out we took 'photos of everything, if we'd had a mobile then, well I'll leave that to your imagination, needless to say, we love technology.

I hate windows 10, don't understand it , so want windows 7 back

I'm sure you are used to logging in to Amazon to buy bits and pieces, or to catching up with social media on Facebook. You may also be used to downloading from apps stores. You have accounts with these so you can buy/use their services. Each of these uses the same technology as 'clouds' and you could see each of these as being a 'cloud'. There are lots of clouds, in the same way there are lots of high street stores and they all offer different services. Microsoft and Apple both run cloud services for their users, Microsoft's cloud is OneDrive, Apple's is called iCloud and the service they offer is to store your data, documents and photos for you . (There are lots of data storage clouds.)

The advantage to storing your data in a cloud is that it is not all in one place (only your computer), so if your computer is lost or damaged, you can still access your data. Also, if you don't have access to your computer, you still can get access to your data using, perhaps a smartphone. It also means that you can buy computers that need less storage space (but you do need increasing amounts of processing power).

Cloud providers would not get much business if the word got out that they lost or allowed unauthorised access to your data. Using a good, strong password helps.

However, both Microsoft and Apple now make it easier to store your data in their clouds than on their devices. Marydoll posts how to save individual documents to your Windows 10 PC. You can also set your PC up to always use your PC's hard drive for storage.

I'm not really sure that computers are getting more complicated but believe that programmers and designers should spend time working with some Gransnetters!

I bought a new windows laptop instead of a Mac cos it was so much cheaper, and I was familiar with windows XP, even thought I have an I phone and an I pad. Now I cannot get to grips with windows 10. I'll be looking at emails and suddenly the font size becomes enormous and I can see no way to change it aghhhh

The problem I've found with the Cloud is that it might be free initially then start charging. I saved to the Cloud available with my laptop and after a year it said there was a fee so I had to move everything onto the hard drive. I am now with BT internet so have BT Cloud but if I change to another internet provider to save money, I'll have to move again. I save to a USB stick as I have previously lost photos and documents when laptops died.
If any experts can recommend a free long term cloud I'd be happy to use it.

There are lots of 'free cloud' options which will provide a limited amount of storage space. Dropbox, Box, OneDrive (which is Microsoft) GoogleDrive..... they are all reputable and you can use them from any device. I actually use all 4 for different things and have never had a problem with any of them.

Computing service providers (those that provide apps) are not philanthropists. When you use 'free' apps, ask yourself how they make their money. Your data is what they want and you happily provide it when you sign up to their service and agree to their conditions. Services designed to store your data, however, cannot legitimately use it for marketing purposes. Somewhere along the line, they need to charge the consumer to help to maintain the massive infrastructures that are required to protect your precious data. They aren't really being greedy. As long as we shop around and 'switch', market forces will keep their prices competitive. We shouldn't always expect something for nothing.

I'd rather pay for an app that allows me to say no to advertising than be continually bombarded with ads within it after I have carried out an unrelated online search.

Which ones blast you with adverts? It would be good to have a 'ones to avoid' list!

I think the main problem I have with the Cloud is the name "Cloud" - makes it seem so indistinct and uncertain.
I'm trying to think of it as you describe, NanaMacGeek.

Also, I don't intentionally use it, but have the feeling that things get there anyway.
On my hudl, I came across a very old document, from about 2006. I don't do documents on the hudl and have no idea how that document, created on my previous laptop, would have got there.

No problem saving into file with Windows 10. Just use 'Save as' into a file as Marydoll says.

Isn't this all part of ageing where we want things to stay the same and don't want to cope with change?

Fight it! Keep an open mind and embrace the new and slightly challenging.

Do not go gently.....

FarNorth You probably saved it to the cloud at some point, so you can access it from your Hudl.

Anya Exactly!

The cloud is very, very simple.
Your computer storage is like loads of boxes, full of documents or photos or games.
Cloud storage is like Big Yellow Storage/Safestore. There are different companies offering storage. They'll give you a cardboard box full of storage for free, but if you want more, you need to pay. It's locked away and it's safe. You can access it anytime and if you move (change your computer) then you don't need to do anything with the stuff in your Big Yellow Internet Storage Box.

The advantage to me of the cloud is, if your PC failes, your docs are protected, you don't have to back them up.

I didn't want to complicate things too much in my earlier posts but if your computer fails, using cloud storage may not be enough to get you up and running again. Only the documents, photos and data you specify are stored. Unless you have opted into a cloud backup service (instead of a cloud storage service), you may find you are missing key data and precious files. A (cloud) backup service is designed to allow you to restore your PC with all its files.

I agree devongirl. It's great for sharing photos around the family too. Someone should get in touch with one of the cloud storage providers and get them to do a Q&A with GN so we can really get the most out of the technology. Maybe they'll give us a great deal or some freebies

I use dropbox, but only for very limited purposes and
I try to limit how much information about myself goes into any commercial system. I do not, for example. have a profile on GN.

Even if I do not directly enter personal data online any more than I have to, any cloud provider could do an analysis of the material in files to find about a lot about my interests, details of my financial management (insurance documents saved as pdfs for example), family information. Even access confidential client reports from my voluntary work. Not to mention the danger of the system being hacked and this information falling into criminal hands

The cloud has its uses, but I would never load all my personal files onto it.

Good post*Monica*.

M0nica, since you hold sensitive information on your PC, do you use your computer's inbuilt tools to password protect/encrypt your important files (including PDFs)? Once encrypted, you could back them up without worrying about them being lost or viewed by a third party.