A Short Explanation of the Cloud that Will Make You Feel Smarter: Tech For Mature Adults

by Todd Hoff

“Todd, can you explain ‘The Cloud’? What is it?” I was asked this question at lunch by Joe, a fellow tour member on a recent trip Linda (my wife) and I took to France. It was not a question I was expecting on vacation, but with over 30 years experience as a programmer, a lot of it spent in cloud computing, it’s a question I should have been able to knock out of the park. Except I didn’t. My answer stank. I hemmed and hawed. I stuttered and sputtered. I could tell that nothing I said was making any sense. I gave a horrible answer, and it has haunted me ever since. While talking, I noticed a lot of other people at the table were interested in my answer as well. Many times during the trip Linda and I operated as a sort of unofficial tech support for some of the group. Our companions were all smart, accomplished people who’d achieved a lot in their lives. The thing is, they were just old enough that they didn’t grow up with computers. Computers didn’t come easily to them. They needed to be taught. Kids these days understand computers because they’re around computers all the time. They’re what are called digital natives. A digital native is someone brought up during the age of digital technology, so they’re familiar with computers and the internet from an early age. It’s like being a native speaker of a language. Someone born in France learns to speak French naturally, and they’ll always sound more authentic and understand nuances of the language better than a student who took a few years of French in high school. If you aren’t a native French speaker, you have to learn somehow. If you aren’t a digital native, the same thing applies. You have to learn. This book is the answer I wish I’d given Joe in France. It’s short, to the point, and hopefully easy to understand. Here you go, Joe. I tried to do better this time. This is the first book in the Tech For Mature Adults series.

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2017