Google has been developing their own slice of the almighty cloud for the past 10 years; now they’ve unveiled what they’ve been doing with all their hard work with a revolutionized marketplace for Android devices. Google Play rolled out at the beginning of last month. The all-in-one service gives users an entirely new experience that is akin to Apple’s App Store with the added advantage of fresh new UI and user-friendliness.

Not long ago, Google updated their Market interface to include several different types of media for purchase, including books, music and movies. It was just a small sample of what they had in mind for the future. On the surface level, Google Play is just an overhaul of the Android Market that includes even more micro-distractions for customers to browse and spend money on. Of course, there’s much more to it than that.

Google Play puts a large amount of emphasis on the cloud aspect of the service by touting its convenient design that only requires having the app in order to connect to a library and past purchases. It requires no extra software, syncing or additional devices, something none of their competitors can offer. The app seamlessly integrates with the cloud in an incredibly user-friendly way. Users can purchase media from anywhere on any device and have access to it on other devices. All a user’s media becomes completely portable, giving them access to entertainment on the go.

It is collectively everything Google has to offer in one convenient location. Users can even preview media before purchasing, view ratings, and check out top picks. It also acts as a social networking device, giving users the option to share their finds and purchases on Google+ and via text message. As an added bonus, members of Google+ can give and receive free samples of media they have purchased. And as before, there is plenty of free content to choose from as well.

As far as the entertainment market is concerned, Google is shaping up to be a fierce provider of content, challenging the likes of Apple and Amazon. With the added bonus of cloud functionality, the new Google Play deserves a big +1.

Although cloud technology has just recently emerged on the commercial scene, it has been in development for several years and is already dominating the data services market. As new devices hit the market every day, companies are scrambling to produce services that give consumers the capability to use wireless data sync and storage for personal use.

Three of the names on the forefront cloud computing are Google, Apple, and Amazon. These big timers are rapidly revolutionizing the way the cloud works and what services are offered to consumers, with many new devices shipping pre-connected to some sort of wireless sync service. For example, Apple’s “iCloud” is optimized for instantly syncing data between all Apple products, encouraging brand-loyal consumers to own multiple gadgets. But as the cloud continues to expand, the competition for offering unique services grows larger. Google is now touting their brand of cloud called “Google Play,” a new service that is integrated with their former “Android Market” that offers a wide range of media. Amazon’s “Cloud Storage” gives a user the ability to listen to their friend’s music. Most of these services are only offered in part to consumers; Amazon offers a small amount of free storage to its users, about 5GB, but gives them the option of upgrading for a small subscription fee. Apple’s iCloud is free so as long as users have the most up-to-date firmware on their products.

Why is cloud computing so important? The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that the average household has around 24 electronic devices, including “basic” commodities such as cameras and remote controls. About half of those devices are able to connect to wireless Internet in some way. This means that as technology becomes more advanced, the more families will rely on multiple devices to handle their day-to-day activities, send important information, and save precious memories.

Cloud computing is undeniably the future of data storage, allowing consumers to use their multiple devices to their utmost potential. In the digital age, being able to access your personal information from wherever you are is not just a convenience, it’s a must.

If you regularly use any Google services, you’re already aware that your relationship with the Internet giant is rapidly changing. Google recently announced that they were simplifying their privacy policy to collectively cover all of their websites. The goal is to improve user experiences on websites such as Gmail, Google Plus, Youtube and Picasa.

But that’s not all that’s changing; with the implementation of the privacy policy, the company will have an easier time collecting user-specific data and creating a detailed profile for every one of their members.

So what does that mean for you? You may notice that ads displayed across their sites are targeted to your specific interests and tastes. But don’t panic just yet. This isn’t a new approach by any means; Google has been doing this for years. Rest assured that sensitive personal information (religion, sexual orientation, health problems) are not included in targeted advertisements. In the past, the company anonymously identified users by a string of data, but now Google will be able to identify you personally – your name, address, friends, etc. – and see your data from all the services you use. Included in this is your search and browsing history.

While Google is legally bound to its promises to not use your information maliciously, some users may not want their information kept for various reasons. Remember, the information they track is tied to the Google account you log in to (like Gmail, for example) and not the computer you use to access the sites. Here are some steps you can take to safeguard your information.

- Stay invisible. The easiest way to avoid having your browsing information connected to your name and personal information is to simply avoid logging in to services. This can be easier said than done,  especially if you want to use the features that Google services have to offer.

- Keep an eye on your log-ins. This one is a bit more complicated, but effective. You can use several different browsers and accounts to access different websites and keep your information separate.

- Opt-out and freeze your history. Visit these websites to learn more about how to manage what information is stored, and from where. Remember, you must do this for all of your Google accounts.
http://google.com/dashboard - Shows all the services and devices connected to your account
http://google.com/history - Freeze and delete history
http://google.com/ads/preferences - If you wish not to receive targeted ads, you can opt out here.
Please note that you must do this for every browser and mobile device you use.

- Use your browser’s privacy mode.  All popular browsers offer a privacy mode. When used, things like cookies and history aren’t saved. You can do a quick search to find the privacy mode offered by you preferred browser and how to activate it. In addition to this, you can also manage and delete data already stored by your browser.

If only you could get paid to browse the web all day, am I right? Well, thanks to a new  Google project called Screenwise, that dream has become a reality — provided your online privacy isn’t worth all that much to you.

The first and more lightweight Screenwise option is currently recruiting panelists  (although it looks like they’re full up as of the time of this writing). As a Screenwise panelist, you agree to install a browser extension that tells Google all about every site you visit via Chrome. In exchange, you get a $5 Amazon gift card for signing up, plus another $5 gift card every three months you remain with the service, to a maximum of $25.

The second option is currently invite-only and will both earn you a lot more money and  lot more invasion of privacy. Participants in this program — who must be invited to join — will earn $100 up-front and an additional $20 each month. In exchange, users have to install a special Cisco router that will report all browsing data back to Google. Except when web surfers use incognito tabs or secure sessions, all browsing data will also be personally identifiable to Google. The company is also allowed to provide aggregated data to “academic institutions, advertisers, publishers, and programming networks,” they state in their user agreement.

Still, for those with nothing to hide and no qualms about feeding Google’s massive marketing machine, it could be an easy way to make a few extra dollars each month.

Moving company data storage to an off-site facility is an investment worth making, just ask the biggest companies on the web.

Google, Facebook, Amazon and others are storing their data across the country, from Oregon to Oklahoma. 

"The assumption is that with the Internet, place no longer matters,"  Andrew Blum, a Wired magazine correspondent and author of "Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet" told the Associated Press.

The key for these companies is safety and security for their data first and foremost. Facilities like Oklahoma City's RACK59 have the power sources, rack space and security. 

Google recently located data center in Oklahoma, too. In September, the search giant planted a 130,000-square-foot data center in Pryor which employs more than 100 people. Google is known for using its offsite data centers as means to control costs in its business. 

With businesses like the best on the web choosing to go offsite, the momentum toward the idea continues to pick up steam. As a Dec. 2 article in U.S. News and World Report stated, this sort of data storage is going to revolutionize the way businesses do business.

"The idea is that computing 'be made available to people anywhere, anytime, like electricity or utilities,' says Venky Ganesan, managing director of Globespan Capital Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in a range of technologies."