The Cloud, also known as Cloud computing, refers to the availability of various services through a network like the internet, as opposed to locally on a computer. There are three main things the Cloud is used for. For a detailed description of Cloud computing, click this link from howstuffworks.com or watch the video to the left.

This can be an alternative to buying external hard drives for more space. Data is stored on multiple virtual servers, generally hosted by third parties, rather than being hosted on dedicated servers. An example of this is Dropbox. It allows users to upload files and folders onto the service through a desktop application or the Dropbox website. The files can then be accessed through the same website, which means you can get them from anywhere you have an internet connection.

The second use of the Cloud is for Online Applications that don't need to be downloaded onto a computer for use. A popular example is Google Docs, Google Calendar, and even Gmail. All three of these use Cloud computing.

The third use of the cloud is processing power. Cloud computing allows you to rent additional processing power over the internet without having to use million-dollar machines as servers. Examples of this include Amazon EC2 and S3, Rackspace, The Planet, and Microsoft Windows Azure.