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Cloud computing continues to grow - more and more applications and data storage sites are popping up in The Cloud. Some of you know what The Cloud means and some of you do not. For those who think you don't know, let us explain it by asking you a question: Have you ever used Yahoo Mail, Gmail or Hotmail? If you have you've already used an application which is based in "The Cloud". We used to call it "The Web" and we still call Yahoo Mail, Gmail, and Hotmail, "web mail".

As more and more applications become available in The Cloud, less and less applications will be available for you to download and install on your computer. Yes, there will always be applications you can download and run on your PC, but they will become fewer and fewer over the next decade. In fact, by the beginning of the next decade, your computer's operating system may well be in The Cloud. As difficult of a concept as that may be to grasp, Google's Android OS - an OS that now powers many smart phones is coming soon to a computer near you - and Android is a Cloud-based operating system.

This fall the first tablet PCs running Google's Android OS will be widely available to consumers. We've seen Android tablet PCs available already from Chinese and South Korean manufacturers who market them as iPad clones. (And for those of you who are thinking "South Korea?", keep in mind that Apple's wildly successful iPhones and iPad are manufactured in South Korea. )

Google's Android OS is an operating system whose function is to facilitate access to The Cloud. If you use Windows, you've probably used or have at least heard of, Microsoft Office. Android users have their own version of MS Office, it's called Google Docs. Google Docs is available to Windows, Mac and Linux users too. (And if you haven't tried Google Docs, you should - it does everything MS Office does and darn near as well. It does things that MS Office doesn't do - for instance you can export Word docs to PDF.) Google Docs runs in The Cloud.

Operating systems of the future will present you with a very Windows-like look, but most all of the applications you use and the files you store will be in The Cloud. This means a PC, laptop, or tablet, won't need a huge hard drive. Less applications running locally (on your computer) means a more stable computer and less downtime and annoyances, less spyware, viruses and malware - in short, a better running computer and a better computing experience.

We were never in favor of The Cloud because of our security concerns. But the time has passed to protest. The Cloud is here, and it's here to stay, whether any of us like it or not.

There isn't a single provider in The Cloud who can yet guarantee security. There isn't a single provider in The Cloud that can guarantee 100% that 100% of your files will be safe from theft, damage or loss. We're sure in the not-so-distant future that technology will be sufficiently advanced that data loss and/or damage will be virtually nil. And no Cloud provider will ever guarantee your security. The reason? One-half of the responsibility for your security is yours. A Cloud provider can invest millions of dollars in high-tech security systems and failsafe technologies, but not a single one of them can force their users to use strong, uncrackable passwords. If your password is 123456789 or betty8241957, or your phone number, or birthday and name, your data is going to be subject to theft.

You cannot protect people from themselves, and providers in The Cloud are aware of this. That is why you're starting to see more and more double log-ins. In the next decade your going to see a push for thumbprint readers, face recognition and/or iris scanners - so that users have to not only type a password to access their accounts, but will have to verify who they are by looking into an iris scanner or face recognition scanner which is built into their computer, or by placing their thumb on a thumbprint reader. Then again, there may be even newer technology, even easier to implement, that we cannot even imagine yet, that will provide the 100% security that everyone wants and deserves.

One thing is for sure: As more and more of our everyday computing takes place in "The Cloud", the more likely it is that we'll no longer access our accounts with just a simple username and password. Until we move past that way of accessing data in The Cloud, no one can guarantee the security of the information that is stored in The Cloud.

In the meantime, it's more important than ever that you give serious thought to abandoning those simple, easily-crackable passwords. We'll bet at least 1/3 of you are using the same password for everything. If that is you, you're in serious danger of losing data and possibly your identity as more and more of your information, data, and files are stored in The Cloud. It's bad enough to use simple passwords that are easily guessed or cracked, but using the same password for everything is a huge mistake and an invitation to disaster. Do not do it.

The Cloud is still in its infancy, but it is growing up fast. The Cloud is the future whether any of us like it or not.