Navigating the Cloud

Description

Where is a file when you can open it on several devices but never saved it to the computer in front of you? Google Drive provides a concrete example to compare local and cloud storage, website and app access, automatic saving, and syncing. Create a cloud document, open it in more than one place, and watch what changes stay connected. From there, copies are separated from synced files, sending is separated from sharing, and links are separated from the files they point to. Ownership, view, comment, and edit permissions, account mix-ups, connection problems, privacy, and shared-computer safety explain why cloud information sometimes seems to vanish or change.