Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 71 Chapter 2 Operating Systems or support for new hardware added. Th is essentially means the Windows Mobile OS is at the end of its life. Th e Android OS was introduced by Google in 2008 to power mobile phones from various manufacturers and compete with iOS. Th e platform is promoted by the open handset alliance—a group of technology and mobile companies that integrate the Android OS into their products. Chrome OS is another mobile operating system de- veloped by Google. Derived from the Linux operating system, it is designed to run on a range of mobile devices other than smartphones. Perhaps the most important thing to remember when working with mobile de- vices and their respective operating systems is that they are generally not compatible with one another. For example, iPhones manufactured by Apple are likely not going to be able to run Android, Chrome, or Windows Mobile and vice versa. Cloud Computing Cloud computing is accessing a shared pool of resources and specialized services over the Internet. Examples of shared resources and services are storage, application software, instant messaging, e-mail, and database support. Th e term cloud is synon- ymous with the Internet symbol used in network drawings, Figure 2-27. Th e cloud symbol represents the Internet location of a service. Th e cloud-computing concept is not as new as you might think. It has actually been around for many years, even be- fore the term cloud was used. If you have ever used webmail, Facebook, or an online photo sharing or online gaming program, then you have used a cloud-based system. Cloud services have expanded rapidly in recent years because of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Th ese two types of mobile devices do not have suffi cient memory, storage space, or powerful CPUs, which is why the demand for cloud services has increased. Th e cloud provides storage services and the ability to use large software applications, which cannot possibly be installed on the portable device. For example, a mobile user can access the complete Microsoft Offi ce suite via the Internet using a portable device. Th e success of mobile devices depends greatly on cloud computing. Typically, users install the entire software application on their computer. After installation, they have complete access and control over the use and confi guration of the software application. Users can also store fi les on their computer as related to the software application. In a cloud computing setting, the user would install a small software application, or app, which allows the user to access the larger software application on the cloud service. Th e software appears to the user as though it is in- stalled entirely on the PC or portable device, when in reality the software application is installed on the cloud server. A computer with minimal hardware resources that relies on cloud services for software is referred to as a thin client. A thin client de- pends on the cloud-based software application to do most of the work. Th e user has 1001: 1.4, 2.3, 3.8, 3.9 1002: 2.4 Internet Goodheart-Willcox Publisher (server icon) fullvector/Shutterstock.com (workstation icons) RedlineVector/Shutterstock.com Figure 2-27 In most network drawings, the Internet is represented as a cloud.