There has been a lot of discussion on the Web lately regarding public cloud computing – that is, using such public Web-based services as Google Documents to make information readily available to users over a variety of computing platforms: smartphones, netbooks, laptops, desktops, etc. Well, today I’ve been working with a variation of cloud computing that I think is just as valuable: private cloud computing.

With public cloud computing you are relying on servers outside of your control with your data traveling over the public Internet. With private cloud computing you access resources directly under your control over a private network. Today I implemented and very effectively used a simple private cloud computing environment, and I’m extremely happy with the results!

So, how did I do it, and why did I want to do it at all? Well, as most of you know my primary work computer is an HP Mini 5101. It’s a great machine for a traveling consultant in that it’s small, light, and sufficiently powerful for all of the tasks I need to perform at my client sites. It does have some limitations though: small keyboard, small screen, and limited computing horsepower. I also have an extremely powerful desktop system in my home: a Gateway LX6810 Dual-Core Quad Processor system with 8 GB of memory, a full-size keyboard and wireless mouse, and a 24″ widescreen LCD monitor. It’s lots nicer to use for almost any computing task than the little HP.

This week I’m working at home and so I can use the Gateway system, but all of my work files and specialized software are on the little HP netbook. So I set up a simple private cloud environment that would allow me to use both systems: the HP Mini would act as a file and application server, while the Gateway would serve as my main machine and user interface into my private cloud.

Setting up this private cloud was extremely simple. First, I just enabled sharing of my work directory on the HP Mini so that I could transparently access my work files from the Gateway over my home Ethernet/WiFi network. Next, I utilized software that I had previously installed on both systems: LogMeIn. This allowed me to access the HP from the Gateway remotely and run any application on it that I didn’t have on the Gateway. Viola: a very nicely functioning private cloud environment!

OK, well my computing environment likely falls well short of the typical cloud computing architecture, but nevertheless I am now able to enjoy many of its benefits in my own home office. Don’t underestimate the power of this simple approach, it’s offering me incredible flexibility and usefulness. If you use multiple computers, you might want to investigate setting up a similar private cloud computing environment for yourself!

AroundMe is a terrific little free program for the iPhone that does exactly what it says: uses the iPhone’s GPS device to determine your current location and then lets you know all the points of interest around you, along with their distance, directions, and even phone number. This is one great application and it’s amazing that it’s free!

I recently purchased LogMeIn Ignition for my iPhone when it was on sale for 1/2 price. It’s a bit expensive at $29.95, but far more of a value at the $14.95 sale price. I’m extremely happy with the program and it works amazingly well. I’ve logged onto both my Gateway LX6810 Quad-Processor system (MONSTER) which runs Vista and my little HP Mini 5101 network running XP, and the program allows easy remote control of both systems. I’m finding it especially handy as a remote tech support tool for my family’s use of MONSTER when I’m traveling on business.

If you really need remote access to PCs from your iPhone, then LogMeIn Ignition is probably worth even the full price – it works that well. If your need isn’t quite that pressing you may want to keep an eye out for any future sales of this very well done program.

My wife Rosemarie (that’s her above!) recently received her certification as a professional make-up artist, and so I’ve been helping her set up a Web site for displaying her portfolio of work (Fabulousity). In the process of doing so we’ve discovered two amazing freeware programs for performing image manipulation and processing: GIMP and FastStone Photo Resizer. If you need to do any kind of image work and have zero budget for software, be sure to check out these two programs!

I’ve tried a bunch of games on my iPhone, and have enjoyed them all to a greater or lesser degree, but I think I’ve decided upon which is my favorite. It’s certainly the game that I’ve spent the most hours playing – Civilization Revolution. It’s challenging, can be played in long stretches or for brief intervals, has near endless replay value, and is just downright fun! It relies on strategic thinking rather than quick reflexes, which is a real bonus from the viewpoint of an old guy like me who did not grow up playing video games. If a turn-based strategy game sounds like fun to you, be sure to check it out! There is also a free “lite” version available in the App Store for getting a feel for the game.

We recently purchased a monster computer for less than $500 from Woot – a refurbished Gateway LX6810 Media Center. This bad boy has 4 Intel Dual-Core CPUs, 8 GB of RAM, and a 640 GB RAID disk array. It’s also got an HD tuner (complete with remote), HDMI and DVI outputs, a host of USB ports – and boy does it fly. It came with Vista Home Premium and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Vista actually seem fast. Based on a Consumer Reports recommendation I bought a Viewsonic 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor to go with this system and it provides a wonderful quality 1920 X 1080 (HDTV resolution) graphical interface to us.

We’ve just started experimenting with utilizing all of the capabilities of this monster system, but it’s already amazing to have so much computer power running right in our home!

Vlingo is one of my new favorite applications on my iPhone. It voice-enables a whole bunch of functions and provides voice dialing, voice map searching, voice Web searching, and voice updating of Twitter and Facebook. It’s actually replaced three other applications on my iPhone that handled similar functions. The voice recognition works extremely well and I’m really happy with this application.

I also got a great tip from another Vlingo user that’s handy when you are driving: if you want to use Vlingo to voice-enable SMS messaging, just speak a Twitter or Facebook update, then prior to sending it to the social network just copy the resulting text and paste it into an SMS message.

Boxcar is a wonderful little application that adds push notification services for Twitter and Facebook. Boxcar sends you a push notification anytime you receive a notification on Facebook. For example, when someone comments on your status it will send you a notification using the iPhone’s Notification Manager. It can also open the your iPhone Facebook application for you, if you wish.

Boxcar can also send you push notifications anytime someone mentions you on Twitter, or sends you a Twitter DM. It can open your Twitter iPhone application, too.

Finally, Boxcar will also do push notifications for email, but I don’t use this feature.

A friend of mine recently got an iPhone and asked me to share my absolutely must-have applications. Here’s the list of the applications that I use just about every day, and which I can’t live without:

Evernote - my auxiliary brain, it stores everything from travel reservations, to pictures of business cards (which are OCR’ed and searchable), to outstanding Web orders, to meeting notes – they are all there and quickly accessble.

Dialer - an amazing freeware app that provides voice dialing that works to the iPhone.

Google - the iPhone frontend to everyone’s search engine.

Twitterific Premium – my own particular favorite Twitter app.

DocsToGo – lets me view and edit Word and Excel work files on my iPhone

reQall – this app has changed the way I manage my ToDo’s, and allows me to enter them via voice.

Snapture – I seem to constantly change my photo taking application on my iPhone, but this is my current favorite and is far superior to the built-in app.

Facebook – terrific iPhone app for interfacing with Facebook.

Say Where? – Say where did this go, it’s not in the App Store anymore! Anyway, this freeware app allows me to speak a business category or name or an address into my iPhone and have it kick off a search for it in the built-in Maps application – great when you’re driving and don’t have your hands free.

Pandora - music, music, music, and free, too!

Kindle – this app has actually replaced my Kindle device!

G-Map US & Canada – the latest incarnation of the G-Map GPS program, it’s replaced my Tom Tom GPS unit.

Skype – free and/or very low-cost calling over WiFi

That’s it. What are yours?

The picture shows my new HP Mini 5101 hard at work in the cafeteria of my current client in Indianapolis. It’s shown with my AT&T USB cellular modem and a Logitech wireless mouse. Although the touchpad on the HP is really nice, nothing beats a mouse.

After a few weeks with the HP netbook I’m still extremely happy with it. It’s very well made with an aluminum case, durable (even has a shock protection system for the hard drive), very fast (especially with the 7200 RPM disk and 2 GB of memory), and totally reliable. I highly recommend this little netbook for any traveling business person.