Cloud technology

I read a newspaper article the other day where the author was contemplating uploading his entire music collection onto a "cloud" server which would enable him to download and play his music anywhere. The "cloud" would store his uploaded Mp3 files and allow him to play back the music on a PC or 'phone anywhere in the world provided he could obtain a broadband or telecoms link. He was a self confessed technophobe and believed that the 35 GB of stored music on his PC hard disk slowed down his computer. He did not even know how to find the music. He believed that the "cloud" would enable him to back up his music files. He had dispatched his Cd collection to the attic. I presume that he had ripped the Cd's himself onto MP3 files. The "cloud" provider was going to give the first 5 GB of storage free and charge for the rest. I am sceptical about a number of points related to storing and playing music in this way and the quality of the playback. Whenever I travel for business I always carry a PC with me. I have 8 GB of music stored on the hard disk on MP3 files ripped from the original Cd's which I have bought in the traditional manner. I have also bought some MP3 files of music from Amazon. 8 GB of storage hardly uses up any space on my PC and I see no need to pay for back up space on a "cloud". All the MP3 music is sampled at 256 KB per second and sounds good good when played through my HiFi at home but on a PC or "IPlayer" it does not sound so good, owing to the lower quality of the sound cards, PC speakers or headphones. In many hotels you have to pay for the privilege of using their WiFi and there is often substantial cost when you use a portable telephone to connect to the Internet when you are abroad. I can't stand to listen to music for long over a PC or through an "IPlayer" type device so why pay for the privilege? For me it is better to store the music on my own device. If you are determined to listen to music over the Internet while at home or abroad , then why not use a service such as "Spotify" you can play music stored on its servers for free if you are prepared to accept the odd advert. If you subscribe, it is advert free and the cost of the subscription is offset by the cost of not having to pay for the "cloud". "Spotify" has an enormous selection of music and you can create your own play lists. It is a really good commercial idea although I do not take advantage of it myself. What is wrong with a CD; the quality of the music is better than MP3 recordings which compress the music? MP3 recordings lose a lot of information and you need to use very good ripping software to achieve good quality results. Home ripped MP3 files do not sound so good when played through good HiFi equipment compared to CDs. If you luse lower bit rates than 192 KB per second you can notice the difference even with simple pop music. The same principle applies to music played over Digital radio or Internet radio; the same music does not sound as good as an FM broadcast. If you want to listen to HiFi quality music at home then a CD, a Vinyl LP or FM broadcast is the best way to do it. You will not be able to do this via MP3 files, Digital radio or Internet radio. We are in danger of losing the physical media to reproduce HiFi quality music. MP3 files and Digital radio etc are unable to do this because of the limitations of bandwidth and storage restrictions. Not everything from the past is bad and not everything from the present or future is better regarding technology. I am not a Luddite as I gave up taking film photographs years ago. And my vinyl LP's have been dispatched to the attic, I could not stand the crackle and pop and the need to constantly clean the records. If you want to enjoy HiFi then listen to a CD or FM broadcast and put your feet up equidistant between a good pair of speakers. If you travel a lot you will have to put up with something less but at least technology will allow you to take an important part of your life on the road with you.