Requirement 2: Minimize Cost

Since the purpose of this experiment is to discover the advantages of cloud computing I'm going tackle the most obvious advantage, the cost. Although cost usually refers to pure monetary investment, time is also one of the costs I'll be minimizing as well. My new job as a teacher severely limits my budget (especially since it pays about half as much as I made before). So I will be pinching every last penny I can get my grubby little hands on.

There are several ways that software applications pay for themselves. Micro$oft mastered the art of the software "license" that you have to keep paying for every time there is an upgrade. But they must still bow to the insidious dollar-milking ability of the "software-as-a-service" cash cow that is the monthly subscription fee (just ask Blizzard about their World of Warcraft profits). Since I, like most teachers, have at best a shoe-string budget to work with I'll be limiting my evaluations to gadgets that are either freeware or adware. Plus I'm just cheap. I may even expand my horizons to shareware if I'm feeling froggy. As long as the gadget only requests a donation to the author, and doesn't limit functionality, then I'll keep it in the list. Below is a ranked list of preferred licensing methods for cheapskates like me:

1. Open Source
   
2. Freeware
3. Adware
4. Shareware
5. One-time fee
6. Subscription Fee (monthly, yearly, etc.)
7. Pay-per-Use
   

The other sort of cost that's built in to any product is time. Fortunately this is a resource I now have in abundance. So for me personally, it will not weigh as heavily. But it still merits consideration when evaluating any gadget. This parameter bleeds into the productivity category a little, so I'll be talking about time use in both categories. The time "costs" include:

1. Setup/sign-up delays: Do I have to email you my first pet's mother's maiden name to verify my identity?
2. Usability delays: Do I need a Ph. D. in Photoshop to make a simple smiley face?
   
3. Site loading delays: Should I just get up and fix a cup of coffee while I wait to load your site's homepage?
4. Bandwidth delays: Are you hogging up the internet with your super snazzy 10 megapixel logo?