Getting your head around using a PC in the cloud can take some time. It reminds us of the first time we saw the movie The Matrix. In other words, it can be a bit of a mind trip. You are using a physical computer, and then connecting to your cloud PC, and then using your physical computer just like it is your cloud PC. But your cloud PC lives and runs in the cloud, and your physical computer, any physical computer, is just something real you use to connect to your cloud PC and get work done.
Like we said, it can take some time to get your head around it.
Getting started with Windows 365
Microsoft has moved the PC into the cloud with Windows 365. You can use almost any physical computer, even a phone or tablet, to connect to your cloud PC in order to get work done. When you are done working, just disconnect and your cloud PC stays put in the exact same state you left it. Your cloud PC waits until you connect to it again, from whichever physical device you choose to use at the time, and you start working again.
To get started, you need a Microsoft 365 subscription. If you don’t already have one, then you can sign up for a new one on the Microsoft website at www.office.com. Why is Microsoft 365 located at office.com? Because Microsoft 365 is a new name for Office 365 and Office 365 is the cloud version of Microsoft Office. Makes sense? Good!
With your subscription ready to go, you sign up for Windows 365 by pointing your web browser to www.windows365.com. On the site, select the type of cloud PC you want and assign the cloud PC to one of the users in your organization.
The last step is to connect to your cloud PC and begin using it. You can connect using your web browser or a special client called Windows 365 Remote Desktop. After you’re connected, your cloud PC runs in a window and looks like a regular PC you might have on your desk. When you maximize the window, you get the feeling the physical computer you are typing on is actually your cloud PC.
It isn’t, though! Your physical computer is just a way to connect to your cloud PC. After this concept becomes clear, it is easy to float between many different physical computers while always connecting and using your cloud PC. Your cloud PC becomes detached from the real world and any physical computer will do to connect to it and use it.
Figuring out Windows 365 requirements
There are very few requirements to using Windows 365. The first, and most important, is that you must have a fairly fast Internet connection. The second is that you must have a physical device that you can use to connect to your cloud PC and use it. We recommend something with a full keyboard like a laptop or desktop computer. However, even a phone or tablet can be used in a pinch.
As for the Windows 365 Remote Desktop client, it can be installed on a Windows computer, a Mac computer, an iPhone, iPad, Android phone, or Android tablet. If your physical computer is running Linux, then you can use the web browser. We are hoping for a full-fledged client for Linux soon, too!
Learning Windows 365 terminology
Moving a PC into the cloud presents some real mind-bender scenarios. First, how can something like a PC move into the cloud? Where does it exist? Who turns it on? Is there a ghost floating in the cloud, too, who presses the keys on the PC?
Well, your cloud PC actually lives in a Microsoft data center somewhere in the world. There are real computers in those data centers, and your cloud PC runs on those.
Of course, every cloud PC doesn’t have its very own real PC in a data center. Instead, Microsoft runs technology to create virtual environments. Your cloud PC is actually a virtual computer and Microsoft maintains some super-powerful computers that handle all the details of connecting your virtual computer to the actual computer it is running on top of.
Here are some definitions to help sort through the concept:
- Cloud PC: A virtual computer running in a Microsoft data center that you connect to and use over the Internet.
- Physical device: The laptop, desktop, phone, or tablet that you physically have in your hands and use to connect to the Internet so you can connect to your cloud PC.
- Data center: A giant building that Microsoft owns where massive rows of computers reside. Microsoft uses these computers to provide all their services. All these computers are networked together. You might hear this referred to as the Microsoft Cloud. Really, it is just Microsoft’s network, though.
- Microsoft 365: A marketing name for a bundle of services that Microsoft offers. The bundle was previously referred to as Office 365.
- Office 365: The cloud version of the traditional Microsoft Office software products. Microsoft changed the name to Microsoft 365, although you will still see frequent references to Office 365.
- Operating systems: A physical computer isn’t much more than a paperweight or doorstop without software to make it function. The software designed to make computers do stuff is called an operating system. With a cloud PC, the physical components of the computer are virtual, but the operating system performs the same function.
Common apps in Windows 365
With Windows 365, you must have a Microsoft 365 subscription. These subscriptions come in many different flavors, and each includes different features and offerings. For example, if you want to install Microsoft Office on your cloud PC, then you want to make sure your Microsoft 365 subscription includes this option.
In addition to Office, many other apps are available with Microsoft 365 and on your cloud PC. On your cloud PC, you will find traditional apps you find on a regular Windows computer, such as the Media Player, Voice Recorder, Notepad, and Calculator. You can also install just about any software you can imagine from the Windows Store on your cloud PC.
Some of the new cloud-based apps that come with Microsoft 365 include: To-Do, Lists, Bookings, Whiteboard, and Stream. And of course, the most popular and powerful Microsoft 365 apps include SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams.