# Amazon Cloud



## matilda314 (May 20, 2010)

Silly question...is there a place I can go to read and learn more about exactly what the Amazon Cloud is and how it works etc?  I keep hearing about it, but I"m not sure if I understand it exactly.
Thank you


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## n4uau (Nov 26, 2011)

When doubt google it!


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## fuschiahedgehog (Feb 23, 2010)

I do wish it was more like Dropbox, complete with an Android app.  I don't understand why they don't have an app already.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Matilda,

the "Cloud" is online storage.  Any digital items you buy from Amazon are automatically stored on the "Cloud."  Music and video can be streamed to your device. Music and video you own can be downloaded.  Apps and books have to be downloaded to your device to be used.  Items in the Cloud will only be available if you have an active WiFi connection.  Items downloaded can be used without a connection.

The "Cliff Notes" version....


Betsy


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## matilda314 (May 20, 2010)

Betsy,
Thank you!!!  I thought that was "all" there was to it, but then every once in awhile I'd read something that made me wonder if I was missing other parts of it.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

matilda314 said:


> Betsy,
> Thank you!!! I thought that was "all" there was to it, but then every once in awhile I'd read something that made me wonder if I was missing other parts of it.


If you are, then I am, too, LOL!

Betsy


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

Hi I have a question, I have  lot of books for the little four year old girl I am a nanny to.  How do I put her books in a collection and put it on the cloud when not in use for her?  Thanks in advance.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

geniebeanie said:


> Hi I have a question, I have lot of books for the little four year old girl I am a nanny to. How do I put her books in a collection and put it on the cloud when not in use for her? Thanks in advance.


Are they digital books? If they're digital books you can just upload them to the Documents folder. (You can create individual folders within the documents folder too).


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## fuschiahedgehog (Feb 23, 2010)

DYB said:


> Are they digital books? If they're digital books you can just upload them to the Documents folder. (You can create individual folders within the documents folder too).


Does that then make them available on the Kindles associated with that account? I admit I've never checked it out.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

fuschiahedgehog said:


> Does that then make them available on the Kindles associated with that account? I admit I've never checked it out.


If you send them to a Kindle via the Send to Address they are stored at MYK and, yes, available to any 'real' kindle on the account. (Not 'app' devices.) If you put it in the 'general' cloud by uploading -- not specifically to the Kindle area -- I'm not sure that you can access them other than via a web browser-ish thing.  Would be happy for some additional information myself!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> If you send them to a Kindle via the Send to Address they are stored at MYK and, yes, available to any 'real' kindle on the account. (Not 'app' devices.) If you put it in the 'general' cloud by uploading -- not specifically to the Kindle area -- I'm not sure that you can access them other than via a web browser-ish thing.  Would be happy for some additional information myself!


I don't believe there is a way to add things to the Cloud outside of buying them through Amazon. Books, Music, Video and Apps have "Clouds" and "Device" options. Documents does not--it's just a folder on the device as far as I know...

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I don't believe there is a way to add things to the Cloud outside of buying them through Amazon. Books, Music, Video and Apps have "Clouds" and "Device" options. Documents does not--it's just a folder on the device as far as I know...
> 
> Betsy


Well, see, this is where I'm confused. I know if you buy them you have them. But I had the impression that as a Prime member, I got like 2GB of 'other' cloud storage where I could back up documents or whatever. A 'cloud drive' separate from 'cloud' where stuff you buy goes. And one can apparently pay to get more 'could storage' if they want it. Something more like Microsoft's "Sky Drive" that you can use if you have a "Windows Live" log in. . . . .


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Well, see, this is where I'm confused. I know if you buy them you have them. But I had the impression that as a Prime member, I got like 2GB of 'other' cloud storage where I could back up documents or whatever. A 'cloud drive' separate from 'cloud' where stuff you buy goes. And one can apparently pay to get more 'could storage' if they want it. Something more like Microsoft's "Sky Drive" that you can use if you have a "Windows Live" log in. . . . .


Yes, you do. I don't have a fire so I am not sure there, but if you go to the Manage My Kindle area on the web page you can control the 5GB of space that you get free and you can buy more.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Well, see, this is where I'm confused. I know if you buy them you have them. But I had the impression that as a Prime member, I got like 2GB of 'other' cloud storage where I could back up documents or whatever. A 'cloud drive' separate from 'cloud' where stuff you buy goes. And one can apparently pay to get more 'could storage' if they want it. Something more like Microsoft's "Sky Drive" that you can use if you have a "Windows Live" log in. . . . .


Hmmmm..needs more research...

Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

OK, after taking a look at it, I'm thinking one browses to that via the web browser, and then can click on "download?"  And then maybe it would be available on the device in "documents?" 

Which is more or less what you said, Ann.  Trying it out....

Betsy


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## slkissinger (Jul 29, 2010)

I'll admit is very confusing. I'm in the technology industry, and the word "Cloud" is used like a magic panacea to describe just about anything when the Marketing/sales team gets involved. Forgetting that the word "cloud" is associated with the task you want to perform (I think it just clouds the issue, forgive the pun). If I understand the request from geniebeanie, you have ebooks that you did not originally purchase through Amazon.com; which you do currently have on your Kindle (however they got there). Since they aren't from Amazon, that implies to me that they are DRM-free, otherwise you couldn't be reading them.

Here's how to put them into the Personal Documents location up on Amazon:
1. Login to amazon, and go to "Manage your kindle". If you have multiple Kindle devices, it doesn't matter which one you pick, but pick one and take note of the email address associated with it.
2. Back at your computer, I'm going to make 2 assumptions: at your computer you can plug in your Kindle so you get a Drive letter. and that when you are at your computer you can send email.
3. After you plug in your Kindle and get a drive letter, browse to the <drive letter>:\Documents folder of your Kindle. Here's potentially the trickiest bit: hopefully you'll be able to tell by the name of the file which files are the books for the 4 year old. Pick one, and email it to the Kindle.com email address you recorded.
4. Give it a few minutes; and then check a few things; check under Manage Your Kindle, Personal Documents. If you see the document listed, you'll be able to send it to any Kindle ereader (not Kindle for Android, not Kindle for PC, but an actual device like K1/2/3/4/fire).
5. You may also want to enable wireless (if it is off) on the device which was at the other end of that email address; to confirm it was sent successfully, and you can read it.

Now that it is in your "Personal Documents" location, as long as you don't delete it from there, you can send it to any Kindle device, for as long as you have an account on amazon.com, presumably. So don't lose your password. 

One caveats: it's not the same as the "Archived Items". You won't see them in there on your Kindle, or at least I don't see mine. If you need to re-send them to a device, you'll need to go to amazon.com and send them from the Manage Your Kindle page.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

It might be a tad easier than slkissinger describes -- if you downloaded them from elsewhere and they're still stored on your computer, you don't need to go through the steps of finding them on the Kindle.  Just send it from your computer directly.  Be sure the address you're sending FROM has been whitelisted and be sure you're using the correct 'send to' address for the Kindle where you want it initially.

But, yes, once it's in 'personal documents' you can send it to any 'real' kindle.  And they WILL be listed in your Archived items on the kindle -- so you can 'pull' them from the Kindle.  At least, I just checked with a document I'd sent some time ago and I can see it on both my K3 and K4.  I can not locate it that way on the Fire. . . it doesn't show in 'books' in the 'cloud' and isn't showing as 'docs' either.  I could send it there from MYK (Personal Documents).  I believe it would show up in 'docs' on the Fire.


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## slkissinger (Jul 29, 2010)

True, if you already have everything local, then it's easy to transfer. Personally what I do is I use Calibre; and have all my books in there. With Calibre you can optionally have a "server" running. Then from your Kindle you can browse to http://IpAddressOfYourComputer:8080 and download your calibre books from there. That's if you are @home. If you're not @home, then you'll need the documents somehow available via the internet. Whether that is amazon personal documents, Amazon Cloud, DropBox, SkyDrive, or any other method that makes sense to you.

Since I'm an ubergeek, I made my own cloud. and offer my Calibre library to myself via public IP going out of my house, so I can browse to my http://mypublicIPort , login, and see all my books and grab them from wherever I might be.

(Did I mention the geek part?)


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

But. . . again. . . you don't _need_ Calibre. The few documents I have from elsewhere than Amazon are just stored in a specific folder on my computer. And, of course, now, any I've actually sent are kept at Amazon too. 

I like things ubersimple.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Just ignore Ann, there are plenty of other geeks here, slkissiger. 




Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Just ignore Ann, there are plenty of other geeks here, slkissiger.
> 
> 
> 
> Betsy




Seriously, though: I know Calibre is a powerful tool for those who want to organize things, convert formats, or change metadata. But I don't want folks who are brand new to think they have to do all that stuff to get any value out of the Kindle. If _all_ they want to do is send stuff to the Kindle, Calibre is rather a bit of overkill.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

(Is someone playing the Beatles in the background?)


Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Just for that YOU'RE buying lunch!


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## enodice (Jul 29, 2010)

You can access your Amazon Cloud drive from a browser at: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/ref=sa_menu_acd_urc2#path=/

You get 5GB free, and unlimited storage for content you buy from Amazon. Music shows up here, and you can upload other files as well, such as docs, images, videos. You can pay to upgrade, and if you do, you get unlimited space for music, whether you buy it from Amazon or just upload your own to the cloud. The fire can easily access the music, but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to get to the docs or other content that you upload here, other than using the Silk browser. I would expect this to be intregrated better in the future, via Fire software update, to allow more seamless storage and retrieval from the cloud. Hopefully it will eventually work more like Dropbox.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Won't let you play with my Touch...

(that just doesn't sound quite right...)

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Won't let you play with my Touch...
> 
> (that just doesn't sound quite right...)
> 
> Betsy


I'd report you to a moderator for going off topic but. . .well. . . .that would be you. 



enodice said:


> You can access your Amazon Cloud drive from a browser at: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/ref=sa_menu_acd_urc2#path=/
> 
> You get 5GB free, and unlimited storage for content you buy from Amazon. Music shows up here, and you can upload other files as well, such as docs, images, videos. You can pay to upgrade, and if you do, you get unlimited space for music, whether you buy it from Amazon or just upload your own to the cloud. The fire can easily access the music, but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to get to the docs or other content that you upload here, other than using the Silk browser. I would expect this to be intregrated better in the future, via Fire software update, to allow more seamless storage and retrieval from the cloud. Hopefully it will eventually work more like Dropbox.


enodice, thanks for that: that's very clear and matches what I thought I sort of understood. As yet, I've not put anything up there but I can see possibly using it for computer back ups. Or would that not be wise? I'm thinking of it more like a virtual hard drive than as a place to keep stuff I want access to when on the go.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I consider myself reported and will give myself a stern talking to.




Ann in Arlington said:


> enodice, thanks for that: that's very clear and matches what I thought I sort of understood. As yet, I've not put anything up there but I can see possibly using it for computer back ups. Or would that not be wise? I'm thinking of it more like a virtual hard drive than as a place to keep stuff I want access to when on the go.


I've been playing with it...and so far neither of the things I've uploaded to it have I been able to access on the Fire through the web browser. One of them, a .docx Word doc, said "downloaded" but doesn't open, probably because it's a Office starter document. The other, a non DRM-d book would open at all.... Still playing with it, but I have to leave soon to go to lunch. 

Betsy


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

Seems like a lot of confusion here and I'm not a geek but......

I've had no problem in putting music from my pc on the cloud.  Amazon even provides the software for it.  It cannot be a .wav file though.  I've just uploaded mp3's including some books in mp3 format.  These were NOT purchased from Amazon although I do have audible books and mp3s purchased from them.  I haven't tried this with any videos or personal doc files yet.  I have purchased some amazon videos and they are in the cloud.  I was quite confused about this at first, too.  As a general rule, if you buy the stuff from Amazon you can store it for free in the Cloud.  If you get the "stuff" from somewhere else, you can store in the Cloud to the extent of your free space provided.  If you need more space you have to pay amazon for it. 

I'm going to put some more music in the Cloud, but I have to rip them and convert the .wav files to mp3s first.  This can take a lot of time and I know that dvds take even longer.  I haven't done any dvds yet.  I have to see if I can sideload a dvd file from my pc to the Fire.  I was apprehensive about trying that before our trip in 2 weeks so I just bought some from Amazon and downloaded them onto the Fire.  They are also in the Cloud, of course.

I do think that Amazon should do a video explanation of "storage" and how it works for all Kindles.  The video should be part of the manual IMO.

Stan


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

I just go to the Amazon home page. Over on the left is an "Amazon Cloud Drive" option. When I point to it I get a "Your Cloud Drive" option. Click that and it takes you to the cloud drive where there is a Documents folder.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

HappyGuy, have you been able to access anything in the Documents folder from your Fire?

Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

OK, I uploaded a PDF to my cloud drive.  Nothing seemed to happen when I tried to download it or open it on my Fire.  But then I got a notification that something called "Cloud.bin" had been downloaded and it was the PDF.....

Also, using File Expert, I manuevered to my "documents" folder on the Fire and was able to open the .docx file I had tried to download and open earlier.  It was the only one of the three items in my documents folder on the cloud that actually said "downloading" when I clicked on it.

Betsy


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## pitbullandfire (Nov 27, 2011)

Okay, I think I have a basic question.  All my books from Amazon are safe in my Amazon account and can be managed in the MYK part.  However, these books will not appear in the Cloud per se, correct?  The Cloud is for other stuff you want to store, correct?  But my books are safe and I can have as many as I want, right?  Sometimes I get lost in the explanations...


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

pitbullandfire said:


> Okay, I think I have a basic question. All my books from Amazon are safe in my Amazon account and can be managed in the MYK part. However, these books will not appear in the Cloud per se, correct? The Cloud is for other stuff you want to store, correct? But my books are safe and I can have as many as I want, right? Sometimes I get lost in the explanations...


Yes, your books in your Amazon account, but don't they show up in your Fire carousel?


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## pitbullandfire (Nov 27, 2011)

Yes they do. I just hope when I am able to delete them from the carousel down the road they are kept in my MYK or someplace. Hope that makes sense?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

I would think that the deletions would be the same as deleting them from other Kindle models.  In other words, removing them from the "device" does not remove them from your account.  Personally, I would prefer that books not be in the carousel since I don't read books on the Fire.  I'm thinking that future software updates will take care of this problem and allow us to choose what's in our carousels.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

pitbullandfire said:


> Yes they do. I just hope when I am able to delete them from the carousel down the road they are kept in my MYK or someplace. Hope that makes sense?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The Carousel is a combination of what's on your device and what is in your archive. And web pages you've visited recently. If you press and hold on an item, if it is on your device, you will get the options to "Add it to favorites" or "Remove from Device." If it not on your device, press and hold gives you the option to download. The item will still be available to download later if you choose "Remove from Device."

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

FWIW, you can, even now, remove web pages from the carousel by clearing your history in the browser.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Perhaps this a bit off topic, but - is anyone else having trouble with synchronizing the last page read between the Cloud Reader and a Kindle? 

My experience is that using the Sync feature from the Cloud Reader produces a message which says all devices are in sync, yet it doesn't seem to do anything. Syncing from a Kindle works, but the location's not accurate.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hmmmm...  I don't use the Cloud Reader, Jeff.  Anyone else having this problem?  

Off to experiment...

Betsy


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Thanks, Betsy.

I do my Kindle book buying on my computer, send it to my Kindle and then, because I'm anxious to start reading, because I'm too lazy to go find my Kindle, and because Amazon makes it so easy, I start reading the book with the Cloud Reader. Thus my issue with synchronizing.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Can't help with the cloud reader problem. . .but I might have some suggestions for taking care of the laziness.  

Seriously, though, I'm afraid I don't use it either. . .I have it loaded, but have never used it.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Can't help with the cloud reader problem. . .but I might have some suggestions for taking care of the laziness.


Your criticism is always welcome.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Just ignore Ann, laziness is vastly under-rated.  

I just used Cloud Reader on my iPad (which is weird since there is Kindle App for iPad).  To get it to sync correctly on the Cloud Reader on the iPad, I had to make sure the Kindle device was out of the book on the Kindle.  Otherwise I get the same message.

Let me test going the other way....

Betsy


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Hmmm...

I can't get my Touch to sync when I read on the Cloud first...

Betsy


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

I think it's broken. Thanks, Betsy.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Although, just now, it synched on the Touch.  Maybe it just takes awhile.  I used to have this problem with my K1 synching with my iPad.  Perhaps the Cloud is more like a K1 than like a newer Kindle.  

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Jeff said:


> Your criticism is always welcome.





Betsy the Quilter said:


> Just ignore Ann, laziness is vastly under-rated.


Oh I am a MASTER of laziness. . .that's why I have to have strategies to get me moving.  (Right now I'm supposed to be decorating for Christmas.  )

As to the cloud reader problem, I assume you are going back to 'home' on the CR before closing it. . .sometimes that's enough to trigger a sync with always connected devices. I don't recall if there is a way to manually force it otherwise . . .there is on the Android app. If syncing isn't working automatically I'd recommend doing a sync before leaving the reader and, possibly, doing one on the next device you pick up.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> As to the cloud reader problem, I assume you are going back to 'home' on the CR before closing it. . .sometimes that's enough to trigger a sync with always connected devices. I don't recall if there is a way to manually force it otherwise . . .there is on the Android app. If syncing isn't working automatically I'd recommend doing a sync before leaving the reader and, possibly, doing one on the next device you pick up.


There's a button (or maybe a menu item) on the Cloud Reader to sync the last-page-read with other devices. Selecting that produces a message which claims that all devices have been synchronized.

Now, when I open the book on a connected Kindle, the last page read hasn't been updated.

If I then use the *Sync* feature on the Kindle, the message reports the last page read to be greater than the current location and asks if I want to update. Replying "yes" moves the location, but to the wrong place.

Clear as mud?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Jeff said:


> There's a button (or maybe a menu item) on the Cloud Reader to sync the last-page-read with other devices. Selecting that produces a message which claims that all devices have been synchronized.
> 
> Now, when I open the book on a connected Kindle, the last page read hasn't been updated.
> 
> ...


That's the way it's supposed to work...but, as Ann said, sometimes exiting the book seems to be required. And sometimes it seems to just take a while...

Betsy


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

I'll experiment a bit and if I discover anything useful I'll post it here. Thanks.


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