Hans_ wrote:
I'm not a big fan of cloud computing. Right now, some of these schemes lock you in to their services but using proprietary formats. As a result, you may not be able to extract your own data from the service-provider and use it elsewhere.
Fair comment. I had the same concerns when I migrated to OS X. I wanted to be sure that once I had imported my calendar/contacts/music/whatever it wouldn't be stuck there. Fortunately Apple's software allows you to export in standard formats should you decide to move to different software.
If Apple's applications are linked to me.com (Apple's upcoming Cloud setup) then data are automatically pushed between devices you connect to your me.com account. The data are in the same format, so the same flexibility applies should you decide to export to a standard format.
I don't know how other Cloud providers handle this.
Hans_ wrote:
The other concern that I have is, how reliable will my computing be when, not only does my machine have to work, but every server that I use, and every network switch, fibre-optical link, satellite, etc., that lies between my machine and these servers. A broken computer I can replace; a broken satellite is beyond my control..
Depends on where you create the data and where you need them. If you create stuff locally and then can't access the Cloud, then clearly you can't access those data from your other Cloud-connected devices. But anything created prior to losing connection to the Cloud would be stored locally (because the other devices push it to each other's local store through the Cloud).
How important all of that is obviously depends on what you actually plan to do with the data, and how often it is likely that you will lose your connection to the Cloud.
Hans_ wrote:
Then there's the question of what if the service provider doesn't like my content (or me)..
Edit - Another good point... not sure how I feel about my data going through a server somewhere. I'll probably just use the me.com services (if at all) for calendars, contacts and my Uni files. Anything personal will be kept locally on my computer.
Hans_ wrote:
All that complexity; whatever happened to Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).
Well, the Cloud is attempting to make it simpler to keep the same data in many places. Easier while it's working, since it does all the work for you. But I concede it would probably be a headache if it stopped working when you needed it...
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moto
