Is the Cloud overrated?

[Thorham]

I have no private interest in cloud computing what so ever, because I want to run everything natively and I want all my data to be stored locally. I truly dislike the idea of being dependent an the internet for using my computer, and as a consequence, I'm staying away from this for as long as possible.

That said, it certainly has it's uses, but on a personal level I'm not interested.

[the_leander]

I believe the future of the cloud, for businesses and the consumer, is in hybrid applications, that are both native and available over the web, that store data locally as well as synchronise when on-line, with strong encryption and security and practically unlimited online storage(for a price).

There are examples of this already - Celtx is a good one that I've used personally with a reasonable amount of success.

I suspect some applications will remain always tied to local machines simply because it doesn't make a huge amount of sense to do otherwise.

Do not make the mistake of imagining that access and bandwidth in the future will be as limited as it is today. Bandwidth is increasing exponentially, and the amount of data points, at a minimum, around major cities will increase. You may lament you have limited access or speed right now, but this is unlikely to be the case in 10 years time. Today's cable and ADSL connections will feel like 56k baud modems popular in the 90s.

True enough, but at the same time, some applications simply don't make sense to have only as online.

But let me take my view of the future much further. With web applications becoming increasingly ubiquitous, we will find many new Web based desktops taking advantage of native code compilation and graphics acceleration. These will relegate the OS to a layer that merely runs applications launched by URLs that in turn open browser based windows. To all intents and purposes web desktops/Window managers, customised to your own usage, will appear to perform as efficiently as regular desktops do today, on any system anywhere you are in the world. The era of the native desktop as a necessity or differentiating factor may end some time in this decade.

This is where we disagree I think. Like I said earlier and agree with you - hybrid apps for some things make a whole lot of sense. The moment however you dump that to do online only is the moment you become absolutely dependant upon not only the companies not screwing you over, but that the connections are available at all times.

The moment you loose that immediacy of availability, it falls on it's backside as an option for most users. Sure, people will try it, some people might even like it. What's more likely though is you'll end up with a situation similar to that which was seen with the launch of Vista: People going en masse to get XP put on those machines.

The major driver for Cloud computing is business and their desire to provide SaaS(Software As A Service) so they can pick up regular licensing fees and curb piracy. Personally, I see nothing wrong with this model which continues to keep the IT industry afloat, not to mention keep me and many, many developers in a job.

I see the companies pushing for this certainly and for the reasons stated. I can also see a lot of other companies dismissing it out of hand due to data protection and privacy laws. Others will baulk at the prices and find non cloud smaller commercial or open source alternatives to pick up where MS leaves off. Having all apps on the cloud simply does not make sense from either a business or home user point of view.

[Amiga_Nut]

For business....giving users a PC and having them screw it up constantly is a real pain in the butt, always has been always will be because most users are thick twats. That's why Citrix was invented over a decade ago for large corporations (and any intelligent IT Service Manager would insist on this being used for all but the seriously experienced user...so 99%)

At home however it is nothing good, basically what happens when you upload a picture to photobucket and don't keep a copy but then Photobucket deletes it for whatever reason....imagine this on a terrabyte scale...ooof no thanks the internet nazis get enough control over us already with bills and laws impeaching on my civil rights left right and centre on the assumption I am a filthy pirating scumbag until I prove otherwise.

Nope...I will store what I want, where I want and as often as I want from wherever I locate it. That's what everyone wants and that's why TB drives are peanuts these days. Cloud computing is just an attempt to seize control from you about what you are allowed to store/keep......disguised (badly) as something else which is of little interest to most people today except as a novelty or to overcome the limitations of crappy 8gb netbooks that seem to be all the rage.

[Arkhan]

For business....giving users a PC and having them screw it up constantly is a real pain in the butt, always has been always will be because most users are thick twats. That's why Citrix was invented over a decade ago for large corporations (and any intelligent IT Service Manager would insist on this being used for all but the seriously experienced user...so 99%)
.

CITRIX!

That is what the library I work at uses.  Its kind of pathetic though...  They still ass it up using that.  and then me, the lowly part time page/college student has to go and fix things all the time, lol.  

This includes helping the IT repair man that shows up and doesn't know whats going on.  

:roflmao:


cloud will work out great for people like that who need the dumbest-possible-terminal machine they can be sat in front of.  It will give businesses more peace of mind that their workers aren't tarding up the machines and causing loss of productivity.

[the_leander]

CITRIX!

That is what the library I work at uses.  Its kind of pathetic though...  They still ass it up using that.  and then me, the lowly part time page/college student has to go and fix things all the time, lol.  

Ahh yes, Citrix. Oh how I would like to shake the developers of that particular piece of software by the balls...

I once worked in a call centre for a well known (some might say infamous) chain of PC and electrical stores. We all had dumb terminals.

If you were to take an A1200, crank up the colour depth to 256 colours, set the resolution to doublePAL highres with maximum overscan, you would get an idea of just how slow these things were. And this was before you actually tried to do anything with them. Oh and they were forever locking up.

Oh how I hated those systems.

cloud will work out great for people like that who need the dumbest-possible-terminal machine they can be sat in front of.  It will give businesses more peace of mind that their workers aren't tarding up the machines and causing loss of productivity.

It just moves the problems rather then solves them. Ultimately you end up with a single point of failure that can take down your entire network and you and I both know that sooner rather then later, that'll happen. Most companies I've worked for that have played with dumb terminals have ended up dumping them and buying full blown desktops that are then locked down in every way possible. They just aren't effective.

[persia]

Everyone's computer is on the internet 24/7, everyone's phone and other device is on the internet 24/7.  Look at the iPhone, can you figure out which apps are online and which are local?  Nope.  The key to the cloud is the ubiquity of the internet.

There are examples of this already -
The moment you loose that immediacy of availability, it falls on it's backside as an option for most users. Sure, people will try it, some people might even like it. What's more likely though is you'll end up with a situation similar to that which was seen with the launch of Vista: People going en masse to get XP put on those machines.

[DavidF215]

It just moves the problems rather then solves them. Ultimately you end up with a single point of failure that can take down your entire network and you and I both know that sooner rather then later, that'll happen. Most companies I've worked for that have played with dumb terminals have ended up dumping them and buying full blown desktops that are then locked down in every way possible. They just aren't effective.

The one advantage we have today, though, over the old systems is that of the Cluster. If one server of say three goes does down, then it doesn't matter as the connections fail over to the remaining two. Naturally if there is only one server, then everything goes down with it. A smart System Designer would not build a cloud on a single server but on a cluster of at least two servers.

[the_leander]

The one advantage we have today, though, over the old systems is that of the Cluster. If one server of say three goes does down, then it doesn't matter as the connections fail over to the remaining two. Naturally if there is only one server, then everything goes down with it. A smart System Designer would not build a cloud on a single server but on a cluster of at least two servers.

I can only give you my own first hand experiences. The company that I worked for that ran these things had nothing but trouble with them. They were awful.

Every time I read about some company or other bringing terminals in, you can almost guarantee that within a year they'll go back to the more common PC/Server system. They are junk, even the new shiny expensive ones.

@persia, that's the point, not everyone's computers/phones etc are on all the time, nor are servers that host these things on all the time (see slashdot every time a game service goes down). The internet as a whole may well be ubiquitous. But individual services generally speaking aren't, when they go down, everyone relying on it goes down with them. As far as my own systems go,  I have a very good idea what apps go online and which don't. As someone who uses a mobile connection I absolutely have to be aware as bandwidth through this medium is set on a monthly basis per payment (£15=3Gb or £25=7Gb). Having some application sucking down bandwidth very quickly gets noticed. As for phones, well not all of us are blessed with an iPhone. My Tocco Lite, whilst net capable (and actually fairly good at it) is very very rarely online.

[whabang]

The problem with the Cloud is that it's constantly referred to as one cloud, whilst in reality, we're going to end up with an entire weather system.

Home computing is changing, and with the next generation consoles, more and more tasks handled by PC's will be moved to those platforms. Cloud computing will be used heavily here, especially when taking iPhones, and Android phones into account.
There are parts of this that I don't like, such as too much personal information being stored online, but in the end, people will be willing to risk personal integrity to gain access to 1337 games and easy-mode computing.

[persia]

The future is a computer hooked to the TV via HDMI, with a wireless keyboard and mouse.  This will be eventually be replaced by a computer inside the TV....

[kolla]

The future is a computer hooked to the TV via HDMI, with a wireless keyboard and mouse.  This will be eventually be replaced by a computer inside the TV....

What do you mean "the future"? This has already been around for years.

[whabang]

This has already been around for years.

Yeah, but I think he meant the actual transition from using a proper computer to using a gaming console for general purpose computing, and not the actual possibility.

[KThunder]

the future is nanite droplets that create a display right on your eyes and in your ears the same nanites detect that they are in your ear and produce perfect audio. as the lithium ion batteries die your body gets rid of them and new nanite drops replace them.

[ChuckT]

I agree with the general feeling that ppl. are too willing to give up individuality/privacy just so they can say they have the latest and greatest.

Are there that many people who don't stop and think?  Sigh, I already know the answer...

Your email is still on a server somewhere after you read it.

My Outlook Express folders have over 4,000 emails and one day it crashed.  I wish I had my email backed up in cyberspace somewhere.  I was paying for a program to recover email and it is a slow and hard recovery process.

I haven't flown anywhere since 9-11 but your email is probably more secure online than having to hand over your thumbdrives at the gate.

It is more convenient sometimes to find your files online than to have to remember to lug around a laptop, a hard drive, a thumbdrive, memory cards, etc.

There is probably an encryption solution to storing your stuff online.

[gertsy]

I think the cloud has a way to go before local capability and connectivity is suitable for business use at a utility level.  But it's moving quickly. (must be the wind)
Amiga.org and other Web 2.0 technology, sa; social networking is effectively cloud.  So in one sence we are bagging something on the very medium we think is over rated, smirk.
There is no need to have thin clients to connect to the cloud.  That would be the worst case for Microsoft and Apple how would they sell there OS's and Systems+OSs?
MS realised in 2008 that moving to the browser would seriously stuff their business and made changes to ensure the desktop would go on.  Why would you need a virtual desktop if all your systems run in the browser. Damn those Java boys.  "ASP.Net all engines full reverse.!"

To me the issue is around sustainability. Unfortunately no matter how cool technology is the world can't sustain a new USB drive every year and a PC upgrade every 5 for 5 billion people.
In the words of Seinfield; "Something's gotta give!"

The cloud has issues a plenty.  But it gives sustainability a chance and sounds like the right thing to do..

Gertsy