Is the Cloud overrated?

[ElPolloDiabl]

I have no doubt in the future everything will come with a wireless connection. As for moving to the 'cloud' I've really lost interest in it's potential. Onlive are going to charge $15 a month subsription just to play demos or watch trailers, you have to digitally purchase a game if you want to play it. Storage is dirt cheap and I find it more convenient to copy movies/music straight across to my mobile rather than fiddling around with uploads and downloads.
Google seems convinced the cloud is the future. Do you think Google is just pushing their business model?

[haywirepc]

I think it is way over rated. I also just philosophically have a problem with someone handing me a computer thats dirt slow and then charging me to use their more powerful computer for processing or storage.
 
I want the powerful computer in my own hands, set to my own needs, not some castrated computer thats just a browser and then I have to pay monthly for storage/use of more power. No thank you.
 
I could be wrong we'll see, but I just don't see cloud computing working well for many people. I guess for a business or something that wants to
control useage/resources and share files it may be a more convienant way to do things, but I don't see many people (especially nerds) thinking its a good idea for their everyday computer use.
 
Google has invested incredibly heavy in this technology, and all google people talk this up as "The wave of the future". It will be interesting to see if their gamble pays off.
 
Personally, I don't see myself ever using a cloud computer or client, but then some of us already do without realizing it... Like gmail.
 
Steven

[gazgod]

Yup its overrated, very much like the web when it was in its infancy with companies jumping on it but not knowing what to do with it. I have been in dicussions with companies that MUST be moving to the cloud, and when asked why, the usual answer is "because its the next big thing"!!
 
I'm sure it'll find its place but its not a replacment for local applications and data, or remote servers and secure connections.

Having just been without the interweb at home for nearly a month I realised just how much I personally had come to rely on it for work and hobbies but also for simple things like googling phone numbers for local comapanies. My point been that until we have a 100% coverage wireless network covering the majority of the world then having all your data in the cloud is going to be problematic.

Gaz

[Tension]

Yes the cloud, along with Microsoft and Apple, really is a piece of shit.  But unfortunately in the future everything* WILL be done in the cloud.

Also, if everyone is basically using 'Dumb terminals' at home, this has got to push hardware prices up if you want a high spec PC at home instead.

What a pisser!!


*Office applications, Internet, Email & Games

[AmigaHeretic]

The cloud is convenient for somethings.

I think in the future what we will end up with is something that is more of a hybrid.  We will all have always on super fast Internet connections (many of already do) and we will all have our own cloud.

We can access our own videos, pictures, music, Wall posts from wherever we are.  

Opera Unite is already starting to show a little of this.  But yeah, I think it will be more of a local storage but accessible from anywhere and connectible to other "clouds".

[koaftder]

The cloud is convenient for somethings.

I think in the future what we will end up with is something that is more of a hybrid.  We will all have always on super fast Internet connections (many of already do) and we will all have our own cloud.

We can access our own videos, pictures, music, Wall posts from wherever we are.  

Opera Unite is already starting to show a little of this.  But yeah, I think it will be more of a local storage but accessible from anywhere and connectible to other "clouds".

The could concepts means a number of things:

Loss of control
Loss of privacy
Ownership/rights issues

Convenience
Accessibility
Increased retention of data (for most people)

Most of us have been in front of machines for a good long time. We see the trap being set, but we no longer have much pull in what shapes the future anymore. Most of the people participating these days don't know anything about what's going on in tech and could care less. By sheer numbers, they get to decide what environment we have to live with. When the door closes and they have to pay a monthly fee to use their computer and access their data, they won't even complain about it.

[obscurepanic]

What's the difference between thin client and cloud computing? Seems to me there are very weak differences.

[ElPolloDiabl]

What's the difference between thin client and cloud computing? Seems to me there are very weak differences.

Cloud is at the mercy of someone elses servers and your internet connection.

[Hell Labs]

The cloud is a ********* stupid idea. Lets look at how computing worked, circa 1975:

everyone had a terminal. It had a green or amber screen, it went "beep" and you could watch the letters draw on the screen in real time. The actual computer was in the basement. Everything was at the mercy of this one computer, and if it went down, you were screwed.

So, now the personal computer is here, and internet. Everyone has a nicely powerful machine at home, they can do all their work, play games, etc lightning fast. They want to share something? Internet. Internet is awesome, if a server goes down somewhere in it, the rest is unaffected. It's impossible for it to go down because its completely decentralised.

So, for some reason, everyone wants to go back to mainframes+terminals, where nothing is really yours, the latency is horrible (goodbye, gaming), the computer can go down, and everyone is fucked, etc. Sure, there's colour screens. OTHER THAN THAT, IT IS THE SAME.

Anyone who seriously wants cloud computing should drown themselves. I mean, really.

[persia]

Yeah, it's like this newfangled web thing, highly over-rated, neither of them will amount to anything....

[Tenacious]

The could concepts means a number of things:

Loss of control
Loss of privacy
Ownership/rights issues

Convenience
Accessibility
Increased retention of data (for most people)

Most of us have been in front of machines for a good long time. We see the trap being set, but we no longer have much pull in what shapes the future anymore. Most of the people participating these days don't know anything about what's going on in tech and could care less. By sheer numbers, they get to decide what environment we have to live with. When the door closes and they have to pay a monthly fee to use their computer and access their data, they won't even complain about it.

It's already playing out with cell phones.  Ppl will happily transmit intimate photos, their GPS location, text their every waking thought, to get and use the latest feature.

"In an increasingly networked world, privacy and anonymity will be the most precious commodities."

[mdv2000]

Yeah, but when Skynet becomes self-aware we will all be screwed.

[Hell Labs]

Yeah, it's like this newfangled web thing, highly over-rated, neither of them will amount to anything....

The cloud is literally the opposite of the internet, and is a move backwards.

Right now, we have a completely decentralised system, where every part plays an equal role. Because of this, it is indestructable, and uncontrolable, and largely a free for all. It's fast, easy, flexable, and efficient.

What we had in the 70s, was a system where everything was done on one machine, and piped out to the end users. This is incedibly slow and laggy, and prone to failure. It is easy to restrict, fragile, ineficient, and at there mercy of whoever was in charge.

Why on earth is the 70s model somehow considered a replacement for the tradition home computer+ internet? It makes no sense for the end user. In fact, it's pretty obvious this is being pushed as a method of controlling how people use computers. Wouldn't it be great, if the owner of the "cloud" you use, decides to check what everyone's got on there? can't prove that .mp3 is licenced? Fine, just buy it from the iTunes store else it won't play. Sorry, we "don't have a system to verify licencing from audio CDs, or other obsolite formats right now". Want to install peice of software n? Pay to rent it instead, we can't allow you to put anything "dirty" into the system like that.

Cloud computing is not a good thing. Luckily, it will fail.

[J-Golden]

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...

[koaftder]

It's already playing out with cell phones.  Ppl will happily transmit intimate photos, their GPS location, text their every waking thought, to get and use the latest feature.

"In an increasingly networked world, privacy and anonymity will be the most precious commodities."

And soon the iPad. Insert coin. Oh, you don't have the money? Well too bad, we'll give you 3 months to pay or everything you deposited on our server will be dumped into the bit bucket.

Folks pay an extra 5 bucks a month for the privilege to email themselves the grainy, lo rez pictures they snap on their managed devices, pay 4 dollars for a ring tone, etc.

Apple is probably the most evil computer company in existence right now. With the iPad they're trying to change the way folks use computing technology, they've said as much. A completely managed experience with a toll booth at every interface. People don't care about computers in general, they just want the content. I wouldn't be surprised if in 10-15 years OS X machines will be high priced developer machines whose only purpose is to facilitate content generation by companies for consumer consumption. The digital walls are closing in, products made defective by design, it's on all fronts.