R.I.P. Microsoft Office.

M$ want us to use Office on the cloud so they have a steady revenue stream instead of new release revenue every so often.

No problem in that until they have their target audience when the hourly price will no doubt rocket = gotcha.

I will stay with whatever is the latest installable version and then do as above and go OpenOffice.

I just can't see major businesses wanting to rely on internet connections to survive, even an hours outage or slow connection could be costly.

Firestrider said:

I for one (the only one it seems) embrace the cloud. I think it makes sense for small businesses like pparks1 said and consumers.

Privacy - Your email is already stored on services like GMail, Yahoo Mail or Hotmail. Your pictures are already stored on services like Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket or Facebook. Your documents are already stored on services like SkyDrive or Google Docs. All your financial information is stored on PayPal/EBay and any e-commerce site. Your music/videos can be stored on services like Grooveshark and YouTube. Most people use these services because it makes life easier if all you need is a web browser and can sync for different machines at home, work, or on the go. I generally trust large corporations like Microsoft, or Google with my data. I believe their servers (i.e. power supplies, disk arrays, memory... I will explain this at the bottom) and networks are more redundant, reliable, and secure. If you have confidential information such as copyrights or patents, then yes it probably is better to locally store that, but nothing is 100% private/secure and if a hacker wanted to get at that information he/she will. It is up to you if you wish to disclose your information on the net, but it is in my philosophy to have a more open and transparent community.

My email is NOT stored on a web based server. I download it to my email client and it is deleted from my ISP's server. The only photos I store on facebook or Photobucket are those that I intend to share or post on line somewhere. I store no documents on the web. My documents and photos are stored and backed up on my hard drives.

Yes, I have a Paypal account and I use Ebay; but I do not store my financial information on Ebay. I do bank on line; but that is with the my financial institution.
It is my philosophy to maintain as much privacy as I can and to maintain my individuality. I am an individualist and definitely not a collectivist

Performance - People say web-based applications are slower than native desktop applications... this is true to an extent. It depends on your distance from the hosting server and what architecture they have set up. Yes, the same client-based JavaScript application is going to run slower than a C/C++ native application on your desktop. But, server-side applications written in CFM, ASP.NET, or PHP are generally responsive and since cloud datacenters have more processing power than your desktop/laptop some applications will actually be faster. As far as client-side computing with new technologies like WebGL, NaCL and a fast fiber connection there won't be much difference between the native code. Google just recently demonstrated something using WebGL: quake2-gwt-port - Project Hosting on Google Code.

I do have a hotmail account which is downloaded to my email client and deleted from Hotmail's servers. When I am traveling and my desktop is turned off, I do access my email from my ISP and from Hotmail. It is horribly slow in comparison to my desktop client; but it is convenient. Web based email is not something I want to put up with for everyday use.

Availability - I have never lost my home internet connection for more than an hour - if anything goes wrong ISPs are pretty fast at fixing the problem. Most of the issues are on their side, if not, a modem can be replaced easily. I always have a 3G internet connection on my phone and the coverage is good.. I've only roamed once for like 15 minutes on Verizon's network. With the emergence of WiMAX and LTE I think that most people will be able to afford at least 3G internet connection in 5 years. It is good to have redundancy in your networks though: having both a wireless carrier and ISP. If you do somehow get disconnected and go offline I don't believe people are aware that web-based applications can still function. With HTML5 offline databases and application cache this can be done... Google demonstrated this with GMail.

That is well and good for most of us who live in urban/suburban areas. Up until two years ago, I lived in a rural area. I would lose my ADSL in wet weather and that might last several hours to a day (old phone lines). This is not an unusual situation for rural areas and for those in other countries outside of North America and Europe. And there are businesses in these rural areas.

The data center is more reliable, secure, and efficient than your desktop at home. Intrusion detection systems, managed firewalls and anti-virus, chain-of-trust techniques, frequent back-ups, disaster recovery plans, and encryption of disk arrays and over Ethernet make sure your data is safe and always available. Physical security as far as clearance cards for doors, and protocols employees followed are also probably better than security at home. Since the data center is centralized then AC units and processors can be managed and controlled easier allowing for allocation of resources for better energy efficiency.

The data center may be more secure, but not necessarily so.

fseal said:

Were all moving backwards to time-share systems...

Oli

tw33k said:

I'm still unsure how I feel about having all my data available on line.

I absolutely agree - Don't think I will ever feel inclined to do so.

My big concerns with the cloud are, as every has stated, Security!! plus to access my Docs, files, or any other program on the cloud I have to have an internet connection..... So if I am at home where I have wifi and and land line, why not keep my info stored at home. It's not like I can take my laptop anywhere and have a connection, unless I pay my wireless provider for it. Then again why would I do that, I already pay to have it at home and on my phone, not paying for another connection?! Idk, still kinda weary of the whole thing, security and infrastructure are non exsitant for something like this. Plus how much are they going to charge me to store my data? Just my two cents.

I did sign up for the Google chrome test so I could make an informed decision, I just don't see it changing my mind is all.

CarlTR6 said:

It is my philosophy to maintain as much privacy as I can and to maintain my individuality. I am an individualist and definitely not a collectivist

Quoted for truth. Don't surrender your principles!

Anyway, I think a great number of users will go Open Office or some other alternative than to do the cloud at this time.