It's a system with a single, critical point of failure. Besides, I'm sure that hardware manufacturers won't like it either, since it would destroy / cripple their business. --Little or no need for super fast performing storage / media devices when the main performance decider would be your network connection's speed.
And how about "Networking" all your company computers together using "The Cloud" - What a Joke - How stupid do they think we are.
As Lost Colonist said, probably the biggest corporate opponent of this will be the hardware manufacturers. In a truly cloud-based world, only the clouds themselves will have motherboards, GPUs, hard drives, and processors. You will pay, say, $40/month extra (likely more than that) to access a cloud system capable of high-end graphics and video games. And I'd be willing to wager that another initial moneymaker attempt will be to charge for the number of programs you're allowed to use simultaneously. Like say, one app at a time with standard cloud storage, and $10/month more per app for multitasking.
Another interesting thought is, the cloud is promoted as allowing you to access your data "anywhere, anytime." But it would not surprise me if, say, an Apple cloud would eventually be restricted to run only on Apple devices. Yet another interesting thought is, even Verizon Wireless, the largest cell network in the U.S., does not quite have total 100% data coverage of the entire U.S. landmass; and there are also significant pockets where home broadband is not available. Many poorer countries don't have decent widespread Internet access at all. If you go completely cloud-based, you cut off all of those people from computer access. In poorer countries, you wouldn't even be able to save money and eventually buy your own computer someday, because everything would be subscription-based, requiring a constant flow of money to continue using the system.
As an interesting analogy, the only way for most people to reach real-life clouds is by paying significant amounts of money for airplane tickets; you can't get there on your own. So "Cloud" = "distant / out of reach". So much for "pleasant connotations," huh?!
As at least one other person has said before, the cloud would take the "personal" out of "personal computing."
Agreed.
I'm not sure why they're not "nipping this in the bud".
It's just the same as renting gadgets.
I couldn't afford $700 for a PVR, so I had to rent one.
I've been renting it for so long that I've paid equivalent to the cost of 2 PVR units.
It's a fake saving.
If you are paying $40/month to access an office software suite, after 10 months you could have paid for MS Office.
Every month after that you are losing money.
You still need a PC (at the moment) and broadband access.
This scheme is designed to appeal to "know nothing" CEOs and accountants.
Indeed.
I just can't imagine that those behind the "Cloud" push would not be thinking of liability extensively. If this is going to be an "all-inclusive" experience and we know that people just don't live without computing nowadays so imagine a mass exodus of users go Cloud - there are a few hiccups: data loss/corruption/theft/mining/access/cost/contract violations etc.
Just a few well placed lawsuits would bring down the Cloud provider. The gig is cut off and then the rest of the users are burned and have to relocate back to their homes - also considering further lawsuits for damages. It could be a legal nightmare.
I will try and keep this post short
If you want to skip the detail go to the Update at the end of the post for the comment about Cloud:)
Using a PC can be a deeply frustrating experience.
We have all come to expect our computers to be sluggish or unresponsive at times, for no apparent reason.
Soluto’s goal is to bring an end to the frustrations PC users encounter.
Soluto developed technology that tackles this problem from two different directions:
Soluto
Can Soluto really make PCs less frustrating?
By Ed Bott | May 25, 2010, 5:19am PDT
A tiny software startup in Israel is trying to make your PC less frustrating. I got a sneak peek at Soluto last month, before its official unveiling yesterday, and I’ve had a few days to play with their software in advance of this first look.
The idea behind Soluto is to use the experience of thousands (or, ultimately, millions) of PC users to approximate the knowledge that a Windows expert gathers by trial and error. The software—currently in beta and free for the download—runs as a background service that watches your PC as it works, detecting slowdowns and trying to analyze the cause. By comparing those events and possible causes against a database of apps, drivers, and other software (cleverly called the PC Genome), the software can suggest solutions that you can implement with a click or two.................
Windows 7 already does a decent job of delaying and prioritizing some startup tasks so that the system feels responsive well before it officially completes all boot-related tasks. On that virtual PC with the nearly-three-minute boot, I was able to be productive less than a minute after startup—launching programs, using a web browser, and checking e-mail while the system did many of its startup tasks in the background. Still, performance felt snappier and some tasks were more responsive after Soluto had completed its work. I would expect more noticeable performance improvements on Windows XP, which uses a less sophisticated startup process.
Soluto’s software is lightweight and unobtrusive, although, ironically, it notes that it delays startup by a few seconds. On the two systems where I’ve installed it, I’ve seen no untoward side-effects, and its recommendations have been reasonable and conservative.
This is a very clever solution to a genuinely frustrating problem. Time will tell if this startup can build the critical mass they need to be a success. If you try the software out, I’m interested in hearing your experiences.
Update 25-May 10AM Pacific: Ah, the woes of being a cloud-based startup. Soluto’s servers are being hammered right now, which means that the cloud-based service is not responding properly and is returning a misleading error message. The company says they’re working hard to resolve the issues.
Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications.
Link to complete ZD-Net article
Probably because they're as confident as I am that this vision of a totally-clouded () world will never happen.
Actually, most accountants are probably smart enough to figure out the long-term costs. It's the CEOs we have to worry about; or rather, the CEOs that aren't accompanied in the hierarchy by a CTO.
Another doomsday scenario. Yes, liability would be a big issue. Especially since there are people out there that will sue anyone involved in a given scenario, regardless of whether those parties were at fault or not. I can just see cloud providers getting sued by users over accidental deletion of data due to PEBKAC: "There should have been more failsafes," "It shouldn't have even let me delete something that important." Then you wind up with you actually having to get special permission from the cloud provider to alter or delete your data.
That law was never passed, to my knowledge.
By all means, write to your representatives and senators and express your opinion, whatever it might be. But let's not discuss it all here, it's really not the place.
Suffice it to say that cloud-computing as an all-inclusive idea is ripe for abuse at all levels: private, corporate, and government.
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