R.I.P. Microsoft Office.

[WindowsStar]

Sorry, help a poor foreigner. What is this supposed to mean: " a lot more native ".

Cloud = On the Internet NOT on your machine.
Native = On your local machine NOT on the Internet. Can also mean specifically for the Operating System.

 

[FuturDreamz]

Or native could just mean optimized.
EG: an app that runs only on Windows 7 and takes advantage of all possible optimizations would be very native, while a java archive that will run on virtually any os and does not use os-specific optimizations would not be native.

 

[pweegar]

Got to love the cloud users. Same line of thought that think Linuz will ever over take Windows as the #1 OS for desktop pc's. Maybe when Hades freezes. ALLLL the way to the bottom.

I worked for a company that was looking to buy some legal software. The vender said that all the case material would be on their servers (where ever their servers were). We said NO WAY, we do NOT allow our data to be stored anywhere but onsite.

 

[kodi]

IF this happens its Open Office for me

 

[Carl Lawrence]

I am already using Open Office 3.0

 

[pparks1]

As far as businesses using "the cloud", I think a lot of it depends upon the size of the business and what they are trying to accomplish.

For smaller shops, there is appeal of using something like Google Apps to host and run corporate email. At $50 a person/month, it's cost effective over having to purchase a server to run Exchange, licensing costs for the users, cost of software to backup your environment, cost of tapes to back up onto, and the IT staff required to administer, configure and troubleshoot. Plus, employees love having access to their email where ever they go...so there is even more appeal with this online as companies don't have to setup, and maintain an outlook web access environment and keep valid certificates purchased and installed.

In addition, there are some really sweet "cloud" type VM implementations out here. Check out Amazon web services. These services allow people to quickly and easily spin up a virtual machine and use that to host, or gronk through data. And when you are done with it and shut it down, you aren't paying for it any more. So, you pay for what you use, while you are using it.

Another area where the Amazon "cloud" vm system works wonders is for a small-ish company running a few web servers. With amazon's service, you can simply have extra instances available on standby...so if you are getting ready to release a product or feature that is sure to slam your web services for awhile, the load balancing system at Amazon can fire up more instances automagically for you to handle that load and keep customers from experiencing poor performance and then when loads drop back down, these extra instances can shut back down thus not costing you anything any more. And overall the cost of this system at Amazon is very cheap. I think a fully running box 24 x 7 costs about $60 a month. And when machines spool up for a day or two...it's just a few bucks for their uptime. If you compare that to the amount of infrastructure, rack space, power usage, cooling, software costs and IT time....you can utilize this cloud for a long time and save tons of cash.

 

[neo101]

Cloud based software may reduce the level of piracy but, as I posted over at The Eight Forums I'm still unsure how I feel about having all my data available on line.

Not only that - this is the sucker phase to get people on line.

1. People can't resell their paid for products as second hand and recoup a few quid towards an upgrade (more instant profit for manufacturer!)

2. They will quickly move to a per-use model and squeeze money out of you till you're dry.

3. As with online bank accounts - you are just paying for/watching electrons moving around(the Ma_trix) which costs the companies virtually nothing (maximising 'Globalist' profits yet again)

They have already started this model with PC GAMES forcing people to connect/play online with no physical item to resell plus you are limited to 6 (re)installs of the connection software, then they make you pay for the product again - full price!

 

[bobtran]

Having been with companies that manage all their systems internally. i would say a corperate cloud system that has no connection to the outside world would be a good idea but there are risks. So i will do the old Pros/Cons thing now

Pros:
Updating Software - With everyone accessing Word (for example) online instead of on the individual PC, updates, upgrades and version control for the software become easier to implement and maintain.

Compatibility - Compatibility Testing would be only for the interface that all programs on the Cloud run through instead of each individual program on the PC's.

Security - Laptops - If evrything is stored online, data is less able to be compromised from stolen or lost laptops. Users would not be able to save on their own computers so data would only be available by gaining access to the network itself.

Troubleshooting - If someone has an issue on why their software is not working, the helpdesk would not need to go to the Users PC, instead he/she would check the software stored on the cloud for replication of issue.

Installation and Licensing - Corperations sometimes get into trouble when people dont put the right licensing on each installation. mistakes like this cost a lot of money. installing on a server and then regulating who has access is easier than verifying each PC that has the software is licensed properly.

Transition to Cloud - right now most huge corperations already have a secure internal network, so moving towards this is less of a step.





Cons:
Working offline - if you loose connection to the network, you cant do any work. you would need a constant VPN connect whenever working away from the office. No more editing documents mid-flight.

Security - Network - RSA just got hacked to bits (pun intended) and hackers are constantly pushing the security sector. Data all stored together could be compromised if one access point is discovered and exploited. (dont put all your eggs in one basket)

Issues affect all users - while troubleshooting an issue would be easier, when an issue arises, all users are affected. So, for example, instead of one user not being able to access software on thier PC, no user would be able to access the software on the Cloud.

An excellent analysis of the issue. While non-proprietary data will probably be stored in the cloud I just can't see any company placing their proprietary/ confidential data in someone else's hands. Yup...Coca-cola will surely store the recipe for coke in the cloud and trust a third party to keep it secure....NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

 

[Firestrider]

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

[WindowsStar]

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.

Even this is not 100% just the other day I had a server with a good back-up, off site redundant back-up, and redundant power supplies, disks, etc. fail. The one in a Trillion happened. The server on RAID 6 with 8 Drives that can take 2 drive failures without an issue had a 3 drive failure in the same day, this the server CANNOT handle and it ground to a screeching halt. This is a one in a billion shot of this happening, but it did. No big deal I will just restore the data to another server rebuild the original server and all will be good. 30 minutes down time max. The back-up system which is monitored and checked had a tape in the back-up cycle that was skipped. The tape is good, the back-up was good, however do to a plastic burr on the tape the tape back-up system skipped the tape without creating a message or an error the system just continued. However that tape WAS the back up for this server so now I was in a bit of trouble. Critical server down and no back-up. Not to panic I will have to let managers know that the system will be down for a few hours while I get the offsite back-up restored and brought to this site. Since the redundant back-up system is redundant the CIO at that location had decided to do a complete upgrade on the system because it was getting old about 3 year old technology. Following SOP he had emailed and sent out a Memo out-lining his plan to update this critical system noting that once it was in place that all the redundant back-up would be invalid and the tapes would be destroyed. Everyone signed off on the memo and made completely sure they had all servers running well and all on site back-ups compete and up to date. (Of course I have forgotten about all this at the time) I get on site and say I need the back-up for Server X at Location A and they tell me they had already completed the upgrade and the tapes had already been destroyed for security and safety per signed memo and CIO instructions. Needless to say server drives were shipped out for data recovery $50,000 later and the company is still trying to recover data. Without going into a tremendous amount of details the drives failed in such a way that the internal hardware destroyed the platters. Just want to keep everyone on their toes and remember Murphy’s Law!

 

[KremmenUK]

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.

 

[guiLe]

RIP for Ms. Office ???

 

[CarlTR6]

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.

 

[HQuest]

Didn't knew 90's Citrix got renamed to Cloud.

Oh wait, is this "cloud" stuff really, really new?

 

[fseal]

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

 

[osholt]

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

Oli

 

[fseal]

There won't be any actual machine(hardware) restrictions this round (hopefully), It'll just be time used on software. I.e. you'll pay $40 a month for 100 hours of photoshop use, use it or lose it. Or maybe $1 an hour pay-as-you-go.

Man that'll suck.

I can see that for some things I use only twice a year but my basic tools I use every single day... Ugh.

 

[Irene]

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.

 

[geeve420]

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.

 

[Win7User512]

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.