Your next operating system: Your datacenter

[Brink]

It's time to start thinking about a new operating system layer: your entire datacenter, from networking to compute to storage, it's all one big computer now.

With a new Windows release now just around the corner, we're all thinking about desktop and mobile operating systems. But desktop OSes are only the tip of today's computational iceberg, with much of the work we used to do on our PCs moving over into the cloud, and onto ever growing fleets of disaggregated compute, memory, storage, and networking.

Two events last week put this into some perspective, with cloud software and infrastructure beginning to open up and expose the APIs and features we need to have a cloud-scale OS.

Read more: Your next operating system: Your datacenter | ZDNet

 

[Ranger4]

Thanks Brink. I will be resisting the switch over to cloud based operating systems for 2 main reasons. One, I don't trust placing my files etc. on the cloud as security will certainly become an issue as we have seen with all internet based activity all ready. Nothing is entirely hacker proof & governments are itching to get their dirty fingers into as much of our private life as they can. The day of Big Brother is watching you is here.
And two, my internet speed is only about 2 mb a second so file transfer etc. is going to be woefully slow. Also internet access cost also has to be considered as most IP's here charge on a monthly limit.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I will be resisting the switch over to cloud based operating systems

Amen.

The following article from ZD is even more disgusting:

The only computer that really matters: The cloud | ZDNet

It includes deathless pronouncements such as:

"...........It doesn't matter what platform you're using; as long as you're able to connect to your cloud sync of choice you can just pick it up and keep working........."

"..............it's actually one of the smartest things Microsoft could be doing. Operating systems are, to be honest, a commodity.........."

"...........I could describe myself as a Windows user, but it's now probably more accurate to say I'm an Office 365 and OneDrive user. They've become the backbone of both my work and personal lives.........."

"............You're going to be a Dropbox user, an iCloud user, a Google Drive user first and foremost. Pick up any device and at least some of your data and apps will be there, as soon as you log in to the computer that really matters: the cloud..........."


Get it? Got it? Good.

 

[ThrashZone]

Get it nope
Got it ? with some of the classifications of Important updates now days who really knows
Not interested in any of it yep.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Bloggers

Bloggers are always pushing the "Cloud" and the "Death of the PC".

I suspect that if we "followed the money" we'd find out the real reason.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

Cloud based stuff might be fine for corporations but apart from the odd small set of data I'll pass on it for individuals.

Wasn't even the mighty Apple ITunes and its store etc offline for nearly 8 hours recently due to a "technical glitch".

I'm happy to use the Internet to buy things etc but trusting nearly 7TB of music, Video, scanned tax and other important business documents, office files, personal data files and other items to some anonymous server in some country whose laws could change in an instant and being managed by people working in conditions Queen Victoria (UK 1837 - 1901) would have even been horrified at who are getting probably wages of a few dollars a day - no thankyou --I'll pass on this aspect of modern computing.

The Cloud is being pushed at us more and more these days -- however it's about time these people should realize that apart from small services like say dropbox or one drive to share the odd file or so the average consumer DOESN'T WANT IT.

Even large corporations have trouble pushing the Cloud -- anybody who knows about SAP -- look at the trouble they are having trying to get their customers to switch to their HANA systems (cloud based).

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Layback Bear]

Well I don't think much good about clouds.

Here is a cloud with lots of personal information of many that the hackers have now.

http://www.sevenforums.com/security...-blue-cross-exposes-11m-customer-records.html

Clouds are one stop shopping for hackers.

If that doesn't make you think about putting all your apples in a cloud basket read this.

http://www.sevenforums.com/security...ls-existence-cyber-warfare-hacking-teams.html

Their are many more articles on Cloud hacking to make me feel that Cloud security is way behind Cloud usage.

Remember your personal or corporate information is very important to you and the hackers but not to the companies running the Clouds.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Agreed

Clouds are one stop shopping for hackers.
...
Remember your personal or corporate information is very important to you and the hackers but not to the companies running the Clouds.

Agreed.

 

[mjf]

I would not adopt a cloud based OS or application. Even with data storage I'd be wary. I want control and the best security I can achieve. I believe companies want this even more so.

In one way this is about centralized vs distributed computing. The discussion has been going on for decades. What I want is control and the cloud push doesn't cut it. You can have centralized control but still have enormous distributed data access (called the internet!). Cloud computing generally speaking is a pure money making grab IMO.

 

[Cr00zng]

.
.
The Cloud is being pushed at us more and more these days -- however it's about time these people should realize that apart from small services like say dropbox or one drive to share the odd file or so the average consumer DOESN'T WANT IT.

Want it or not, it is here and everybody is using it in one form or another.

Short of having your own email server at home, like Hillary Clinton did, your email is in the cloud. And so is your website, if you have one. Anywhere you go, your network traffic flows through the internet cloud.

There's Apple's iCloud, Google cloud, and Microsoft Azure that were initially optional to upload to. Nowadays, things are uploaded even if you would not want to at times.

The endpoint operating systems had been integrated with the cloud for a dozen or so years by now. You start up your MAC, login and it connects to the cloud in the background. Google's Chromebook is pretty much useless, if connection to the internet isn't available. Microsoft started to catch up with Windows 8.x to integrate the OS with the cloud. Windows 10 is the new and "improved" integration. And boy, did they ever caught up...

And that's just cloud services you use, weather you want it or not...

SaaS (Software as a Service) had been spreading for end users. You cannot even play single players games without being connected to the internet. Office 365 runs in the cloud with your files. Then there's Adobe creative cloud. How can one trust Adobe with cloud security is beyond me. Practically all software offers cloud services, even if you don't want it. Take Foxit PDF reader for example. Version 7.0 installed iFoxit service on your computer. You can uninstall it, but the reader is pretty much useless in that case.

Social networks.... need I say more?

Resistance is futile...

 

[lehnerus2000]

Take Foxit PDF reader for example. Version 7.0 installed iFoxit service on your computer. You can uninstall it, but the reader is pretty much useless in that case.

Last time I uninstalled Foxit Cloud, the PDF reader worked correctly, but the updater would not function.
I had to download a new installer when I wanted to update the program.

 

[whs]

No cloud here. The day when that is the only option I go back to pencil and paper. The caught me once when my attention was down with a Microsoft account. But from now on everything is local.

I don't want my thousand Dollar desktop synced with my hundred Dollar laptop and my 50 Dollar phone. They serve completely different purposes. My tablet is Android, so I am lucky here.