The issue facing cloud computing devs/pioneers is distrust. People have an inherrent distrust of companies like MS and Google, so they will have an uphill battle to sell it.  Convincing users that it is safe will not be an easy task, particularly after the Sidekick debacle....

...and given Google's rep of gleaning everything it can on anyone it can from the internet, who is to say it will stop there?  Technically speaking, the 'cloud' is on the internet, and if Google considers the net fair game I have to question if it would draw the line at data stored on the 'cloud'... I think not.

Well said starkers, I totally agree and in fact am one of those distrusting individuals.  I would not trust any Internet service to store my data at, ever.  Too many hackers out there that can destroy your life! 

starkers, what you said is entirely true, but has little to do with the quote.

The quote is refering to how companies and individuals say "the PC is dying, soon everyone will use thin client and all computation will be done in the cloud". I am saying that is a pipe dream, it will never happen. What will happen is that a certain amount of application that are more suitable for cloud computing will move to cloud, and others will remain on local pcs. because different applications have different suitability.

Take the gmail cloud for example... Google, being your email service provider, has complete access and records of all your emails (in fact they are required to, by law they must store records of all your emails); when you download said emails to your PC, you add another point of entery. A virus or other malicious code could have infected your computer and compromised your outlook or thunderbird copy. And even if not, you are keeping a copy offline AND a copy is kept online.

But having it totally on the cloud you are actually removing one more avenue of attack. Sure they could write a virus that infects chrome and intercepts your emails as chrome connects to gmail.com... And ofcourse, a person trying to read your emails will have an easier time of it if he can just sit on your PC and look through them (by having access to the storage files of thunderbird / outlook... note that they are not encrypted by default).

Now, giving google access to your yahoo email is another thing... that gives them extra information. It is important to control who has access to what information, and not trust any of those companies with your information.

To begin with, your email is not private. It is being spied on, by law. The sooner you understand that the better.

there have actually been convictions based on such info. for example, a man who reported his wife missing (she was never found) was convicted of murdering her, the ONLY evidence against him was that google recorded the searches "how to get away with killing my wife" "disposing of corpses", etc from their home IP.

Ah, but it has everything to do with the quote... I guess it depends on one's interpretation/take on things.

While some applications may not be suited to cloud computing (graphics creation/editing, for example), I believe it will never replace the PC because many people will be loathe to place their trust in companies who are known to pry, snoop, collect data for their own purposes. And then there's the difficulty of trusting something that is intangible and in the control of others, particularly with regard to important/sensitive information.

At least on a PC everything is tangible, accessible and instantly available, so in the event of something going wrong the user has the opportunity, with prepared backups, to restore functionality and data... without having to depend on an uncontactable 'cloud tech' somewhere off in the distance... or an internet connection that may be flaky, choked and overly busy, or even down altogether.

PC's are not perfect and things can go wrong, but still, I'd rather have something 'hands on' and take my own chances... a sentiment I think I share with many others.  And why not, the large corporations have done little or nothing to earn our trust and respect.

I never use google.mail or yahoo.mail... I don't trust either of them.  I use hotmail for newsletters, emails from companies and casual stuff, and my ISP's email service for friends, family and trusted sources, but for the most part I speak in person or use the phone... sometimes snail mail if material items need to be exchanged/forwarded over a distance.

Again, it comes back to being able trust in intangible 'cloud' technology... I find that difficult, particularly when it is run by companies that make their money from advertising.  It may have its uses (though somewhat limited from my perspective... I never ever use any of Google's or Yahoo's online apps), but I'd never depend on it for anything important.

that "you" btw was a general you. I figured you (starkers) realized that it isn't not private . I should have said "the sooner people realize that the better".

Good for you for being so proactive with your security.

I use it, I just consider it public info... that is, everything I email I do so with expectation that it is not private. If I have something private to say, I don't do so over the email.

Not a problem, I got the 'general' drift.

It was a case of learning the hard way in my early days of computing/being on the internet... I was pretty naive and got a few nasties... some from clicking on 'sponsored' links attached to emails.  These days I avoid anything that looks even remotely suspicious; anything connected to advertising (Google); email services that seem to allow a hell of a lot of spam through... yahoo mail in particular.  Don't know what it's like these days (lost all trust in it), but back when I did use it there was oodles of spam getting through, often with dangerous attachments/links.

I adopted the 'say it in person' approach when I realised that the targetted ads were based on things I or my contact had said,  It proved to me that my/our emails were being pried into... that nothing is confidential when companies like Google and Yahoo are involved.  Despite several people trying to convince me that they're not that bad, and to give them another go, I trust neither and will stick to Hotmail, which has given me no grief or reason to change.

Thing is, with CCTV and all the other electronic surveillance/snooping these days, you pretty near gotta go out in the middle of the desert to have a truly private conversation...

and even then you have to check the nearby cactii for cameras and listening devices to be sure

heh... I recently got an email that said "hi tal, remember we are meeting in room 1.117 this saturday at 3 pm for D&D". It was in gmail...

I noticed a thing on the right where google suggested to quick add it with a single click to my calendar... I did, it got the info right when auto creating the appointment... just from analyzing the sentence. (although, when it tried to translate a joke in hebrew my mom sent me from hebrew to english it really bungled it up... but the joke was not gramatically correct to begin with...)

Also, practically no spam (one about one letter per year) gets by the google's spam filter... My spam folder is full (and is always auto emptied)... but I don't get real mail caught incorrectly, and I don't get spam mail.

Curiously... do you think google auto notifies the police if someone makes a calender entry such as "muder my neighbor" or some such?

I have never liked the idea of "cloud computing" and probably never will. I know how to back up my data and don't want to rely upon some unknown server to protect my data for me.

Too "Big Brother" to suit me. I don't want or need my personal and financial data out here on some server somewhere. I am a huge fan of encryption.

Not too sure on that one... probably.  However, the "meet with police chief's wife for afternoon of wild sex" diary entry might get passed on post haste.

Don't know if you watch Hungry Beast Starkers, this was on last Wednesday

Hands up if you look forward to Google's OS!!!!!

Adult content warning

Hehe... it'd be funny... er, effing hilarious if it weren't true.

Nice find, tho.

Dunno 'bout Hungry Beast, tho.... how 'bout Google: Ravenous Insatiable Bastard.

Um, I'll have my hands down the front of my pants...

to be sure-to be sure I keep 'em off Google's  Operating Spy.

the funny thing is that you say it like google is the only one who does that. Or that it is as malicious as presented here.

Google is upfront about what they do, unlike some companies. so as far as things go, I am ok with them and using their services.

I'm quite aware that Yahoo is also into data mining and prying... same with any search/email provider that derives its income from advertising.  I guess the reason I dislike Google more is that it is in your face more... like ads everywhere you go on the net, unless you go out of your way and install ad/script blockers to avoid them. 

To put it bluntly, I hate advertising with a passion, particularly those flashing banner ads that are so distracting when you're trying to concentrate on something else.  I also hate repetitive ads that insult my intelligence: "Like what WTF didn't I get the first 300, 000 times around!" 

I know that Google isn't the only advertiser who does this (TV advertisers are notorious for excess repitition), but Google pisses me off the most because its far-reaching tentacles pry into everything and seeks to profit from it... public data/knowledge; private and personal data.  Nothing is sacred and there are no boundaries.  Bottom line....Google collects and stores trillions of bits of data to see if it can part you and me (everyone else) from our money.

Ah, but are they?  Like many other organisations, Google tells people what they want to hear; what Google wants them to know; it sugar-coats unsavoury practices and conceals what it doesn't want you to know.  I can't remember exactly who said it now, but I recall somebody suggesting 'one should admit to being a bit sleazy, it gives the illusion of being open and honest while you continue unhindered with other sneaky shit behind closed doors'.

Hmmm, food for thought, isn't it?  So as far as things go, I am NOT ok with them or using their services.... and why I'm not OK with cloud computing as the final solution.  Companies like Google WILL abuse it.

The Economist newspaper ran an excellent article about this subject. I will never store my photo's on a digital server. Too afraid they'll get lost.

The next thing you know they're going to want to just scoop out your brain and install a hard drive. Ok....for most people it won't matter since they're already programmed. But I think for just about everything we do these days anymore someone wants to put all our eggs...so to speak...in one basket...and thats never a good idea.