Cloud computing

[RAYMAN]

And yet powerplants are in govermental hands and if they would simply stop them for any reason you dont have computers
and networks either.
Just dont see everything in the future negative because only 30 % of what we fear will happen......
as for my own work I dont see anyone who will spy on it nor do I see anyone who will do it for me ; P
I see it as pretty strange that some people who worry about how they can download a whole site at once
because it is closing down also worry about privacy and artistic rights like copyrights.......(I dont talk about any of you in this discussion.. )
We are already in a simple grab society.....I dont see how cloud networks and pay per use has any effect on it.
We already have billions of gigabyts of information around us and its technically no problem to read each of our emails......

[LeonRegis]

Yeah I was commenting about that in the beginning of the topic when they introduced about social networks Come back one page and read...

[RAYMAN]

we will still have paper in 10 years !
USE IT !

[spacekdet]

we will still have paper in 10 years !
USE IT ! :lol:

DAMN STRAIGHT!

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[First Light]

Hi Marcel,

I don't think that I understand the concern over cloud computing. It's just a server-based computing model only in this case the "server" is a a group of computers (the "cloud") that are interfaced to each other and their clients via the internet.

I've been using computers for a long time. In fact, I go back to the punch tape era (before punch cards). The first calculator that I ever used had tubes in it and connected to a central processing unit along with about 3-4 other calculator terminals. We used them in high school for chemistry calculations.

What I've observed is a shift away from the server model of distributed computing to the stand-alone personal computer model where applications reside locally on the client computer rather than on the server.

There have been many energetic attempts by the companies that sell "big iron" (i.e. big mainframe servers) to move the computer industry back to the server model and it has consistently failed. Most users do not want to give up the performance and local control that they have with a personal computer and client-based applications.

Now Google is trying to reintroduce this same old server-based model for its office applications with the hope of attracting customers away from Microsoft's suite of client-based office applications. But I believe this will not succeed on a large scale. The performance and features of server-based office applications that are hosted via the internet just isn't good enough and there isn't much hope for improvement in the near future. In fact, most of the folks who do switch to a server model for their office applications will probably do so out of frustration with Microsoft's high pricing, poor support and application "code bloat"---not because they prefer a server model.

Nowadays the successful use of the server model is mostly for database aggregation, web hosting and specialized large-scale corporate applications that are primarily front-ends for databases. It is also used successfully when extreme computational power is required such as render farms, certain types of scientific applications (such as modeling weather), and cryptography.

All a "cloud" is is a way to create a virtual mainframe. By itself it isn't going to do anything bad and I can see where it would be a good tool to have available because the cost of supporting your own mainframe or server farm is so expensive.

Personally, I believe that our fears are misplaced when we focus them on technology. I believe the root of the true problem lies within us and I do fear for the future pain that we seem to be heading toward because of the poor moral underpinnings of our society.

For example, there was a person in America a long time ago who predicted the Great Depression. When asked how he was able to do so, he explained that he had examined business across the land and concluded that more than 50% were dishonest. He said this made a crash inevitable. My purpose in sharing this is not to poke at my country---there are far worse examples elsewhere around the world---but it's the example with which I'm familiar. My fear is that we (the world) are heading toward a similar crisis of morality today and it may result in a far worse crisis owing to the global nature of business.

I'd better stop there because, if I continue, we'll go seriously off-topic into areas that some will not want to discuss in a 3D forum.

Best regards, First Light

[marcel]

I'd better stop there because, if I continue, we'll go seriously off-topic into areas that some will not want to discuss in a 3D forum.

I understand As you said it is not a problem of technology but the use of it.
The topic was not making predictions alarmist or optimistic about the cloud. I wonder how the cloud can change the way we work. For example, if it was possible to do whatever we want in the cloud, it'll kill software that we love? I remember when caligari decides to stop. The first concern was to safeguard data. Would you like to work without hard drives at home and without knowing where is your data? etc...
Now you can continue to talk about updates and tutorials.

[First Light]

... For example, if it was possible to do whatever we want in the cloud, it'll kill software that we love? ...

I guess this depends on which software you "love". The applications that I depend upon are mostly Adobe apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat Pro. I even depend upon PageMaker for some things. I can't imagine these migrating to the server side in a "cloud" scenario. They require way, way too much computer horsepower to run through such a small pipe as the internet. That's the problem: the connection to the "cloud". As long as it is the internet, then any server-side app will be severely limited with regard to (1) speed, (2) reliability, (3) security.

So I don't expect the "cloud" to have any impact on the applications that I depend upon---at least not during what remains of my lifetime here. I feel the same way about 3D apps like trueSpace.

Now if we focus on office applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, they do not require nearly the bandwidth as the Adobe apps that I mentioned. But I still don't expect them to migrate to the "cloud" because of the three limits again of speed, reliability and security. I think we'll see some minor movement in that direction---but nothing major.

... I remember when caligari decides to stop. The first concern was to safeguard data. Would you like to work without hard drives at home and without knowing where is your data? etc...

Now this is a serious concern. But a business would have to be pretty stupid to expect to store sensitive data in a place for which you have inadequate security. New lessons to illustrate this are happening every day---all we have to do is read the news about the latest hacker exploit.

But, again, I just don't see a compelling reason to move sensitive data to the "cloud". In America we can now buy an external 1 TB (terabyte) hard drive for US$79. That's unbelievable! I've seen 2 TB Seagate drives for $209 at http://www.newegg.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Storage capacity---even reduntant RAID arrays---are now amazingly cheap. So I don't see a financial incentive for a business to go out-of-house with a data storage system.

By the way, if anyone reading this wants an excellent network-hardened SATA hard drive rated for 24/7 operation, then I highly recommend the Seagate Barracuda ST31000340NS which you can purchase for US$159 from http://www.newegg.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (we used to pay about $350 for them). It's the largest network-rated drive at present. Every one of our storage systems is now some form of RAID array (both desktops and servers) and these are the drives we use.

Best regards, First Light

[marcel]

Yes data storage are cheap (see the photo). It would be unconscious to not continue to keep its data but men are sometimes unpredictable.

about yours softs, here is an info from CNET news:
"Adobe Systems wants to have it both ways.
Microsoft's power with programmers is tethered to desktops and laptops, the vast majority of which run Windows. Google is trying to dominate what it believes is the new frontier, cloud computing, where applications run on the Web. Adobe, though, is trying to run down the middle with a strategy that touches on both domains"

at the beginning, adobe was only for Mac. Since pc became more graphic, adobe work for pc too.
the futur of Adobe depend on what happens between Apple, Microsoft and Google. which can predict how will the computer world in 10 years? While we care about our small monthly updates, we do not see the storm incoming.

2010 for Japan only:

[LeonRegis]

Back to topic...
OMG, they can create more crap every day...
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/friendsforsale?v=wall&viewas=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
News: http://www.ehow.com/how_4509729_buy-fri ... ebook.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can't believe how far we are going...

[marcel]

And how much is it to be god? You can buy friends, diplomas and everything you want in the cloud but stupidity is a real sure bet.