Richard Stallman recently made some harsh comments (slashdot.org) on cloud computing:
Some thoughts ...
Stallman is concerned that you are *especially* un-free with your software an applications when they reside entirely on someone else's server. His concern is that you have almost no rights whatsoever; Google holds all the cards from beginning to end. If they lose every mail you've ever sent and document you've ever published, you have no way to get it back. If Google suddenly sets up their previously free service as for-pay where it costs $1,000 to get your e-mail, documents back, etc? Tough -- pay or don't pay, Google doesn't care. If Google turns out to be handing out your data like candy, you have no power to make them stop. Read the terms of use agreement which takes away any rights you *thought* you had.
So for Stallman, cloud computing is the ultimate black box. But cloud computing can be useful, especially when it saves your files locally (as can be done with Google Gears). Having just dealt with a horrible experience of the latest Microsoft Word document on the latest edition of Vista completely losing someone's document the other day (and 5 hours of work), PCs are still quite stupid. Cloud computing has some real advantages by keeping every change you make almost every step of the way. Even if your computer disappears, you didn't lose any of your work.
As far as the privacy problem, its a small piece of what your ISP can do. One method around this is dummy traffic, where you regularly get and send fake e-mail messages and searches (kind of like TrackMeNot, although Schneier doesn't like it http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/08/trackmenot_1.html). Its possible to work just a few minutes a day to get and send fake e-mail by just cutting and pasting random stuff you find on the web to a dummy address. Your privacy is not preserved, but the capability to categorize you by your surfing, e-mail, and other habits is damaged.
Some thoughts ...
Stallman is concerned that you are *especially* un-free with your software an applications when they reside entirely on someone else's server. His concern is that you have almost no rights whatsoever; Google holds all the cards from beginning to end. If they lose every mail you've ever sent and document you've ever published, you have no way to get it back. If Google suddenly sets up their previously free service as for-pay where it costs $1,000 to get your e-mail, documents back, etc? Tough -- pay or don't pay, Google doesn't care. If Google turns out to be handing out your data like candy, you have no power to make them stop. Read the terms of use agreement which takes away any rights you *thought* you had.
So for Stallman, cloud computing is the ultimate black box. But cloud computing can be useful, especially when it saves your files locally (as can be done with Google Gears). Having just dealt with a horrible experience of the latest Microsoft Word document on the latest edition of Vista completely losing someone's document the other day (and 5 hours of work), PCs are still quite stupid. Cloud computing has some real advantages by keeping every change you make almost every step of the way. Even if your computer disappears, you didn't lose any of your work.
As far as the privacy problem, its a small piece of what your ISP can do. One method around this is dummy traffic, where you regularly get and send fake e-mail messages and searches (kind of like TrackMeNot, although Schneier doesn't like it http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/08/trackmenot_1.html). Its possible to work just a few minutes a day to get and send fake e-mail by just cutting and pasting random stuff you find on the web to a dummy address. Your privacy is not preserved, but the capability to categorize you by your surfing, e-mail, and other habits is damaged.
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