I like the direction, don't get me wrong. I'm dreaming of the day when I have enough money to scatter a few inexpensive tablets with web browsers around my house. With a web interface to MythTV, and a myth client, of course. Then, home finance will be web-based (I'm using mint.com right now, even though I hate it), grocery lists, etc. I'd love to take one with me to the grocery store, in fact. I'd even happily write a web-based recipe manager that built my grocery lists (I've got a whole plan for it, but I need to finish my web-based personal finance app first).
I can think of all sorts of ways my life would be easier if I had a small, inexpensive tablet to carry around that had 10 hours or so on a battery and booted up within a few seconds. This is definitely the right direction, and the only software it *needs* is a web browser. The ability to download the data you need for a given task (or group of tasks), work with it, then sync it (the PalmOS workflow :) ) would be a nice way to deal with the fact that there isn't net access everywhere. But for the ones I leave on the coffee table, kitchen counter, and bathroom counter (for reading while um, er, nvm, for reading), they'll have net access, or at least LAN access to the stuff I need at home. What I don't like is the trend to store everything on google's servers. If google gave me a way to back it up locally, it might be a different story (some automated way, not "do all your backups by hand", we all know that's no backup plan). If google was providing the software so I could setup my own cloud server, fine. But they're not doing that, are they? However, I trust the courthouse more than I trust Google, primarily because there's several hundred years of legal precedent on what the county clerks can and can't do with your private information. We're still fighting to establish privacy rights with electronic data stored with private companies under varying contracts (or click-through EULAs). So in case of disaster, it's clear whose responsible when it's the county courthouse. Dave Visit my website! http://www.davefancella.com Also, I'm currently looking for a job. So while you're at my website, look at my resume! http://www.davefancella.com/resume/dave.html On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 5:16 PM, Paul<[email protected]> wrote: > > Steven, > > My guess is in a few years you wont need to install ubuntu or Vista or > X version of an OS. I think Google is setting themselves up to be the > OS and storage for you. So basically you would be purchasing a 'dumb' > piece of hardware which when connected to the internets will find all > your information. I both excited and afraid of this vision. This is > very similar to corporate networks where the desktop system are loaded > with high memory and processors but the smallest harddrives available > to force the user from storing local copies of files and to push > everything to the network storage. This makes backups and management > easier in some respects. I think if anyone can pull this off it will > be Google. Though worry about people referring to Google as the hated > Micosoft (or IBM) of the new Millinium. > > Another real pending issue we seem to have forgotten about here in > Austin is the potential that our respective network providers will > eventually start implementing usage caps per month. How is that going > to effect what you push to the cloud? > > Just my thoughts. Than again I'm on meds but the colors are tasty! > > P- > > > On Jul 8, 2009, at 5:00 PM, Steven Harms wrote: > >> >> I don't get the fuss. >> >> Today I can buy a laptop, install ubuntu, install chrome. >> >> What's the improvement >> >> I can buy a laptop, the OS is hidden, it runs chrome. >> >> >> Goog says: "we aim for netbooks". Well, netbooks are tracking >> towards laptops, what's the fuss. >> >> Goog says: "users want less startup time". Well, OK, that's fine, >> but between 10 seconds and 1 minute I'm pretty forgiving and with a >> netbook battery i'm never at power off to boot, i'm usually at de- >> hibernate to use. If that's sufficiently small, I'm OK. Even on my >> macbook that's tolerable at the moment. >> >> Press says: This will have MS shaking in their shoes. Uh, no. This >> has no traction in the enterprise. >> >> Now, launching this, on a branded netbook, with a support structure, >> with the Google app stack, with a way to get a secure cloud app stack, >> that would be an MS death blow (roll saving throw!), but this is sort >> of a "Oh, so you want to kill off the linux distributions?". >> >> Steven >> >> >> >> On Jul 8, 2009, at 4:38 PM, Adam Theriault wrote: >> >>> >>>> password storage >>> >>> if I trust my bank to store a copy of my banking password on their >>> own servers, I can probably trust google with my facebook password. >>> >>> >>>> personally identifiable data >>> >>> ...such as using your full name to post a negative opinion of a >>> company using their groups app? >>> >>> >>>> sensitive legal documents >>> >>> Again, I probably trust google's datacenter more than the county >>> courthouse. >>> >>> >>>> files with family members' photos >>> >>> which are then posted online for everyone to see..... >>> >>> >>>> identifiable information >>> >>> which is somehow different than the personally identifiable kind. I >>> guess cause it's information and not data. I'm just going to take a >>> leap of faith here and assume by "identifiable" we mean "porn". >>> >>> >>>> medical records >>> >>> which are stored off-site and accessible by medical employees around >>> the world. >>> >>> >>> I tend to go with Scott McNealy: "You have no privacy anyway, get >>> over it." >>> >>> Aside from having some weird EULA that says "by signing this you >>> agree to let us sell your medical records and family photos to >>> whatever sleazy guy in an alleyway we want to", I fail to see what >>> any company's motivation would be to get a massive market hooked on >>> a product, and then completely disable access to it and/or trigger >>> the most epic PR disaster in history. >>> >>> What really confuses me though is if people don't like it, they >>> don't have to use it...why is it important if anyone else is nervous >>> about it or not? >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>> >>> >> >> >> > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Our Web site: http://www.RefreshAustin.org/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Refresh Austin" group. 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