Henry Litwhiler <[email protected]> wrote .. > Absolutely - there isn't anything inherently wrong with the idea of > cloud computing
On the contrary: "Cloud Computing" is a nebulous term for Software as a Service. RMS recently gave a talk on that [1]. I was able to record it as as well [2]. > all it means is that you can access all your files, documents, media, etc. > from any computer connected to the internet. Storing files on someone else's server so that you (or others) can access them from wherever you (or they) wish isn't SaaS, so long as that server is only acting as a repository for the files you referred to, although it does raise other issues. > The idea is a good one - it's just that the highly proprietary implementation of it has been wrong. The software running in "the cloud" should certainly be free, otherwise the cloud operator has lost their freedom, but whether it is actually free or not has no bearing on the SaaS issue. "...if the programs on the server are free, that doesn't protect you as the server's user from the effects of SaaS. They give freedom to the operator, but not to you ... Software as a service always subjects you to the power of the server operator, and the only remedy is to avoid it ... Use a real computer and keep your data there. Do your work with your own copy of a free program, for your freedom's sake." --Richard Stallman. [1] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html [2] http://aws.bluehome.net/saas.html
