Memories of the 28th Century

In the last few years cloud computing has again gotten a push from networking and server owning companies. This is the third push into cloud computing that I have noticed, but I might have missed one.

The first big push for cloud computing was in the early 1990’s, and it was led by Oracle and Larry Ellison. A number of cloud programs became available, including Star Office, a cloud office suite, that has since morphed into Open Office and Libre Office. That initial try was roundly ignored and or denounced due to security concerns. While they (th initial creators of Star Office and later Oracle after they bought Star Office) tried to get people to use Star Office online as is done with googledocs, few people were willing to use it that way, and most downloaded it.

About ten years after that initial attempt another attempt to sell people on the security of the cloud was made, but that didn’t go anywhere. Some more programs were introduced, and some businesses were induced to rent server space, but there were great problems with viruses and Trojans during that period, so it was safer to keep files and programs on protected servers.

Today I saw something on yahoo.com that was said to be an explanation of cloud computing by Katy Couric; it wasn’t an explanation. Katy may be a nice person, but there was no explanation. If yahoo is presenting something like that, then there must be a big push to sell the cloud, or something like that. Antivirus software is better than it was a decade ago, but there have been some really massive breaches of data security, and that’s what I would worry about.

There is no fundamental difference between someone using the cloud and using his own remote server. Neither is at the location where the software, etc. are used, and the files are accessed by high speed internet access, but it is more difficult to secure access to something that uses cables, etc. that are also used to transmit the public internet. It is possible, and sometimes done, to have truly private access to remote servers, but that costs a lot. It might be possible to create a truly secure internet connection, but that doesn't seem to exist in this world. I believe that the U.S. government has dedicated cables in some places, but hackers have gotten into federal computers, and whistleblowers have transferred more data.

In any case, the cloud can't be made truly secure, but that makes little difference for some people. I store extra copies of files online, and I've never seen any sign of theft, but my files aren't useful to anyone else. Businesses have to be a little more careful, so I don't expect to see a large move into the cloud, but remote file storage has been common for years, and it is safe (mostly) and cheap. It also frees up local serve space for applications, so there is less reason to use the cloud for actual computing, and remote computing takes time even with fast connections.

There is also the matter of people and companies wanting to know where their files are. Cloud storage companies can move things as necessary for their own purposes, and that can make access by the owners of the data slower, but if they just store monthly backups in the cloud, then they don't care, because they probably have the daily and/or weekly backups closer at hand.

It is my feeling (and that's all that it is) that this push to get people to use the cloud will be only slightly more successful than the previous attempts. Sure there are advantages to using the cloud, but it can be dangerous with files that are in present use, while backups are safer. So what do you think? Do you use the cloud? And how do you use the cloud?

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