Dumping my laptop for...a server?
By Christopher Dawson | February 1, 2010, 2:15am PST
Summary: I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but Apple released a new product last week. The i-something-or-other. The meager media coverage, despite it’s generally low-key nature, did give me pause, though. While the iPad (yes, my tongue is now dislodged from my cheek) doesn’t hold a lot of interest for me outside of [...]
I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but Apple released a new product last week. The i-something-or-other. The meager media coverage, despite it’s generally low-key nature, did give me pause, though. While the iPad (yes, my tongue is now dislodged from my cheek) doesn’t hold a lot of interest for me outside of its potential to change the e-book landscape, it brought me back to an idea I’d first discussed with fellow ZDNet blogger, Jason Perlow: “The Screen.”
Essentially, I’ve been saving for a high-end laptop/desktop replacement that could handle virtualization, lots of storage, video editing, you name it. My MacBook just isn’t cutting it anymore. So what does that have to do with the iPad, or any other tablet for that matter? The idea of “the screen” and everything the iPad represents means that lugging around one of those slick Core i7 laptops I’ve been eying up is probably a recipe for obsolescence.
I already spend plenty of time in the cloud. Regular readers of my blog over at ZDNet Education will know that I’m pretty fond of Google Apps. When I blog, I write in a web-based editor. My personal website runs on a Joomla! server in my basement so that I can add content from anywhere that I have web access. The growing ecosystem of sites I maintain for my day job? Also content management systems (but not running on boxes in my basement).
My family videos and photos? Migrating slowly to Facebook, or that web server in my basement, or Picasa Web Albums, or wherever. The only reason I’d want them on a local machine is for editing (and even that is getting increasingly less necessary as web applications grow more robust). On a server, I can have redundant disks, backups galore, cloud integration (where do you think I back up my website? To my Ubuntu One account, of course.), and, most importantly, accessibility from anywhere.
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Chris Dawson writes ZDNet's Education IT blog. He is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.
Disclosure
Christopher Dawson
Christopher Dawson is the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., by day and a freelance writer and educational technology consultant by night. Well, most of his colleagues at WizIQ are based in India, so really he's working with them whenever he can stay awake. He has worked for his local school district as a teacher and technology director, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and for Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen-IDEC, Inc.).
He has also consulted with STATNet and Cytyc Corporation and retains close ties with X2 Development Corporation (now owned by Follett Software, the supplier of the student information system he administered for several years). Follett is paying him a monthly honorarium to act as a presenter for their "SIS Voices for Student Achievement" community (he produces occasional blog posts and hosts a monthly webinar on the use of student information systems to inform data-driven instruction and school-wide change.
He regularly purchases and/or recommends Dell hardware. This is because Dell makes good hardware and has truly committed itself to education in innovative ways, particularly with their "Connected Classroom" initiative. It isn't because he has dealings with the company through his role at WizIQ (which he does) or because they have provided him with long-term loans of a variety of equipment for in-depth testing (which they have).
Intel (reference designer for the Classmate PCs he has implemented in his local schools) has provided him with long-term loans of Classmate PCs for testing, as have Dell and Lenovo with their educational offerings. He may report on any of these companies as his experiences with them have direct bearing on educational technology; positive reports are not necessarily an endorsement and he receives no direct financial compensation from these companies or any others.
Intel paid all expenses for his attendance at the 2009 Intel Classmate PC Ecosystem Summit which he attended as the sole representative of the technology press. He was invited to attend in 2010 but his wife would have killed him if he spent 3 days in Vegas geeking out and left her home alone with a new baby. Acer provided him with a 50% discount on an Aspire One netbook in early 2009 after he tested it for 30 days through their educational seed program. He liked the netbook at the time but it has since broken and sits unused in his office. Canonical sent him Ubuntu lanyards, t-shirts, and mousepads for his kids. He stole one of the lanyards and proudly hangs his keys from it and occasionally features his 8-year old wearing an oversized Ubuntu t-shirt on his Facebook profile. Gunnar Optiks sent him a pair of computer glasses to evaluate for a holiday gift guide. He is wearing them now as he types this because they never asked for them back and they rock out loud. Seriously - they work brilliantly and make it much easier to spend 20 hours a day staring at an LCD. If they ever asked for them back, he would fork over the $99 and buy a pair.
Microsoft gave him 2 free copies of Office 2010 professional, a desktop clock, and a useless book on Office 2010 when he attended the launch of Office/Sharepoint 2010. He occasionally uses the SharePoint lanyard they gave him instead of the Ubuntu lanyard for his keys, but feels dirty afterwards.
Adobe provided him with a pre-release version of the CS5 Master Collection for evaluation and ultimately provided a full, licensed copy for ongoing testing of educational applications of this admittedly expensive software. Like the Gunnars, if the license expires or they come out with CS6, he'd actually go out and buy it himself. Which is saying something, because he's actually pretty cheap.
Any other companies wishing to send him cool things to evaluate, wear, or otherwise adorn his kids are more than welcome to; he promises to disclose it here if he keeps any of the stuff.
Finally, because WizIQ is a virtual classroom and learning network provider, Chris, as VP of Marketing, frequently interacts with, seeks out deals with, and directly or indirectly competes with a whole lot of LMS, SIS, and other Education 2.0 companies. In general, he'll limit his reporting about these companies to news that does not impact his relationship with them or with WizIQ. If he reports on them, it's because what they are doing is newsworthy or worth the attention of his readers and not because he's trying to broker some deal, damage competition, or otherwise advance his position in his day job. LMS and SIS companies, along with other online learning communities, are a pretty important part of Ed Tech. If he stops reporting on them completely, there won't be a whole lot left. He'll be sure to call out any overt conflicts of interest if they are unavoidable.
Finally, Follett Software Company pays him a little tiny honorarium every month to present on their SIS Voices webinars and to write the occasional blog or discussion thread for them. Since Follett recently bought X2 (maker of an awesome web-based SIS that Chris just happened to have used, served in advisory groups for, and frequently reported on), this is probably also worth disclosing.
Biography
Christopher Dawson
Christopher Dawson grew up in Seattle, back in the days of pre-antitrust Microsoft, coffeeshops owned by something other than Starbucks, and really loud, inarticulate music. He escaped to the right coast in the early 90's and received a degree in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. While there, he began a career in health and educational information systems, with a focus on clinical trials and related statistical programming and database modeling. This focus led him to several positions at Johns Hopkins, a couple-year stint in private industry, teaching high school math and technology, and 2 years as the technology director for his local school district. Most recently, he started his own consulting business and is now the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network provider.
He lives with his wife, five kids (yes, 5), 2 dogs, and a hateful cat in a small town in north-central Massachusetts. Although he is no longer teaching, his roles with WizIQ and ZDNet allow him to continue helping students and teachers add value to education with technology rather than merely adding to the bottom line.
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yes, i do agree and see the wave of change sweeping my laptop
For more information log on to www.erp.com
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I tried to get your attention a few times to no avail a few years back, but I am really happy to learn that you are catching on.
FreeNX is the GPL portion of Nomachine's NX.
I believe I saw on the radar last week a tutorial for anyone interested at howtoforge for installing FreeNX on Ubuntu. Oh here
FYI, Chris, everyone there is a FREE personal edition of Nomachine NX server for anyone to use (one-user's access license to the NXserver with an NXclient).
Another interesting aspect of the NX compression technology is that Google has taken a keen interest in it and have forked their own version NeatX. Coincidence? No. Why would Google be interested in such a low-bandwidth needy X Windows Thin Client technology?: Chrome OS.
Have you tried NX with dial-up? If you did, you'd be amazed that even at 56K the screen operates at near local Desktop responsiveness. I kid you not.
So, in that respect I believe it is quite possible that Chrome OS will incorporate NeatX (NX derivative compression technology) to facilitate giving users on 3G or lower bandwidth the optimal on-line experience that can be achieved with today's Thin Client technology.
But...that would imply that your Chrome OS Desktop would then be....in the 'Cloud'?
Oh yeh. That's the point of Chrome OS. Your Google Desktop is there when you want it--ANYWHERE ANYTIME.
You can think of your Chrome OS Desktop as being your very own Virtual Private Server in the Cloud.
So, yes, Chris you are really on the right track.
When I trek up to the Adirondacks where EDGE is the only connection I can get, I just ssh into my home server with NX and enjoy the broadband experience over an EDGE connection.
Good story Chris.
It just took him a while to set NX up and try
it out, but, you can bet from here on out he
will be talking more about NX.
But, Google is also trying to come in under
the radar and pretend that Chrome OS is just a
browser and let everybody make fun of it.
Then, when it comes out, they will have NX
integrated and applications available running
on servers. This will even be a good way to
run legacy Windows applications. Application
vendors will be able to re-compile them for
Wine, and serve them up from the cloud.
But will Google run their backend as a bare bones timeshare system that allows users to install any application they wish? If not, how are those Windows apps going to get there?
But wouldn't it be lovely if they did? Then Google and Microsoft could become business partners with Microsoft providing the business apps and Google providing the user interaction layer and monetizing the whole business.
licenses. The problem is that the Application
owner really needs to do the minimum to re-
compile it for WinLib.
Then, Google could host a Windows applications
store that ran via NX. Application vendors could
set the prices, and the distribution would be a
small fraction of sending it out on CDs.
Google could offer a Wine environment where you
could install your Windows applications on your
virtual desktop in the sky, and access them via
NX, the only problem being that not all Windows
apps run under Wine/Linux without tweeks, or
special work from the Wine group.
WINE isn't a 100% guarantee. Why should I add an additional layer of complexity to run my programs, when Windows does it just fine?
If you honestly think about it, paying for a license is really no biggie.
...you're talking with people here who would freeload everything if it was possible. They'd probably run an extension lead into next door's house if they thought they would get away with it.
Paying for any license is a biggie when you think the developers of the world somehow owe you their work for free, like these people do.
For those of us who actually write the software these jokers want for nothing, paying for a license is simply giving back to those who help you to do your job more efficiently. If you have the respect for developers, then you have no problem paying them for their work.
get an inferior product, and it is not secure or
reliable. It is not JUST about the license costs.
..did you interpret as "they must give all of their stuff away for free"?
My goodness. It just keeps coming out over and over. The vast majority of the world runs on Windows and does it so well and easy that there has never been any reason or incentive to change OS's, a particularly telling thing when there are so many versions of Linux available for free and still nobody really wants them.
So it looks like Donnieboy is one of the few in the world who just cant seem to get Windows to run right. Rather odd to be sure, but thats Donnieboy I guess. Too bad, if he could ever get Windows to work right for him he would discover that its an outstanding OS for the most part.
I could have sworn that most people used the Internet and thus, by
extension, something ran by *nix. In fact, I could have sworn over
a million people had Linux installed on their own equipment, and
that him letting people know there's a free (and superior)
alternative to something was the exact opposite of doom-saying.
Thanks for let me know that all of this is wrong, Cayble.
edit:
Just to clarify, that last line was sarcasm.
What security problems are you referring to?
We have over 12,000 servers in our offices across 14 different countries all running Windows and they've never experienced a security issue because we keep them well-maintained and well-secured.
..when MS refuses to release patches for vulnerabilities, and the
source is closed so that even with all your employees you guys
can't fix them yourselves?
Disconnect the CAT5 (or 802.xx)?
just the cost of licensing, it is the complexity.
Also, Windows servers are a huge security risk. It
is also just a transitional technology. There are
much better GUI toolkits that do not have the
licensing problems.
You have to deal with that. All those companies that run Windows Server on their backend seem to do just fine.
Train your users well, and your network can be 99.999999% secure regardless of the NOS your servers are running.
Obviously none of them are perfect. So obviously he meant a
security risk worse than the others.
Nice attempt at a false dichotomy (everything must be as bad as
Windows unless it is somehow perfect in every way), though.
It would've made Loverock jealous had he seen it, I bet.
So following your logic from other posts, that
means WINE is just as good at running Windows apps
as Windows itself.
Hmmmm! Google Apps are very convoluted, to say the least. Have used twice as a favor to a tech buddy but having to jump from page to page to even upload a file, then another page to upload others, is time-consuming and old school.
I know there "mo-better" out there. I'm a 67 year old (IT for 29 years) and truly believe there's someone younger and more tech-oriented than I with better apps than Google!
Their interfaces are almost as bad as MS Office and the like.
As a writer and document creator, I hate using the Google Docs word processor. I mean, it is really less functional than Word was back in the DOS days. They only get away with this because it's free. Heck, even the free WordPad does a better job.
Oh, and I've used it in Chrome, so even their own browser can't make it a decent WP experience.
..which last time I checked wasn't free.
And isn't it a good thing that Chrome isn't given
special treatment relative to the other browsers?
I think this is where Google is eventually headed
with their new app store for Google Apps. Right
now, it's all about the enterprise, but Google
could make a good deal of money off of software
sales distribution (and the required advertising).
Cloud computing is not about having your data
application elsewhere. It is about having them in no
particular place. It's about ressoure delocalization;
If you have a server in your basement that is
client/server, not cloud; it's a good thing, mind you,
but far from could:
if your server is down, if the connection to the
server is down, you have no access to the ressources.
In clouds, there is no such this as A Server, so it
cannot be down, there is no such thing as A Connexion,
so the connection cannot let you down either.
But then there is a huge problem with could as of
today, cloud solution does not propose a virtualized
server, they provide a limited set of APIs that
provide basic services to hosted solutions; as a
result as of today you cannopt have a unique cloud
that provide server for picture and video hosting,
video editing, CMS, data backup... etc
"But then there is a huge problem with could as of
today, cloud solution does not propose a virtualized
server, they provide a limited set of APIs that
provide basic services to hosted solutions; as a
result as of today you cannopt have a unique cloud
that provide server for picture and video hosting,
video editing, CMS, data backup... etc "
Limited? No.
Virtualized: Yes
Unique Cloud: Yes you can opt for dedicated private cloud resources.
Backup? Yes S3, NFS
http://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/37signals/You really need to do your homework.
S3 and NFS allow for data storage or backup,
but you can hardly use S3 to install a video
editing solution.
Can you point me to a cloud solution that is
essentially seen as a virtual server running
your OS and that runs in the clouds ? You will
have storage clouds, video hosting or editing
clouds, ruby on rail clouds, ERP clouds, but
not a unique cloud service providing all that
you want... or indeed I am misinformed
"Can you point me to a cloud solution that is
essentially seen as a virtual server running
your OS and that runs in the clouds ?"
Amazon EC2? Have you heard of it?
You must be joking. Yes?
If you really want dedicated private servers, you can get all you want--VPS has been around for years Man.
The only difference is that Cloud utility is on demand but one can have dedicated private cloud resources.
I did not now indeed things had evovled that
much, looked at pricing, they are competitive
also, except for storage ( weird )
They do not seem to offer redundant virtual
machine, in the end you seem to be hosted on a
physical server, your not virtualized over a
grid....
That doesn't mean you are stupid s_rouche. Right?
It's been possible for decades to serve up a single IP address on multiple servers. Is it simply the degree of robustness of such a solution that distinguishes one as a cloud solution and the another as something else?
metered by the hour to any level of sophistication you want.
You are rid of asset procurement, asset tracking and amortization management.
Just predictable time-sharing based 'utilitarian' computing expense.
Shut off and back on at will through either command line or GUI Console management interfaces.
After all, HIPAA lawyers deserve to know.
The truth.
"Cloud computing is not about having your data
application elsewhere."
Then I don't want it. Because, actually, I do want my data elsewhere. In fact, I want it in very precise locations - no more, and no less.
"It is about having them in no particular place."
Which means I may or may not have it when I want it. No thanks, I'll pass.
"In clouds, there is no such this as A Server, so it cannot be down, there is no such thing as A Connexion, so the connection cannot let you down either."
In other words, it's a magical fairy that ignores the laws of physics.
You can't ignore the infrastructure. It has to be there, like it or not. You have to deal with the harsh reality that sometimes the user loses all connections. That's not something you can control - it's just Murphy's law.
This is exactly what I said in my comment to Kindle v. iPad. It is all about the cloud. Laptops are going away. Simple pads/tablets are the future. This is why the iPad is going to succeed. It just needs a camera, proj and phone built in. the textbook and old print media better take notice. Please read my blog and see what I mean - patrickaievoli.wordpress.com
But not because of the Cloud.
iPad will not replace EVER the need for other form factors, namely ones with keyboards, laptops, netbooks, will continue to dominate market share, even moreso as ARM and Cloud usage matures.
The iPad is yet another Apple elite product with too many deficiencies to become anything other than a 'niche' product in a highly fractioned competitive future touch tablet market.
I would take the iPad. Netbooks give me tunnel vision bad.
I agree that this will not remove the need for full fledge laptops and workstations.
... since it's only got a 9" screen, you will still suffer from tunnel vision ... and from a much lighter wallet.
Better go with a low-end laptop with a bigger screen.
I seem to have a slightly different take on the iPad than you. Now, if it stays as closed as it is now, it seems likely that it will eventually fail, but what if you can get a remote (NX) client on it? Where is it niche?
To me it seems like the ideal travel companion to my hefty server. It is lightweight and travels well. It will probably be of relatively high quality (at least that is my experience with Apple, others might disagree). It will suffice when I need it in a pinch, and it has a real keyboard for when I get to the hotel.
With a remote client solution, I can't see iPad is missing.
... and serviced by Apple, it will not be allowed to go mainstream.
Just look at his nom-de-plume.. The LINUX Advocate. Yes, that's right, the ONLY thing Missing from the iPad - is Linux.
He's a bit delusional, you see, he thinks people are buying new computers and are dumping Windows 7 by a margin of 83% (his guesstimation, of course). And of course, they're all putting Linux on them. Never mind that's not the case. His little world is quite different from the one everyone else lives in.
and the only way for Apple to differentiate product is with closed source proprietary operating systems and DRM apps.
The market will fraction (smaller and smaller pieces of the pie) as more vendor product comes on line equipped with ARM9 Cortex to offer the same if not more features than the iPad, all at lower price points and most importantly with a wealth of FREE open source apps.
This is during the 2010-2011 time frame.
... For the most part don't require the processing power, nor the mobility that
3G might offer. A Wi-Fi only iPad means companies/schools can filter content,
but deliver enough systems - e-mail, web, iWork, web-interfaces to servers,
VNC/Citrix. Sure, power users will require a PC (for the time being at least), but
for the rest the iPad with a keyboard dock will provide all their computing needs
- and at a lower TCO than other forms. Sadly, IT depts afraid of shrinking may
prevent this type of implementation - but it will happen in smart locations. Bring
it on I say...
just the bluetooth support for a Jawbone, and the use of a VoIP Client such as Skype. Forward facing camera for Video Chat yes, a must.
... or video-chat capability, it will not replace the iPhone and, if it cannot replace the iPhone or the laptop (or both), the iPad is still one more item one has to carry. Might as well carry a Kindle.
The iPad will replace many presenters, and other "feedback" systems in use
today by merchandisers and polling staff.
And computing has reached its apocalypse. I will NEVER, EVER use the cloud. I don't want to give up local storage, processing power, running a localized OS. NEVER. And if this is truly the way computer technology is heading - Backwards - then I will be staying behind.
I cannot for the life of think of why anyone wants all of their files sitting on a server in cyberspace under the control of some corporation you really shouldn't be so trusting of. That is a security no-no - business wise or personal wise. Are you people crazy?
People tend to take the easy way out, then when they get bit in the behind, wonder "what went wrong?"
"Whoopsie... Our servers went down and our backups suck. We've lost all the data stored there."
You may not realize that as you transport yourself to your altered state of mind when visiting your favorite Microsoft portal sites that much of that infrastructure that you find so 'wonderful' is supported by none other than (ah hem) Linux.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akamai_TechnologiesWhen you see a good book on Microsoft Visual Studio at Amazon.com and if AWS needs to ratchet up infrastructure who do they go to? Rackspace, Akamai, etc. It's all very transparent but that is what happens. They don't back up a truck and off load rack servers and plug them in.
The only concern I can think of that must be ironed out for long-term adoption of Cloud concerns the Fourth Amendment.
Otherwise, the security of information stored in the Cloud is as secure if not more than what resides on a Windows virus-prone local storage Fat Client.
Care for a Conficker with your moca java?
If people are forced to start storing their data online, it will only be a matter of time before it is held hostage (by an individual, company, or even a government), and cloud computing will be dealt a crippling blow.
Thin clients can kiss my arse. I want the local processing power, I want a local hard drive, and I want the local operating system.
And no, my computer is patched from Confiker D, you of all people should know that patch was released MONTHS before the outbreak.
And you don't think Linux has its problems?
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=30235
...as a matter of pure economics...foremost businesses will take the first plunge in the Cloud purely on cost considerations.
When users see the first round of Google OS netbooks, they won't be forced to use it, they will embrace it because of its pure convenience, efficiency and LOW COST.
You have a better chance of having your machine's local data stolen/compromised than if it were stored with full disk encryption in the cloud.
Full disk encryption of all Cloud data will become the norm.
Take a visit over and read the latest at Ryan Naraine's Zero-Day blog Nicholas and enjoy your moca del boca vista latte.
yes, i do agree and see the wave of change sweeping my laptop
For more information log on to www.erp.com
If you want to find more information on ERP software reviews, go to www.erp.com. You will get alot of tools and reviews to find the best software application for your business
