"I?d prefer to see fat-client desktops like Mint 11 Linux, and, yes, even Windows 7, to continue on for so long as we continue to use computers."
Never thought I'd see the day when Steven would support Windows over any alternative, yet he dislikes the cloud so much that he'd take Windows first.
The cloud has a certain seductive appeal, yet, there's that control thing. I don't control anything on the cloud, even if I own it. Someone else controls it.
The cloud has some applications, but, for me, I'll keep that broken PC centric data model for the near future, until the security, legal, and technical issues of the "cloud" work themselves out. At least then I'll understand the risk and be able to mitigate properly.
Gads, I think we agreed on something! It may never happen again -
I think a cloud-based operating system, like Google’ Chrome OS, has a bright future. But, when I look at Apple’s Lion, which will only be available as an upgrade by a 4GB download, and iCloud plans I begin to wonder just how much any fat-client operating system-Linux, Mac OS X, or Windows-have if Apple and Google have their way.
As Jobs put it, the PC centric data model is broken. And, so the digital hub will move from being the PC to the iCloud and the Mac will be “demoted.”
What did he mean by that? My fellow ZDNet writer, Andrew Nusca, put it well, “Mac vs. PC vs. Linux argument from the early days of consumer computing has lost a great deal of its luster in recent years with the development of cloud computing on the open web.” The operating system wars are far from over though. Nusca continued, “Concept of platform wars is quickly making up for lost ground with the development of cloud computing in the closed mobile space.”
I’ve always thought that thin-client computing has its place in technology. That’s one reason why I think Google’s Chrome OS has a real shot in dethroning the Window desktop in the office. By making the iCloud the center of everything, instead of the Mac, Apple is trying to wean consumers away from the fat-client PC model that’s served us so well since the day the first IBM PC rolled off the assembly line.
This worries me. If you had fast bandwidth and enough room on your data cap, cloud-based computing is fine. Many of us are already using every day. Oh, you may not think of using Gmail or Google Docs as being on the cloud, but it is and you are.
It’s so darn easy when all you really need to get work done from anywhere is an Internet connection and a Web browser. Forget your file at the office? Just grab your copy from Dropbox, and you’re good to go. But, Jobs takes it even farther. All your data will be on the iCloud and it’s automatically pushed to any of your devices.
It sounds great doesn’t it? I think it sound great too, but, and this is a big one, do you really want to trust Apple or Google with all your data? What happens if you don’t pay your fee to Apple? What happens if the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) demands a copyright audit of all my music on iTunes Match?
There are just too many places and situations where Cloud is not viable. Having back-ups and works-in-progress stored locally seems a fairly smart way of dealing with it. Similarly with apps that can use the locally stored data. The way i see it there will be a few years while everyone jumps all over this Cloud thing and then some useful middle-ground position will be found to be optimum, a bit like the .com boom. 
