This one is about "Clouds" - and surprisingly it is nothing to do with climate change/global warming. Not making much progress on that site, with the assistance of Google, I found this.
What is a "Cloud" I here you ask. Well, from the latter document we learn:
"In its broadest form, we can define a 'cloud' is an elastic execution environment of resources involving multiple stakeholders and providing a metered service at multiple granularities for a specified level of quality (of service). In other words, clouds as we understand them in the context of this document are primarily platforms that allow execution in various forms (see below) across multiple resources (and potentially across enterprise boundaries, see below) – the main characteristics will be detailed in section II.B. We can distinguish different types of clouds (cf. section II.A.1), all of which have in common that they (directly or indirectly) enhance resources and services with additional capabilities related to manageability, elasticity and system platform independency."
This document may make some sense to those of an IT "bent" - but to me all it means is yet another method whereby we can be monitored, 'data-ised', controlled and managed.
7 comments:
It's what we technical people occasionally and with due regard to nuances and possible elasticity in the interpretive dynamics have called in a non-pejorative but heuristically descriptive mode of reference euphemistically but modally correct and platform-independent bollocks.
It's yet another way for 'entrepreneurs' to create money out of thin air.
My understanding is that it's all about storing your files and doing your processing online, rather than locally.
Call me cynical, but they must be joking. Many bloggers have noticed how easily YouTube take down anything that might be considered "controversial", and Anthony Watts is being blacklisted by Farcebook, so the idea of entrusting my personal stuff to an anonymous server or servers "in the cloud" is not even worth thinking about.
Its simply the next iteration of 'Server Farms'.
And as most of these 'cloud' offerings are located in the US, or run by US companies, then you have to consider the US Patriot Act.
Under that Act any data held or processed by a US company is open to unfettered inspection, monitoring or censure by US govt agencies, without telling the owners that it has happened.
You may think your data is safely stored away, but think again... all is open to US Govt and by default US business.
I am of an IT bent, and I couldn't make sense of it either. Complete bollocks couched in jargon, management speak and techno-gobbledegook.
On a similar note, last week a senior manager invited us all to a "deep dive session". I asked if he needed to see my open water certificate....some people have no sense of humour.
AKH & HC: Pleased to see such great minds in total accord!
jic: That too.
md: That too.
IPJ: Thanks for confirmation of what I suspected.
I'm a great fan of the "Flagfox" Add On for Firefox, which shows where a particular site is actually hosted. It's amazing (and rather worrying) just how many are hosted in the US, and also how few in the UK. Several UK newspapers are hosted in EU countries, for instance....
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