The_Saint

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzcLQRXW6B0

 

Charles / Steven, thank you. This shows some of the important work that is going on behind the scenes to address the 'trust question'.

 

Good to know that there will be no knights storming my castle in the clouds, so it may just be the time to migrate the coconuts. Anybody got any African swallows?

 

I'll take my bath water with bubbles please.

 

Ok, yes, we trust data to external environments all the time, but, we should always have a workable backup in place. I think of it as a belt, braces and a piece of string to stop your trousers falling down. But the industry we are in is often so full of hot air, that it forgets the practical basics of situations. I.e. cover your a** at all times, and if it ain't covered expect it to get burnt once in a while.

 

The Cloud is a new paradigm, the wheel turns and we move on, but we should not forget the lessons of the past. Just look at the current economic situation as an example of forgetfulness and bad management.

 

As data has relevance and meaning on a per situation basis, all data, should be treated with the utmost respect and care, to say, for example, that one individuals treasured photos are less important than an organisations financials, is short-sighted, and kinda misses the point. You can flower the systems up by saying that they conform to xyz standard, but we have all been in situations where we've had a 4 hour SLA in place and the vendor has not met the commitment, for one reason or another.

 

The trust question, is i'm sure, one that will be pondered over by company execs, long and hard. While the industry is taking 'baby steps' with these new paradigms, it should not run, before it can walk. Get the basics covered first, then move on.

OK, but no cigar. This conversation failed to tackle the biggest question hanging over 'The Cloud' and that is the question of 'trust'.

 

Why should organisations 'trust' their data to the Cloud and by association to the 'super-hosters'? The reasons why 'private Clouds' will probably gain greater traction initially, is related to nervous Financial Directors and CFOs, and the fact that to comply with financial regulations, they want to know, with certainty, that their data (financial or otherwise), is in a safe, private, well protected, backed-up, accessible and 'trusted' environment.

 

To just say 'yes' I'm going to place all my data in the Cloud, because it will be cheaper for company X to host it, does not really provide a balanced argument for the adoption of the Cloud. The Service Level Agreement (SLA) would have to be so strict that the penalties for the 'super-hosters' and 'mega-data-centres' would be huge, should there be a non-compliance.

 

Just look at the fallout from (cough) recent events, to witness the inherent problems and 'Dangers' of this kind of service.

Random thought stream approaching->

Ad campaign war = combative, Mac vs PC = tired, My Dad is bigger than your Dad = so what! Office 2010 mini-ad thing, why is the camera moving away from the subject (the office logo), to me this infers that you want to get away from Office 2010. Ownership vs subscription, I'm an ancient relic, ownership every time, subscriptions are money down the drain. Tags look like they are behind bars and need freeing from their imprisonment, they also look angry. Recent ad campaigns, BMW the longer versions, links below. Microsoft ads = left brain, Apple = right brain. Microsoft improving in the creative space recently though, needs to be bolder and get out of it's (left brain) comfort zone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQaRtgTOa0I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zCrpzpV2e0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSl6KIZAsNI

Especially like 'Ticker' and 'Star'. 'See how it feels' = pure art.

Finally, Microsoft should stop being distracted by Apple, each time you mention them, you are giving them free advertising; then people get curious and go investigate.

-> and, relax... All of the above IMHO

Rock solid.

Excellent setup routine, simple to use, fantastic performance, cute features, and best of all, 'it just works'. Probably the best general purpose operating system, in the world...

Big respect to Steve S and the Windows team. The magnificent 7 just rode into town, yee hah...

Loved the old footage. I laughed so much I watched it twice.

It's easy to forget how far we've come in such a relatively short time.

Now, how did that song go, 'to dream the impossible dream'...

Thx for posting this Charles, it was very enjoyable and thought provoking.

I think once a lot of the technical, decision making and intelligence issues relating to machines and robots are resolved, we will have to grapple with the philosophical and ethical issues that will affect mankind going forward.