Slashdot Mirror
Stallman Says Cloud Computing Is a Trap
stevedcc writes in to tell us about an interview with RMS in The Guardian, in which he gives his views on cloud computing, with a particular focus on user access to data and the sacrifices made for convenience. "'It's stupidity. It's worse than stupidity: it's a marketing hype campaign,' he told The Guardian. 'Somebody is saying this is inevitable — and whenever you hear somebody saying that, it's very likely to be a set of businesses campaigning to make it true.'" Computerworld has a summary of some of the blogosphere's reaction to RMS's position.
I don't like it. I also don't like how the option to turn slashboxes off doesn't work. I hate how I have to either keep the window maximized or read articles in little slender columns that make up less than half of the browser's real estate. This is why I love Greasemonkey.
i have always disliked Stallman, and the GNU in general. but that is my personal opinion... this time though, he has litterally just allowed himself to take a shit out of his mouth.
portfolio
Consistency and sanity aren't always the same thing. Crazy people that have problems with authority aren't always wrong, but that doesn't make them always right.
I think the danger can be mitigated with common sense security measures (strong passwords) and a level of responsibility on the service provide to properly encrypt and store sensitive user information and data.
None of the things you mention would have stopped the Sarah Palin email heist, which worked by a password reset. Without proper security procedures in place, no amount of other security matters in the slightest.
Consider Mac OS X Leopard. If you do not choose a hint for your password, it will happily display your password in cleartext at the login screen when the hint button is clicked.
Of the tradeoff between security and convenience on computers, the market is now firmly conditioned for convenience at the expense of security.
Oh you nigger lover... stop trolling