RMS Says "Software As a Service" Is Non-free

BillyG noted an RMS interview where he says "'Software as a service' means that you think of a particular server as doing your computing for you. If that's what the server does, you must not use it! If you do your computing on someone else's server, you hand over control of your computing to whoever controls the server. It is like running binary-only software, only worse: it's even harder for you to patch the program that's running on someone else's server than it is to patch a binary copy of a program running on your own computer. Just like non-free software, 'software as a service' is incompatible with your freedom."

Comments

Umm. Yeah. We know this.

[wiredog]

From Bruce Schneier

Cloud computing services like Google Docs, and social networking sites like RealAge and Facebook, bring with them significant privacy and security risks over and above traditional computing models. Unlike data on my own computer, which I can protect to whatever level I believe prudent, I have no control over any of theses sites, nor any real knowledge of how these companies protect my privacy and security. I have to trust them.

But really, does anyone with sense think your data is secure when it's somewhere else that you don't control?

At the mercy of the provider

[Animats]

The trouble with "software as a service" is that you're at the mercy of the service provider. Slowly, the service quality declines and the price goes up. Think of the history of cable TV, cell phone service, and post-deregulation air travel.

For those, at least, you're getting the use of an infrastructure you couldn't afford yourself. But for applications where you could have your own infrastructure for a modest cost, software as a service means unnecessarily buying into a relationship where the other side has all the power.

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. -- Orwell.