Re: [tlug] RMS is at it again...again

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

On 2008-10-03 17:56 +0900 (Fri), Keith Bawden wrote:

> So my question still is. What is the real difference between [a
> stand-alone co-located server] and having a virt (with a distro that
> you install yourself) running in a cloud.

Not much, it seems to me. But Stallman is not discussing that; he's
talking about systems such as gmail and salesforce.com, where you just
hand over all of your data and rely on the application as built and
configured by the provider, which is quite a way further down this
continuum.

> As for the hosted applications as a service that I can see as more of
> a problem, but again what is new about this?

I don't think there's anything new here; I've been aware of these issues
all along, and for years I've been of the opinion that I would never
trust my mail to gmail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail, or anything like that. It's
not a good security vs. expense and convenience trade-off for me.

> > I'd just start panicing in a gentle
> > way now, and continue indefinitely. :-)
> 
> I've not panicked over anything for as long as I can remember.

Well, that's awfully un-American of you!

> Of course there are systems, checks, balances and other tools in place
> to ensure the risk of such things from happening are minimized.

There are many systems, some in place and some not, for various people
and companies and situations. Stallman's just making a point here, I
think, that people could well consider a little more carefully what
they're really doing when they use gmail for all of their mail, and
suchlike.

> I simply see the original article as a bit of an over-reaction to a
> slight twist on an old story. Should you trust third parties with your
> data - sometimes yes.

I don't think it's an over-reaction; I think that to this point the
general public has been under-reacting, or at least, not considering
very well just what they're doing.

Which, given that I'm more on the provider side of these things, is
probably to my advantage. :-)

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson       <cjs@example.com>        +81 90 7737 2974   
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