Skip to main content

Out of the Cloud

Unlike coming out of the closet I think it is time that people came out of the cloud.  Today in the valley and perhaps in certain elitist organizations the buzz is about getting their shit in to the cloud.  What it refers to is the act of using a shared resource so that the per capita (or per business) total cost for operating or using the product or service is lowered compared to owning said product outright.

All the erstwhile large software shops started down the path of offering SaaS to their customers (not the in-law kind or the one you hold when it stinks - not the in-law but the ambient which may or may not contain a saas) which is defined as - Software as a Service.  So you don't buy multi user license for a large business rather pay for what you use like a utility and not worry about upgrades and such.

That model then got copied and relabeled to peddle everything from HaaS (hardware) to IaaS (Infrastructure - large servers, networks etc. or PaaS - Platform as a service) to crowd sourcing to shared cars (zip car) as a regular way of life.

Clearly the pendulum swung from me for myself and my large limo to let us share our germs every chance we get.  Partly it may be a manifestation that a large chunk of society now finds themselves broke and cannot afford their first Honda or Studio rental (think communal kitchens where we can cook).

There was a time when the phrase 'getting in on the ground floor' was all the rage and being 'grounded' a virtue.  Now if you are not all the way 'into the cloud' you are screwed.

Thence the reference to the pendulum which has swung all the way from the perigee to its apogee and the coming gong is going to be loud.

Hate to be the one to burst the bubble (formed in the cloud nine) but with all the web site hacking and data losses from the cloud(s) more frequent than the times we send our thoughts and prayers to those affected by certain tragedies; is leading to ultimate ruin and loss of identity (in some cases it may not be a bad idea).

It appears that storing your own photos (naked or otherwise) along with personal details, financial details, and other critical information on your own computer might be the safer way to go.  Until of course that dormant virus rears its ugly head and wipes it out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A few good books

 On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Costa Rica

 Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry.   Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while.  Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...
Post a Comment
Read more