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Computer Files Are Going Extinct

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Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#31

Post by ZoomZoomZoom »

njovin wrote: post #7
aurora72 wrote: post #5

The author says "everyone started to use Spotify" Everyone? Yeah everyone with their shiny $1000+ iFon toys in their hands doing touch gestures.

Spotify has 215m users. I’d assume that is more than the group that used to download MP3s and burn CDs (which would require some technical knowhow and a CD burner).

You're seriously exaggerating. In the past, almost everyone had a CD-burner. You could use just a couple of clear as day GUI programs, a dozen of clicks and one drag and drop to download an album and burn a CD. Eleven year olds were doing it no problem.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#32

Post by RhodaLs »

ACS_Solver wrote: post #12

One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected t…

Six years ago it was possible to use Dropbox as the files intermediary. With the current version (13) of iOS, there's a fairly direct access to files. There's a files explorer with support for connections to network shares & external drives. Apple is less interested in abstracting them away as they used to be.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#33

Post by elliekelly »

cosmojg wrote: post #9
neonate wrote: post #3

http://archive.is/2t5BK

For a better reading experience and for those using Cloudflare's DNS: https://outline.com/yU64Cu

I do use Cloudflare’s DNS but I’ll admit I don’t know much/anything about how it really works... can you explain why the DNS server would matter here?

Somewhat related, I have made a deal with the devil and use Comcast and, until yesterday, I was using their combo modem/router. Comcast doesn’t let you change the router’s DNS settings (which are, of course, set to Comcast servers) but I was under the impression that the DNS settings closest to the client always prevailed. But fiddling around with WireShark yesterday I could clearly see my DNS requests going to 75.75.75.75 (Comcast) even though my laptop was set to use CloudFlare. Is that even possible? Could the router have been set by Comcast to somehow override my settings or to intercept & reroute DNS requests?

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#34

Post by dangus »

The article just felt...unjustifiably alarmist to me.

Most non-technical people I know cannot manage files even after decades of computing experience. I understand why many services try to abstract or simplify the concept.

For example, Google or Apple is processing the crap out of your email attachment image because they know you don’t understand the idea that trying to send five 10MB photos likely will not fit in an email. All you want to do is send your photos to Grandma. So instead your iDevice handles it for you and either compresses them or throws them in a temporary cloud storage location with a link. Grandma gets her photos - for most people the alternative is a confusing mail delivery bounce followed by frustration.

Apple added Stacks to the desktop because everyone’s tired of seeing other people’s computers with a mess of icons smashed together on the desktop, because that’s the only place files could be conceivably stored in the mind of a non-technical user. The whole idea of a file hierarchy seems either too confusing or too labor intensive to that type of user.

Nerds like us always have and had options. We are aware and capable of coming up with a more friendly solution to us, like a home built NAS or Synology box; ask a non-technical user what those are and be met with a blank stare.

For most people, they really should be paying someone else to maintain their data, iCloud, Google or whatever. Nobody’s home back up scheme can match what these companies are doing in their data centers. And no, these services don’t just delete your data immediately after your monthly payment method bounces - you are given time and nags to download your data or renew, often your data just becomes download-only.

Are we annoyed that most options are not for us, or have to be in a form of a workaround to a technology stack that’s marketed to non-technical people? Maybe. It would be wonderful if there was a device as nice as an iPad that also gave us full access like a Linux PC.

But also, nobody’s forcing us in 2019 to stop using our files as we did in 1999. We didn’t have all these services back then. File management was the option. It is still an option.

And in 2019, Apple finally adds mass storage support to the iPad. Sometimes things come around.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#35

Post by chrisseaton »

ACS_Solver wrote: post #12

One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected t…

> My first attempt was to SSH into it

Come on that’s not a sensible thing to expect from a non-specialist device, is it? I’m not sure this is a reasonable criticism.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#36

Post by anderspitman »

roryrjb wrote: post #20
anderspitman wrote: post #13

If this resonates with you, I'd invite you to follow my work on MooseDrive [0]. I'm calling it a "data ownership" company. The product is focused on storage for developers. [0] https://moosedrive.io

To me the whole idea of data ownership and everything this article is talking about is antithetical to some company somewhere or cloud storage. I personally collect mp3s. I could easily pay for a Spotify subscription or even have it included as part of a mobile phone contract at a discounted rate, but I prefer to have the actual files on my computer, I own them and no one can change that fact. I religiously catalogue…

The vision for the product is for you to be able to do everything you just described, and still have the files available for sharing and publishing through the cloud. Note, that doesn't mean stored in the cloud, unless that's what the user wants.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#37

Post by _Understated_ »

> all culture, raging over us, for $12.99 a month (or $15.99 for HD) as long as we keep up our payments like good economic entities. When we stop paying, we’re left with nothing. No files. The service is revoked.

This is the most frightening thing for me... by far: the concept that I no longer have control of the destiny of my own shit. Mine. Stuff I created.

I understand the concept of how cloud storage works: "hey, we'll look after it for you, back it up and stuff, and all you need to do it pay us a small monthly fee".

Makes sense.

But add to that fact that if you stop paying they'll keep you from your stuff. Also if they don't like you for practically any reason they'll keep you from your stuff. Or if they suffer a huge data loss they'll claim that the T's and C's protect them and they'll still keep you from your stuff.

What the hell are we sleep-walking into here?

Caveat: I'm a tech. I have a local copy, a local backup (that I rotate on an ad-hoc basis with the other HD at my mum and dads house) and an offsite cloud-backup (using Sync) so I'm covered but this stuff isn't aimed at me, it's aimed at my mum and my non-tech friends who just think "hey, it's . They've got thousands of people and loads of equipment and they know what they're doing!"

They sure do!

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#38

Post by htfu »

beefhash wrote: post #18
ACS_Solver wrote: post #12

One of my greatest culture shocks in terms of technology was around 6 years ago when I received an iPad, having no experience with Apple products. After the initial setup, the first thing I wanted was to transfer some files - TV episodes and PDFs - to the device. My first attempt was to SSH into it, only to discover that's not an option, and would require a third-party app store and jailbreak. Then I just connected t…

I'm not sure if this is only an about accessibility to non-tech people. Think about it: You can't get files on your device in a useable format anymore. This means piracy becomes exponentially harder to consume (i.e. you can't use your iPad [easily] as a reader for your pirated ebooks). Quite honestly, that's a stroke of genius and likely a secondary motivation for this workflow.

What? You can very easily use your iPad as a reader for pirated ebooks. Like, I cannot understand how it could possibly be made smoother than it is.

Whether pdf or epub, and whichever device or type of device you use to add the file, once you do it will automatically be stored in your icloud and synced across devices. Same as any purchase.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#39

Post by Finnucane »

dangus wrote: post #34

The article just felt...unjustifiably alarmist to me. Most non-technical people I know cannot manage files even after decades of computing experience. I understand why many services try to abstract or simplify the concept. For example, Google or Apple is processing the crap out of your email attachment image because they know you don’t understand the idea that trying to send five 10MB photos likely will not fit in an…

> Most non-technical people I know cannot manage files even after decades of computing experience. I understand why many services try to abstract or simplify the concept.

You have met my mother I see. She still uses her multi-function printer like a copier because she's never quite grasped the idea that she can store her document scans on her computer.

Re: Computer Files Are Going Extinct

#40

Post by FpUser »

_Understated_ wrote: post #37

> all culture, raging over us, for $12.99 a month (or $15.99 for HD) as long as we keep up our payments like good economic entities. When we stop paying, we’re left with nothing. No files. The service is revoked. This is the most frightening thing for me... by far: the concept that I no longer have control of the destiny of my own shit. Mine. Stuff I created. I understand the concept of how cloud storage works: "hey,…

People are walking into corporate traps left and right. Too bad. they should turn on their brains every once in a while.
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