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Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

workstream.paperspace.com

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Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#81

Post by kim0 »

t0astbread wrote: post #60
VikingCoder wrote: post #45

I'm just going to state again what I want, which is only tangentially related to the topic... 1) I go on Github and configure a service 2) I make a wallet that people can donate to 3) I start up a virtual machine, aimed at the Github, using the wallet to pay for the time on the machine. The virtual machine host guarantees that the code at that Github is what's really running. I can imagine lots of other things I want…

Agreed, something like "Netlify for virtual machines" would be useful. You could probably get close by auto-deploying from GitHub Actions but you wouldn't get the main benefit of a service like that (having ops done in a clean way without having to think much about it). Without having any experience in the field, aren't lambda functions supposed to provide something like that?

Sorry I'm not getting the main value prop from this. I'm mainly an ops person. Can you please explain what that service would look like?

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#82

Post by SCHiM »

capableweb wrote: post #71
rubicks wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The ... host guarantees... This is a really hard problem with "solutions" that usually run counter to privacy and, you know, controlling the machine consuming your electricity. Remote Attestation has come a long way, but (at least on Linux) still in its infancy.

First time I hear about "Remote Attestation", got any trusted sources/resources for someone to read up on it more? (besides Wikipedia and it's sources)

Well, you could try googling for DRM, same beast different name.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#83

Post by snazz »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #4

This looks like a consumer targeted product. If so, they should use a "per month" pricing instead of the per hour pricing which only caters to nerds who will go through the trouble to calculate. I hope it's actually an affordable option overall compared to any other options out there.

You can choose between per hour and per month pricing. The per hour pricing only runs when you're using the machine (only the cost of storage when it's off) and the per month pricing is a flat rate. They should offer a calculator for estimated usage costs.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#84

Post by snazz »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #72

With all those websites preventing you to use tor, you can use tor to connect to this, and this to connect to whatever you need.

You can also set up a SOCKS proxy on a much cheaper basic VPS as well, giving you the advantage of using a web browser on your local computer instead of dealing with the overhead of a completely virtualized desktop.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#85

Post by preya2k »

netcraft wrote: post #22

I've looked around the site but im still confused - It looks like its a windows OS? Is there an iPad client?

You can use it in the browser, or install any RDP/VNC Server you want on the Windows system. So yes, there are probably multiple iPad clients.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#87

Post by ec822 »

corenting_ wrote: post #42

Another interesting solution for this is : https://shop.shadow.tech/usen/pre-order . They are currently expanding to some countries including the US.

+1 on Shadow!! - I would definitely recommend Shadow. You get a full instance of Windows 10 to do anything you want (I primarily game). I wrote a quick review of it, including 3dmark scores for the base version here: https://medium.com/@ec822/playing-in-the-cloud-d0c023b77bdd

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#88

Post by bransonf »

Curious what folks think the outlook on this technology is. Rather, will there be any significant shift towards centralized compute in the next decade?

Currently, a large institution/corporation has to manage thousands of individual machines. Say a physical component fails, now a technician must go to the location of the machine and give the user a temporary replacement. Alternatively, in a centralized compute environment, they could just allocate a new machine, and work entirely out of a data center.

And what about software updates and upgrades?

In the centralized model, both software updates and hardware upgrades can be managed more easily. Sure, we have good software tools to update all networked devices, but if that fails, the admin still sometimes needs physical access.

One market I see this potentially taking off in is academia and hospitals. (Though I’m biased because I’m employed by a Medical School)

Much of the record keeping is already done with a centralized infrastructure. Liberal use of active directory and low powered clients is the norm.

And particularly for research, there’s the added benefit of being able to allocate more resources without any physical action. Say I’m trying to run a script to fold proteins on my lab workstation. Usually, I’d be limited to the hardware on hand, but in the centralized model I could request or allocate a more powerful machine. Sure, the current solution is to spin up your own VM and move your program. Often, academic institutions have their own on-prem compute for this purpose. However, both still require technical ability on part of the user.

How close are we really to the model of giving all users a dummy client (think Chromebook) and centralizing The real compute? What challenges, disadvantages am I missing?

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#89

Post by formercoder »

bransonf wrote: post #88

Curious what folks think the outlook on this technology is. Rather, will there be any significant shift towards centralized compute in the next decade? Currently, a large institution/corporation has to manage thousands of individual machines. Say a physical component fails, now a technician must go to the location of the machine and give the user a temporary replacement. Alternatively, in a centralized compute enviro…

Depends on latency requirements. Data analysis? Yep. Creative pros? Nope.

Re: Workstream: A fast virtual computer you can use for anything

#90

Post by michaelmior »

bransonf wrote: post #88

Curious what folks think the outlook on this technology is. Rather, will there be any significant shift towards centralized compute in the next decade? Currently, a large institution/corporation has to manage thousands of individual machines. Say a physical component fails, now a technician must go to the location of the machine and give the user a temporary replacement. Alternatively, in a centralized compute enviro…

Even if there's "centralized" computing, everyone still needs a device they can use to access this central environment. Of course these devices can still fail and need repair. (The Chromebook in your example). At least in that case, these machines are fungible so a permanent replacement can just be given while the faulty device is repaired and used to replace another device the next time one fails.
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