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Windows-as-an-app is coming

computerworld.com

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Re: Windows-as-an-app is coming

#51

Post by JohnFen »

rthnbgrredf wrote: post #37
JohnFen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just one of the usual cycles. Enough time has gone by that most people have forgotten (or weren't alive) during the last server era. They aren't fresh on what the serious downsides of it are, or why the PC revolution was such a step forward. But people will be reminded (lots are already beginning to see) and the pendulum will swing back away from using someone else's server. Then after a couple decades, the pend…

Could someone who remember the era of mainframe computing, which of the downsides could apply to the modern version of it (cloud desktop)?

The two main ones are that there's more moving parts to go wrong, and that you're at the mercy of the people running the server. When the server malfunctions, there's nothing you can do but wait for them to fix it, the provider can mess up your account in unpredictable ways leading to unexpected interruptions of service and/or loss of data, and so forth. There are numerous smaller things, too, such as reduced flexibility and such.

Also, communications can and do suffer interruptions, and if you're using a remote server then such interruptions can be problematic.

My point isn't that "the cloud" is a bad model, though. It's that it involves a different set of risks and tradeoffs. For a given use case, "cloud" may be the best solution. For others, it won't be.

Re: Windows-as-an-app is coming

#52

Post by rcarmo »

crowcroft wrote: post #9

The idea of a super thin client in the form of a light laptop with amazing battery life connected to something like this seemed appealing a few years ago. With everything Apple has delivered with their ARM processors though it seems like you can have your cake and eat it too with compute power, battery life, and a very nice laptop all at once.

Funnily enough. I live inside Remote Desktop services (have done so for years, and Citrix before that). I have optimized RDP on Linux to some pretty extensive lengths, but I’ve always used iPads as thin clients and this year I decided to use a Mac mini (driving two 5K-ish displays), and the experience is just glorious. Simply glorious, including for video calling (with camera and audio pass-through).

Re: Windows-as-an-app is coming

#53

Post by rcarmo »

0xNotMyAccount wrote: post #30
secfirstmd wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One big area will be security.

Yep, this is Microsoft's answer to the terrible Citrix user experience, which is a non-trivial component of burnout in healthcare. Every hospital basically tells their staff, several times a day, via an electronic health record system served over Citrix: we don't trust you, and you time is worthless, fuck you. All in the name of security.

Actually, what most hospital IT systems are trying to do is provide “follow me” desktops and an easy to replace endpoint. There are two major private clinic/hospital groups here in Portugal, and at least one of them uses Raspberry Pis and smartcards in doctors’ offices (most of which are interchangeable or need to provide for staff rotation).

It is a pretty sweet system (I noticed no lag as they pulled up my exams and clinical data, including radiology and charts).

Re: Windows-as-an-app is coming

#55

Post by xethos »

JohnFen wrote: post #51
rthnbgrredf wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could someone who remember the era of mainframe computing, which of the downsides could apply to the modern version of it (cloud desktop)?

The two main ones are that there's more moving parts to go wrong, and that you're at the mercy of the people running the server. When the server malfunctions, there's nothing you can do but wait for them to fix it, the provider can mess up your account in unpredictable ways leading to unexpected interruptions of service and/or loss of data, and so forth. There are numerous smaller things, too, such as reduced flexibi…

> and that you're at the mercy of the people running the server

Perhaps slightly dated, but still relevant and hilarious: The Bastard Operator from Hell

http://bofh.bjash.com/

Re: Windows-as-an-app is coming

#56

Post by dogmatism »

0xNotMyAccount wrote: post #30
secfirstmd wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One big area will be security.

Yep, this is Microsoft's answer to the terrible Citrix user experience, which is a non-trivial component of burnout in healthcare. Every hospital basically tells their staff, several times a day, via an electronic health record system served over Citrix: we don't trust you, and you time is worthless, fuck you. All in the name of security.

It's not the Citrix that says that

It's the fucking EHRs

The people who write the specs are so far from the end-users the result is mind-bogglingly terrible for said end-users

That the same people who obsess about their IDEs subject their ultimate end users to these monstrosities of inefficiency is some kind of sick joke

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