111–120 of 254 posts
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This is a web application version of Photoshop. Nothing more (and it should run on any OS with a modern browser).
Are you sure? It sure sounds like this is a version of Photoshop, running in a managed VM in the cloud by Adobe.
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The power/electricity analogy here is what's really key - there will come a time when the ubiquity of being "online" will be the same as the ubiquity of "the power is on." It's so prevalent in modern society we really don't think about it. It took me a while to realize that this is where Google is headed with ChromeOS/Chromebooks. Ultimately, "applications/apps" will not exist, there will just be the web and all pers…
Kids in the first world having access to mobile broadband at speeds and prices that make Photoshop-as-a-service feasible on their chromebooks is explicitly not awesome unless you're one of those privileged kids. This is a "rich get richer" situation that is developing. The problem with the centralized model is that it rather fucks over even people in developing or under-developed countries, and also places like, say,…
Here in Aberdeen, when I walk down the street, it varies from HSDPA to GPRS. There's occasionally University WiFi, but that only helps if I'm near a University building. This access is far from constant or consistently speedy.
Didn't Google show off Chrome extensions that were low-level like C code a few years back? If I remember correctly, they even showed off an in-browser image editor and video games, what ever happened with that?
However, I suspect Adobe are unwilling to port Photoshop to NaCl.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The power/electricity analogy here is what's really key - there will come a time when the ubiquity of being "online" will be the same as the ubiquity of "the power is on." It's so prevalent in modern society we really don't think about it. It took me a while to realize that this is where Google is headed with ChromeOS/Chromebooks. Ultimately, "applications/apps" will not exist, there will just be the web and all pers…
Kids in the first world having access to mobile broadband at speeds and prices that make Photoshop-as-a-service feasible on their chromebooks is explicitly not awesome unless you're one of those privileged kids. This is a "rich get richer" situation that is developing. The problem with the centralized model is that it rather fucks over even people in developing or under-developed countries, and also places like, say,…
History proved that these things get cheaper and become accessible to the masses.
And this is the logical conclusion of the death of the 56K baud modem. There was a prophetic (if early) contest at Sun to 'imagine the future' and the winner got a SPARCStation. As a networking guy I tried to imagine what was going to change when the 'big yellow hose' (which is what 10MB Ethernet looked like at the time) came right into your living room. And one of the things that changed was that you could work at '…
The power/electricity analogy here is what's really key - there will come a time when the ubiquity of being "online" will be the same as the ubiquity of "the power is on." It's so prevalent in modern society we really don't think about it. It took me a while to realize that this is where Google is headed with ChromeOS/Chromebooks. Ultimately, "applications/apps" will not exist, there will just be the web and all pers…
What to use Photoshop? Pay a perpetual monthly fee forever, with no control over which version of the software you are using. Adobe jacked up the price this year for the new version despite a lack of new features? Tough, nothing you can do about it. It's either pay up or lose access. The new version is buggy? Tough luck.
Want to modify any of the software on your computer in any way or install any local software? That disables the trusted DRM and none of your remote apps will load anymore because your machine is no longer trusted. (We already have this on Chromebooks for DRM video).
Want to cancel your Microsoft Office subscription? Fine, now you've lost the ability to view any of your documents any more.
Want to continue using SuperAwesomeApp? Too bad, they just shut down the servers forever. Sorry, no refunds.
All your files hosted in the cloud and data mined for terrorist terms, for your safety of course.
All your files hosted in the cloud and data mined to build marketing profiles.
Every piece of software having the ultimate in user lock-in - total control over the users data.
I find it hard to imagine a more dystopian future for software.
And this is the logical conclusion of the death of the 56K baud modem. There was a prophetic (if early) contest at Sun to 'imagine the future' and the winner got a SPARCStation. As a networking guy I tried to imagine what was going to change when the 'big yellow hose' (which is what 10MB Ethernet looked like at the time) came right into your living room. And one of the things that changed was that you could work at '…
Well, the other troubling aspect of getting all your software from the network is that you don't own anything. Adobe can end your access to the software if they just decide to. If you have paid, you might be able to sue them for the software back or you might get damages but neither will help if you have a job on a tight deadline.
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But think this through...if you don't run anything locally then what, exactly, are you protecting on your local system by running things remotely? Although honestly, for something like photoshop I really don't see a problem. It's a creative tool, and probably isn't producing interesting data for the NSA, et al. The real security concern here is Adobe's, in that they want to protect their software from you , the user.…
You'd be preventing your local credentials from being phished / stolen, keyloggers installed, your machine from being in a botnet...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The power/electricity analogy here is what's really key - there will come a time when the ubiquity of being "online" will be the same as the ubiquity of "the power is on." It's so prevalent in modern society we really don't think about it. It took me a while to realize that this is where Google is headed with ChromeOS/Chromebooks. Ultimately, "applications/apps" will not exist, there will just be the web and all pers…
It's not awesome at all. It's the death of personal computing. What to use Photoshop? Pay a perpetual monthly fee forever, with no control over which version of the software you are using. Adobe jacked up the price this year for the new version despite a lack of new features? Tough, nothing you can do about it. It's either pay up or lose access. The new version is buggy? Tough luck. Want to modify any of the software…
For example: "Want to continue using SuperAwesomeApp? Too bad..." Want to continue using TwitPic? Too bad. Obsolescence happens, companies shut down, products go off the market and cease to be supported every day. This isn't new. If there's enough demand for an alternative, it will happen. Where there's a market, there will be product.
Or: "It's either pay up or lose access." When I stop paying my gym membership I loose access. Nobody complains that "it's either pay up or get fat." Photoshop used to be a product, now its a service. This isn't an "injustice" it's normal business.
Data safety in the cloud though is a reasonable concern. You don't know what's going on with your data on remote servers. But then, most people don't know what's going on with their data on their own machines. We've found ways to implement safety and security on our local machines (monitor for malware etc...), I imagine we will eventually find ways to ensure it on remote machines as well. Maybe.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The power/electricity analogy here is what's really key - there will come a time when the ubiquity of being "online" will be the same as the ubiquity of "the power is on." It's so prevalent in modern society we really don't think about it. It took me a while to realize that this is where Google is headed with ChromeOS/Chromebooks. Ultimately, "applications/apps" will not exist, there will just be the web and all pers…
It's not awesome at all. It's the death of personal computing. What to use Photoshop? Pay a perpetual monthly fee forever, with no control over which version of the software you are using. Adobe jacked up the price this year for the new version despite a lack of new features? Tough, nothing you can do about it. It's either pay up or lose access. The new version is buggy? Tough luck. Want to modify any of the software…
You see the reason personal computing exists is because it was people who wanted this level of control and "their own computer" started using these cheezy "calculator chips" to build their own computers. What they could do was a lot less than what the mainframes/minicomputers/workstations could do but you could own your own.
All of those things are still true.
But there is a rub. Today you can go on some warez forum and get a cracked Adobe CSx suite and run it on your machine at home. That feature goes away, Your only option is to run Gimp, and if it doesn't have features you need, then you get to write new features yourself because, well its open and you have the source code.
So the world will change, it always does, but the ability for engineers and hobbyists to have their own computers that do exactly what they want them to do, that won't change.
And this is the logical conclusion of the death of the 56K baud modem. There was a prophetic (if early) contest at Sun to 'imagine the future' and the winner got a SPARCStation. As a networking guy I tried to imagine what was going to change when the 'big yellow hose' (which is what 10MB Ethernet looked like at the time) came right into your living room. And one of the things that changed was that you could work at '…
The power/electricity analogy here is what's really key - there will come a time when the ubiquity of being "online" will be the same as the ubiquity of "the power is on." It's so prevalent in modern society we really don't think about it. It took me a while to realize that this is where Google is headed with ChromeOS/Chromebooks. Ultimately, "applications/apps" will not exist, there will just be the web and all pers…
-- http://www.loper-os.org/?p=44
Having no local state is a wonderful vision. I see why that makes you excited, but "the cloud" is the death of programmatic computing.
What we should move towards is personal servers, either physical machines or (for 98% of the population) some kind of "gmail for servers" like https://sandstorm.io/.