Kernel Sanders
July 25th, 2008, 05:04 PM
Am I the only one that fears this impending trend? One thing is certain, It WILL happen, and I hope to god Linux is still going strong when it does so that we can all be saved, along with our ever thinner wallets.
For those that don't know what i'm talking about, "software as a service" is the aim of every software maker in existance, and it's a lot closer than i'd like. The keyword is subscription. Think of average Joe going to buy a new PC, and then coming home to discover that he has a crippled system. He has to turn on the computer, type in his credit card details, and select what he want's (probably in package form). Microsoft will manage all this remotely, and keep it all up to date for just $X per month. When new versions come out, they'll sort that out for him to for a one off payment of $X and then $X per month. Companies like Adobe will also do the same for their photoshop/dreamweaver software for $X per month. So he'll still have his shiney and functional computer. It will probably be stable and do everything he needs, and he doesn't have to worry about a thing, it's all managed automatically by remote, updated, installed, hotfixed, the lot. The only downside is that Average Joe has entered into a never ending subscription for the privilage, and his digital life is an open book to everyone he pays money to, and the authourities. Want to see what Joe is working on? No probs!
YAY! :rolleyes:
It's the future, and it's what every single software maker is working towards. In fact, i'd be surprised if it is more than 10 years away :(
I genuinly fear for this. It will probably come with "trusted computing" and other such privacy destroying, expensive nonsense.
I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER, enter such an arrangement. No, you can have my digital privacy when you can pry my Ubuntu Laptop from my cold dead hands! :mad:
For those that don't know what i'm talking about, "software as a service" is the aim of every software maker in existance, and it's a lot closer than i'd like. The keyword is subscription. Think of average Joe going to buy a new PC, and then coming home to discover that he has a crippled system. He has to turn on the computer, type in his credit card details, and select what he want's (probably in package form). Microsoft will manage all this remotely, and keep it all up to date for just $X per month. When new versions come out, they'll sort that out for him to for a one off payment of $X and then $X per month. Companies like Adobe will also do the same for their photoshop/dreamweaver software for $X per month. So he'll still have his shiney and functional computer. It will probably be stable and do everything he needs, and he doesn't have to worry about a thing, it's all managed automatically by remote, updated, installed, hotfixed, the lot. The only downside is that Average Joe has entered into a never ending subscription for the privilage, and his digital life is an open book to everyone he pays money to, and the authourities. Want to see what Joe is working on? No probs!
YAY! :rolleyes:
It's the future, and it's what every single software maker is working towards. In fact, i'd be surprised if it is more than 10 years away :(
I genuinly fear for this. It will probably come with "trusted computing" and other such privacy destroying, expensive nonsense.
I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER, enter such an arrangement. No, you can have my digital privacy when you can pry my Ubuntu Laptop from my cold dead hands! :mad: