Monday, June 7, 2010

Coming of the Cloud

The future of technology is almost here. It is cloud computing and it will trade your privacy for security. Most people won't even notice the difference.

Wired Magazine article on Microsoft's coming cloud

I really do hope you will read the article, it is important to your future. The basics are that you will put all of your information, photos, phone logs, texts, twitters, documents, contacts, everything on servers controlled by Google or Microsoft or whoever. Nothing will be on your computer, not even software, it will merely be a conduit to access your information.

The benefits of this technology is that the programs you use will always be current, your computer will be cheaper, you will have access to programs on demand, you will be able to access your information from anywhere using multiple technologies including your television. The downside, others will have access to all your information, others will be able to profile you and your actions better and you can be denied access to your information completely.

Consider the consequences of where we are headed. If you can access any book online then why would we have libraries? Libraries are expensive, books are made from trees, cities and counties are cash strapped. Eventually there will be a move to prohibit, or make very expensive, the printing of anything on paper. It will be considered outdated and eco-terrorism.

These things will not happen overnight but they will happen. What then happens to alternate view points, how do they get communicated? A couple of years ago I began talking to people about the coming censorship of the internet. At the time I was looking at England, China and Australia. Some laughed at me, one in particular ended up moving to Australia. Australia now filters the internet. Couldn't happen here.

If you want to know what is going to happen in the future, look at the infrastructure being put in place. Ask yourself what can be done with the infrastructure and I guarantee you, somebody will use it in that manner. That is just a question of time. It is history.

Here is an article on Julian Assange, the founder of wikileaks. They are the ones who posted the video of soldiers killing unarmed people in Iraq. They also posted the climategate e-mails and Sarah Palin's private e-mails. People read about what he does and miss the bigger picture. Nothing done online is private.

Assange posted Scientology manuals on-line. When they complained, he published more. I am no fan of Scientology, I have already posted on it's founder. But lets look at how the information was used. It was used with a "If you don't like it, I will publish more of your private information" attitude. Do you really think that if Assange can get the information that the government can't do the same?

The Pentagon will demand access to your computer networks.

Interesting article on telephone companies relationship to the government

Now if you think these things cannot happen, some of them already did, you just don't know it. Google docs obtained by FBI. For those who don't believe, go back to sleep, it couldn't happen here.