Microsoft's new CEO - Satya Nadella

[n4gix 4,958]

With regards the "the Cloud," Dillon does bring up a valid point. So much is happening now that is totally transparent to the ordinary user.

 

As an example, I had absolutely no idea that every picture I take with my new Nokia Lumia "smart phone" (WinPhone OS) is being automatically uploaded to my "Skydrive" account. For that matter, I didn't even know I had a "Skydrive" account.

 

Not to "gross anyone out," I will simply state that I had a sore in a place that I could not see, so I used my phone's camera to snap several shots so that I could see if it was something I needed my dermatologist to look into.

 

Imagine now my horror to discover that those photos were on the "Cloud" in my so-called secure-from-prying-eyes "Skydrive" account! They were very quickly deleted of course... :shok:

 

My point is simply that we don't really know just what is going on with our information behind our backs, or at least not without digging really deep into issues of which the ordinary non-technical person is completely unaware!

[Luke 782]

Given the state of the average person's technical understanding and their PC, I would venture that the cloud is a lot safer than their own personal machines from a data security and integrity standpoint.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

 

PS: Agree that the sore looks ugly, but a round of anti-fungals should wipe it out in a week. Don't ask how I know.

[january 19]

About 70 years ago, long before computers had even been dreamed of, my father gave me some excellent advice- "Son- never put anything on paper that you wouldn't want read in court".

Still good advice in the computer age.

january

[Dillon 2,198]

Given the state of the average person's technical understanding and their PC, I would venture that the cloud is a lot safer than their own personal machines from a data security and integrity standpoint.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

 

PS: Agree that the sore looks ugly, but a round of anti-fungals should wipe it out in a week. Don't ask how I know.

 

What's amazing and troubling is how comfortable people are with their info stored in places and servers they know nothing about. In what country are these cloud servers hosted, where's the buildings, does Google or others actually own these servers or is all this contracted out (like everything else)? Most aren't fully educated to what's going on behind the scenes yet are so comfortable recommending and using these solutions. In America for the sake of convenience we without question adopt things we know nothing about. I did this with Walmart. I had no idea what was going on in China to get products in stores. Are all these cloud servers housed in China or backed up in China? Always educate yourself on something before you blindly use it.

[Luke 782]

 

Are all these cloud servers housed in China or backed up in China?

 

Fortunately for us, while Moore's Law is going strong c is quite immutable. You simply can't have servers halfway around the world.

 

Cheers!

Luke

[Dillon 2,198]

Fortunately for us, while Moore's Law is going strong c is quite immutable. You simply can't have servers halfway around the world.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

Google's data center locations:

 

http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/04/11/map-of-all-google-data-center-locations/

 

Can't find Facebook (outside of Prineville Oregon), Apple's, and Microsoft data center locations where they store huge amounts of user data. I did find Apple is building a new location next to Facebook in Oregon.

 

Now back to discussing Microsoft's new CEO with hopes of alternatives for various needs and a return of products that made MS over the years like what the gaming department was producing.

[Luke 782]

 

 

Google's data center locations:

 

Do you understand why they are all over the world - because the users are. There's no point in moving the data away from the users, so I'm not worried about where the servers are. They're near me. They're not going to get contracted out because the servers are valuable based on the data within them.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[Dillon 2,198]

Do you understand why they are all over the world - because the users are. There's no point in moving the data away from the users, so I'm not worried about where the servers are. They're near me. They're not going to get contracted out because the servers are valuable based on the data within them.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

 

That's all speculation. No one knows what the real policies are, the corners cut to save money, or hot/warm sites for backup or resource sharing with third party companies. Speculation is not good enough for me when we're talking about people's SSN's, addresses, personal photos etc... Everyone can do what they feel is best but we all too often end up appauled when a CNN/PBS report expose what's actually happening to save money and maximize profit. The consquence is we should have all vetted these solutions out before we blindly adopted them. We can speculate and guess with FS add-ons but this Cloud thing is far more serious as to how personal data can be abused especially when half this stuff is offered for free. I'm not buying into it just like I didn't buy into the constant rise in housing prices without a rise in wages. The bubble had to burst at some point. With the Cloud like the NSA just doesn't pass the smell test.

 

 

As far as MS is concerned I hope we have options and not have a MS account required for all software use with Microsoft sniffing around like Google on an Android watching everything you do.

[Proof 0]

Agree, no impact to flight simulation and it's very likely MS will drop XBox also ... the PS4 is out selling XBox by almost 2:1 and more importantly the titles for PS4 are out selling the same title on XBox.  I can't see Microsoft trying to stay in the "entertainment" game.

I sincerely hope they don't drop Xbox. I picked it over the PS3 for a reason. However, given how much better the PS4 is doing than the Xbox One, that's a different story. I don't think Microsoft should just drop out of the "entertainment" game though. There is room for so much improvement that they could do.

[Luke 782]

 

 

That's all speculation. No one knows what the real policies are, the corners cut to save money, or hot/warm sites for backup or resource sharing with third party companies. Speculation is not good enough for me

 

It's not speculation; I work on digital properties that need to be accessed across the world with minimal latency. We work with CDNs and other Internet firms to get something close to the same local points of presence without building a data center infrastructure, but that's only because our workload supports it.

 

You're not building widgets here. If you want live access to data, you're limited by that pesky c to being around 1000mi away from your users, tops. Add on top of that expensive and limited intercontinental bandwidth, unreliable power and poorer infrastructure and there's no economic rationale to building a data center in a cheaper Third World nation, unless your users are there. Perhaps you can explain to me the economics of Third World data centers, it's lost on me and my peers. Even in the US, Amazon builds two major data centers for AWS, one on each cost (and in relatively expensive parts of the coast, to boot.) There's a reason for that.

 

Unfortunately, you're going to see more and more data collection because the infrastructure is there to do so (and predates cloud by a few years) and users put a price on their privacy that is in most cases lower than the value of the service they receive. If you could get FS for $5 in return for Microsoft recording all of your aircraft and flight paths I imagine most people would happily do so. It would likely provide a better product too. I collect all sorts of data from my users and over time it creates all sorts of interesting new product opportunities.

 

Cheers!

Luke

[Dillon 2,198]

It's not speculation; I work on digital properties that need to be accessed across the world with minimal latency. We work with CDNs and other Internet firms to get something close to the same local points of presence without building a data center infrastructure, but that's only because our workload supports it.

 

You're not building widgets here. If you want live access to data, you're limited by that pesky c to being around 1000mi away from your users, tops. Add on top of that expensive and limited intercontinental bandwidth, unreliable power and poorer infrastructure and there's no economic rationale to building a data center in a cheaper Third World nation, unless your users are there. Perhaps you can explain to me the economics of Third World data centers, it's lost on me and my peers. Even in the US, Amazon builds two major data centers for AWS, one on each cost (and in relatively expensive parts of the coast, to boot.) There's a reason for that.

 

Unfortunately, you're going to see more and more data collection because the infrastructure is there to do so (and predates cloud by a few years) and users put a price on their privacy that is in most cases lower than the value of the service they receive. If you could get FS for $5 in return for Microsoft recording all of your aircraft and flight paths I imagine most people would happily do so. It would likely provide a better product too. I collect all sorts of data from my users and over time it creates all sorts of interesting new product opportunities.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

This all sounds good on paper and I'm sure you all are crossing your T's and dotting your I's. Problem is that standard doesn't stay constant with companies especially when they start merging and renaming themselves. The troubling thing you said at the end was marketing. Am I giving you my information so you can flood me with solicitations? That's unwanted intrusiveness.

[goates 576]

Actually, one of the challenges facing the new Microsoft CEO is the location of their data centres, in particular the fact that many are based in the US. Indeed, Microsoft is starting to offer clients the option to have their data stored outside of the US.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/22/5335434/microsoft-offers-overseas-data-storage-in-response-to-nsa-concerns

 

With the recent NSA revelations, more and more people and businesses outside the US are starting to move their data to providers outside of the US's jurisdiction. Some providers, such as MEGA (Germany), Sync.com (Toronto) and hubiC (France), explicitly state where their data centres are located, and have designed their services so that they do not have access to the data themselves (i.e. the data is all encrypted client side). Dropbox, for example, does have access to all of their user's data.

 

At the end of the day, yes, if there is something you really don't want others getting access, do not save it online anywhere. However, there is a good deal of data where having a cloud storage service does make life a little easier. Sharing photos and other files with family and friends, or syncing them between multiple computers/devices, for example. 

Google's data center locations:

http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/04/11/map-of-all-google-data-center-locations/

Can't find Facebook (outside of Prineville Oregon), Apple's, and Microsoft data center locations where they store huge amounts of user data. I did find Apple is building a new location next to Facebook in Oregon.

Now back to discussing Microsoft's new CEO with hopes of alternatives for various needs and a return of products that made MS over the years like what the gaming department was producing.

 

Most don't exactly hide their data centre locations.

 

Apple:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-21/apple-says-data-centers-now-use-100-renewable-energy.html

 

Facebook:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-03/facebooks-new-data-center-in-sweden-puts-the-heat-on-hardware-makers

 

Microsoft:

https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2013/09/09/microsoft-data-center-expansion/

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/02/microsofts-data-center/

[january 19]

One has to think that perhaps George Orwell was on to something with his book "1984" .

january