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Why do sites like TechCrunch use "cloud" in place of "internet?" Is it another buzzword to make old things seem new in order to make money?
by bonch 16y ago
Why do sites like TechCrunch use "cloud" in place of "internet?" Is it another buzzword to make old things seem new in order to make money?
- scrod 16y agoThe "Cloud" concept is much more profit-friendly than that of the general "Internet". Whereas the latter emphasizes decentralized control and is, in the most fundamental sense, a product of the cooperation of all participating network operators, the former largely subverts that concept in the name of walled-gardens, rented software, massive centralized server farms, and pervasive, coordinated surveillance. More specifically, the "Cloud" represents a great achievement in deploying open-source software (which was otherwise built for anyone to use) in closed server-based environments such that its users: 1) lose the freedom to run that software in any way they choose, 2) lose the freedom to modify that software, and 3) even lose control of their own information that they produced with the software.