How do you use the cloud?

[mangocrazy]

This thread was sparked mainly by watching a Panorama programme - Is the cloud damaging the planet? If you want to watch it, it's here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hzb3

Despite its innocuous and fluffy name the cloud uses gargantuan amounts of power and water. Its use is ubiquitous - as I type this I'm adding to the petabytes of data already held in cloud storage. Every time I post to Facebook or write an email, I'm adding more data to the sum of digital overload. On a purely personal level, I do consciously limit what I put on the cloud. Aside from the occasional social media/forum post, none of my digital photo images are stored there; they're all on hard disks attached to my computers. The same is true for all the CDs I've ripped, the vinyl I've digitised, and the iPlayer content I've downloaded.

This isn't because I'm trying to save the planet, it's because I want to keep my data under my control. 'Keep your friends close, but your data closer', if you will. Why would I honestly want to put my personal data on a computer, the whereabouts of which I have no idea? It could be in the UK, in the US, or anywhere.

So what are your views on the cloud? Do you actually have any? How much of your data do you store on the cloud? Is it even a concern to you? I'd be very interested to hear folk's views.

[weeksy]

Hotmail. That's it.

Well, I own the forum here too. But that's it.

At work I look after many servers, some virtual, some physical, but all internal. Even Citrix etc we host internally. We did look at and train up on AWS, Amazon web services for hosting, but it's all internal.

I guess my Flickr account is classed as cloud. I don't actively use FB etc

[KungFooBob]

[mangocrazy]

See my signature...

[KungFooBob]

See my signature...

I can't I've got sigs, avatars, profile pics and all that other bollocks turned off... it's just a waste of bandwidth

[mangocrazy]

See my signature...

I can't I've got sigs, avatars, profile pics and all that other bollocks turned off... it's just a waste of bandwidth

Are you on dial-up?

[KungFooBob]

See my signature...

I can't I've got sigs, avatars, profile pics and all that other bollocks turned off... it's just a waste of bandwidth

Are you on dial-up?

Nah, I just turn all the crap off as it makes the forum less noticeable when someone walks past my desk at work.

[weeksy]

I can't I've got sigs, avatars, profile pics and all that other bollocks turned off... it's just a waste of bandwidth

Are you on dial-up?

Nah, I just turn all the crap off as it makes the forum less noticeable when someone walks past my desk at work.

What's a desk?

My lad walks past the sofa sometimes

[cheb]

See my signature...

I can't I've got sigs, avatars, profile pics and all that other bollocks turned off... it's just a waste of bandwidth

That, and because I don't want to see the same shit at the bottom of each post.

[Count Steer]

The Panorama programme was a bit of an eye opener. Not just because there are data centres (I did proposals where they wanted to host data in Docklands of all places) but the scale and, what just appears to be stupidity of location is just

My total personal footprint is less than 1Gb I'd guess. Have gmail accounts but I only really consciously started using cloud services recently in order to synch a few notes and sheets across phone, tablet and laptop. Before that I had about 20 photos on Instagram but stopped putting stuff on ages ago and a photo back-up that I did, just because, over 5 years ago (got several, mostly empty, 1Tb USB discs for back-ups).

However, I use Spotify, i-player, Amazon etc etc etc so actually it's more than a few photos and emails if you count my share of those sort of things.

[MyLittleStudPony]

Listen to Davy Joyce. "It was ye that started all this internet shit, the computers".



Foight with the hands! We can all show our body. Foight with the hands!

[Count Steer]

I can't I've got sigs, avatars, profile pics and all that other bollocks turned off... it's just a waste of bandwidth

Are you on dial-up?

Nah, I just turn all the crap off as it makes the forum less noticeable when someone walks past my desk at work.

So, you never see what people put in their sigs then KFB? Hmmm.

[KungFooBob]

Nope.

[Count Steer]

Good.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Hotmail. That's it.

Well, I own the forum here too. But that's it.

At work I look after many servers, some virtual, some physical, but all internal. Even Citrix etc we host internally. We did look at and train up on AWS, Amazon web services for hosting, but it's all internal.

I guess my Flickr account is classed as cloud. I don't actively use FB etc

The idiots I work for are pushing to do the opposite and have the business dependant on Azure hosted servers, it will end in tears, hopefully after I've retired.

[KungFooBob]

Hotmail. That's it.

Well, I own the forum here too. But that's it.

At work I look after many servers, some virtual, some physical, but all internal. Even Citrix etc we host internally. We did look at and train up on AWS, Amazon web services for hosting, but it's all internal.

I guess my Flickr account is classed as cloud. I don't actively use FB etc

The idiots I work for are pushing to do the opposite and have the business dependant on Azure hosted servers, it will end in tears, hopefully after I've retired.

It's the future man, I'm almost as big an IT dinosaur as you, but even I know the days of on-prem servers and infrastructure are numbered.

[MrLongbeard]

Personally 7.6 gigs on Google services + 400 photos on Flickr.
Professionally, sooo sooo much more, so many emails, directives, accident reports, autopsy data, interpretation docs, standards etc etc etc just floating about, 20+ years worth and growing

[mangocrazy]

Prior to retirement I worked for a 'major UK Bank' in their IT department. Over time senior management who had been in place for years were replaced by new comers from the other major UK banks, who in turn bought their mates in to guard their backs. It was at this point that it became fashionable to let it be known that you were investigating cloud tech. Sure enough, contracts were signed and the Bank started placing Bank data on the cloud.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

You go from a situation where you have complete control of sensitive data, where it's placed, how often it's backed up etc. to effectively no control. Absolute madness. But because it was the cool thing to do, it went ahead. I'm so glad I'm out of it all.

[KungFooBob]

Prior to retirement I worked for a 'major UK Bank' in their IT department. Over time senior management who had been in place for years were replaced by new comers from the other major UK banks, who in turn bought their mates in to guard their backs. It was at this point that it became fashionable to let it be known that you were investigating cloud tech. Sure enough, contracts were signed and the Bank started placing Bank data on the cloud.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

You go from a situation where you have complete control of sensitive data, where it's placed, how often it's backed up etc. to effectively no control. Absolute madness. But because it was the cool thing to do, it went ahead. I'm so glad I'm out of it all.

HSBC at Tankersley?

[mangocrazy]

I couldn't possibly comment.