2010/11/17 Harold Fuchs <hwfa.libreoff...@gmail.com> > On 17/11/2010 18:54, Harold Fuchs wrote: > >> On 17/11/2010 18:22, jonathon wrote: >> >>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >>> Hash: SHA1 >>> >>> On 11/17/2010 04:25 PM, Mirek M. wrote: >>> >>> I'd say that a web app should have higher priority here, >>>> >>> >>> This should be an independent project. >>> >>> In an ideal world, the code would be modular and clearly commented, so >>> that any developer could pick up various pieces, either to port it to a >>> new platform/OS, or to refine them a specialized function. >>> >>> web apps work on all platforms with a modern browser >>>> >>> >>> The Internet is not always available. And where it is available, it is >>> not always cheap. >>> [ The data plan for my smartphone costs double that of my cable >>> connection, but only offers 1/10,000 of the data transfer that my cable >>> connection offers. Data transfer surcharges can reach US$1.00 per >>> kilobyte. (Data transfer, not data speed.) ] >>> >>> an open-source web app has many more possible uses than a desktop app; >>>> >>> >>> The number of potential users is meaningless. What counts is the number >>> of people that can, and will use it. >>> >>> the mobile OS market is still pretty unstable: there's no clear >>>> >>> platform to develop for. >>> >>> If you are waiting for a clear platform to develop for, you will wait >>> forever. >>> >>> At best, there will be three dominant platforms for mobile devices, and >>> three dominant platforms for desktop devices, and three dominant >>> platforms for gaming consoles, for a total of ten different platforms to >>> code for. >>> >>> The worst case scenario is that there will be five dominant mobile >>> device platforms, with another five dominant desktop platforms with >>> another five dominant gaming consoles, for a total of sixteen different >>> platforms to code for. >>> >>> In either instance, you are looking at between twenty and thirty >>> different platforms, in order to support user-expectations, in terms of >>> cross-platform availability. >>> >>> all the other mobile operating systems haven't yet reached the level of >>>> >>> marketshare that iOS and Android have. >>> >>> 2010 2Q Marketshare >>> Symbian: 41.2% >>> RIM: 18.2% >>> Android: 17.2% >>> iOS: 14.2% >>> WinMO: 5% >>> Linux: 2.4% >>> Other: 1.8% >>> >>> Source: http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1421013 (August 2010) >>> >>> To call Android and iOS marketshare leaders, when they are more than >>> twenty percentage points behind the OS with the highest market >>> penetration reveals a lack of knowledge of mobile device marketshare. >>> >>> Compared to 2009 2Q the marketshare is not there either: >>> Symbian: 51.0% >>> RIM: 19.0% >>> iOS: 13.0% >>> WinMo: 9.3% >>> Linux: 4.6% >>> Android: 1.8% >>> Other: 1.2% >>> >>> * Symbian will probably retain first position, but it won't have the >>> thirty percentage point advantage in marketshare that it used to have; >>> * Due to manufacturing issues, iOS won't get above 20% --- if it can >>> even get that high; >>> * Android will flatten out at between 20% and 25%. >>> * Assuming RIM can satisfy the voyeurism that afflicts government >>> agencies, it should hold steady at between 15% and 20%. >>> * The other platforms will be holding their breath, wondering if their >>> oxygen supply will extinguish them; >>> >>> jonathon >> >> >> I think there's another consideration here: security. >> >> What guarantees do cloud service operators give about the security of >> any document I may store on its server? What prevents the operator's >> employees or ex-employees accessing my documents? What prevents drive-by >> hackers accessing my documents? What prevents someone targetting me >> accessing my documents? What prevents someone targetting the service >> provider accessing my documents? Can I set passwords on my documents? I >> suppose I could encrypt my document but most people probably don't have >> this technology readily available (see below). >> >> What guarantees do cloud service operators give about the backing-up and >> subsequent recovery of any document I may store on its server? >> >> What guarantees do cloud service operators give about the availability >> of any document I may store on its server? > > > > A large part of the point of a portable app is that I can put the whole >> kit and caboodle on an encrypted device if I want. Even without going to >> such lengths, the security, availability and back-up/recovery is up to >> me, not up to some unknown company whose procedures I cannot trust >> (based on fairly recent history in many cases) whatever its policies may >> say. > > I agree -- security is definitely an issue. But it's always going to be an issue, with everything that's online. There's always going to be a host that has access to everything you upload.
However, with an open-source web app, you get the options of: a) hosting the web app yourself, so that no third party has control over your files b) downloading the web app and running it offline > >> In several cases, storing documents on a server outside the owner's >> country (or geographic region) could well be illegal. >> >> I'm not at all convinced that people and, more particularly, >> corporations, have really analysed the implications of web apps and >> cloud computing. When they do I don't think web apps will prove all that >> popular. > > Companies use web apps to share stuff. They've trusted and used e-mail for quite a while now, which is just as risky as any other web application. If you're writing something personal that you're not going to share with anyone, then you shouldn't be doing it on the web. And if you're writing something to share with others, there are always going to be security issues, no matter if you use a web application from the start or just upload your files to one. As I said, the benefit of an open source office suite is that a company (or even an individual) can host and secure the suite itself. Call me a Luddite if you like but ... >> >> >> > Sorry to reply to my own post but there's something I forgot: > > What guarantees do I get that a document I prepare today will be properly > processable by the web app provider's software tomorrow? Do I have any > control over the version of the software I use? It should be possible to make this web app run offline. Ideally, you should be able to download the web app and run it in a browser from your own computer. No security issues there, because nothing's being sent online. > > > -- > Harold Fuchs > London, England > > > -- > Unsubscribe instructions: Email to > discuss+h...@documentfoundation.org<discuss%2bh...@documentfoundation.org> > Posting guidelines: http://netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html > Archive: http://www.documentfoundation.org/lists/discuss/ > *** All posts to this list are publicly archived *** > > -- Unsubscribe instructions: Email to discuss+h...@documentfoundation.org Posting guidelines: http://netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html Archive: http://www.documentfoundation.org/lists/discuss/ *** All posts to this list are publicly archived ***
