On 03/02/10 17:24, Terry Coles wrote: > On Wednesday 03 Feb 2010, Dan Dart wrote: > >> But remember the AGPL is to fix the cloud loophole. >> > That might fix the software problem, assuming that the provider takes any > notice of your bug reports and patches, but it won't fix the potential for > data loss. >
I think the best option here is to let you easily takes copies of all the data they're storing for you. Since it might be quite a lot of data, an "open cloud" service should let you sideload your data onto a storage platform like S3, or get it delivered by courier/snailmail. Another danger of cloud services is that even if your data is safe, you're relying upon the service still being available tomorrow, and under terms which are still reasonable. With FOSS software on your PC, if the developers pack up shop, you still have your software. With a cloud service, you've lost your software. If the code is available, that can help, but in practice most people aren't going to have the knowledge to set up, secure and maintain local web and database servers. A defense against that is to provide data in a widely used open format. e.g. an "open cloud" office suite would let you download ODF versions of your documents. Another defense is to make it relatively easy to run the code without needing a full server environment. e.g. Use sqlite for data storage and combine the server and browser in one program. Bonus points for providing an HTML5 "Offline Web Application" when browser support exists. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Wed 2010-02-03 20:00 http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2645413 Chat: http://www.mibbit.com/?server=irc.blitzed.org&channel=%23dorset List info: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/dorset
