Cloud Fears

Or your Mac....sorry Jack and Allen[;)]

I agree. I don't see Logos going to a cloud system for that very reason. It is a great system when it works but it is far too vulnerable and internet connections are not always dependable either. Our DSL was out for two weeks a couple of months ago at the church. I would have been in a world of hurt if all my logos materials were online only.

Aaron

St. Luke 9:34:

As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  

Bob Pritchett said:

So I see a future in which consumer applications (like Logos Bible Software) are, by definition, cloud applications. For example, Gmail is a consumer email client, Google's attempts to sell it to business not-withstanding. Nobody complains that Gmail runs on Google's servers.

This was marginally true at the time it was posted but is less true today and is growing increasingly less true as time passes. I have no real paranoia about having my information in the cloud and am not a real "privacy" person but there is an issue of trust that Google is seeing erode. As people find out the specifics of the personal search and consumption patterns stored and used for statistics and algorithm tuning they are increasingly growing weary. Facebook is facing the same fallout. Now, there is a fundamental difference in the business models that is VERY important: Google and Facebook do not "charge" for their services but the fee you pay for the right to use mail and social media is your historical usage data, your circle of association (friends, colleagues, family), and your eyes as advertising is presented in sometimes subtle and sometimes invisible ways. Now, Logos charges for their fine product so the cloud is a whole different ball of wax. In a pay product the cloud should only be about convenience and availability and not about cross marketing. Do I trust Logos to protect my sensitive information more than Google from a business ethics standpoint? Yes. Do I believe they have the same ability (information and infrastructure security)? No because they do not have the resource base to hire the type of people that Google does. They also are a smaller target which mitigates some but not all of the risk. The whole cloud computing approach is much like everything else in life in that it has layers of complexity and subtle distinctions that aren't apparent without careful thought. I trust Bob and crew are doing this. I imagine his comparison to Gmail was not meant to be stretched too far as an analogy.

I for one like this hybrid approach they have created as it allows me the best part of the cloud in syncing and everywhere availability. I also can opt out completely if I want. Bob, please keep this model and don't drink the cloud kool aid too deeply. I do not share the belief that most future consumer application will be definitively cloud based. I have been around IT long enough to see these trends come and go. Cloud will make some permanent impact on the landscape but much of its hype will die away as the backlash increases and the risks (ala Skype, T-Mobile Sidekick, Navitaire, etc.) become apparent.

Ralph A. Abernethy III said:

St. Luke 9:34:

As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  

The Sky Is Falling !!! ... The Sky Is Falling !!! [:^)]

Abi Gail said:

The Sky Is Falling !!! ... The Sky Is Falling !!!

Hopefully not.  My problem is that I don't wish to be tied down to always requiring an internet connection.  While I am normally connected at all times, I can envision circumstances when I may not be so I don't wish to have it as a necessity to do my work.  If they decided they wished to sell resourses and also rent them, I would not object, and rented resources could be "in the cloud" since I may want them for a limited time.  Any purchased resource I purchase should be permanently on my computer, and I should have the option to purchase or rent any resource they offer.

Robert Mullen said:

I for one like this hybrid approach they have created as it allows me the best part of the cloud in syncing and everywhere availability.

I agree with this analysis of the "hybrid" approach.  It seems to work well and combines the best of the PC and the cloud.  Logos has thought this out and applied it very well.  All well and good.

HOWEVER, I am concerned about the day that Logos operates at a reduced capacity (for whatever reason), or ceases to exist, or is bought out by a less committed company, or Martians arrive and take over the internet, or, worse yet, bureaucrats from the FCC arrive and take over the internet (hmmm ...), or whatever.  Then the cloud (hybrid or not) may not be our friend.  I can always back up all of my Logos resource and index files (and I do as a matter of hard lessons learned long ago), but if I had to reinstall the application with limited or no internet access, then things could/would get very dicey.  I can't help it ... I worry about that gossamer umbilical called the internet.

What I would like to see is the availability of an installation DVD  (updated, say, quarterly?) that does NOT require internet access, will fully install the latest L4 application, and will discover and install all of my backed-up resources and indexes.  Make it available at cost, by request or on a subscription basis. 

Although this has been suggested before, I think this one step would make most if not all of the cloud qualms quiet down ... and it would also make those with download caps a lot happier.

JRS said:

What I would like to see is the availability of an installation DVD  (updated, say, quarterly?) that does NOT require internet access, will fully install the latest L4 application, and will discover and install all of my backed-up resources and indexes.  Make it available at cost, by request or on a subscription basis. 

This would be a good idea, especially for missionaries, and others who have limited internet access.

It could even be implemented as a Pre-Pub to make sure that there were enough subscriptions to cover production and distribution costs.

MJ. Smith said:

So far there is no indication that Logos has any thoughts of moving off the PC.

The Mac version begs to differ.

Edit: I see I'm late to this joke

Notes and prayer lists, along with pretty much everything else, do sync.

MJ. Smith said:

George Somsel said:

  If someone who was going to be in Saudi Arabia where you can't take a bible into the country

Can I take my Bible into Saudi Arabia?
Yes, you are generally allowed to bring your Bible or other religious items with you as long as they are not intended to be used to try to convert Muslims.

Not to doubt your word on that, but I had been informed otherwise.  Could you therefore supply some kind of documentation or at least a personal anecdote regarding that?  Someone has their information wrong.

Type in notes or prayer list...watch the sync arrows spin. Then go to a second computer and  see those entries displayed. Seems to me, They Sync.

fgh said:

MJ. Smith said:

it corresponded to experience

And yet your very own State Department warns that even Christmas decorations (!) might be confiscated:

"Saudi customs authorities enforce strict regulations concerning importation into Saudi Arabia of such banned items as alcohol products, weapons, and any item that is held to be contrary to the tenets of Islam, such as pork products and pornography. Imported and domestic audiovisual media and reading matter are censored.

Saudi customs and postal officials broadly define what is contrary to Islam and therefore prohibited. Christmas decorations, fashion magazines, and "suggestive" videos may be confiscated and the owner subject to penalties and fines."

Such statements are precisely why I was (am?) of the opinion that bibles, etc are prohibited in Saudi Arabia.  I was trying to avoid the incessant drone of Christmas carols when I caught a talk show host's program in which he was telling how they were unable to take such items including tree decorations into Saudi so they manufactured their own and put them on some kind of plant.   (Don't think that I dislike Christmas carols since I like them very much -- I only like them for perhaps a week before Christmas)

George Somsel said:

MJ. Smith said:

George Somsel said:

  If someone who was going to be in Saudi Arabia where you can't take a bible into the country

Yes, you are generally allowed to bring your Bible or other religious items with you as long as they are not intended to be used to try to convert Muslims.

 

Not to doubt your word on that, but I had been informed otherwise.  Could you therefore supply some kind of documentation or at least a personal anecdote regarding that?  Someone has their information wrong.

I believe it was in Gulf War I, I read about the troops from the US based there, and was a bit offended they were not allowed to wear a cross, but I know they were allowed to keep their crosses and Bibles just out of any public view (now the soldiers might have been a one time exception). I do believe the concept of evangelization is the main concern for all muslims. I do understand it fully, in the middle ages, the muslims were ravaged by european crusaders, forced to convert and then often killed them to ensure the didn't backslide. 

Originally Islam was very tolerant of people of the book (Jews or Christians) as long as they didn't proselytize, they were to be left alone to worship God in their own way somewhat similar to the way most Christians leave Jews to worship God, though we feel a fuller revelation of god through the Messiah , Who was Jesus.

-dan

MJ. Smith said:

The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in
the Middle East, Africa, and Asia--and How It Died is an excellent and balanced introduction both to what Islam did and didn't do. Like most human behavior there are high points and low points.

I was about to say "put it in Suggestions!", but at the last minute I did a search and found you already had. [:)] 

Here it is, for anyone wanting to add their thumbs-up: http://community.logos.com/forums/p/18459/138967.aspx#138967. (I'm afraid I hijacked it a bit. Hope you don't mind too much.)