Re:Ubuntu for Android
by javajosh on Tuesday February 21, 2012 @03:58PM
(#3618066)
> I log in to my cloud desktop using whatever dumb machine is available, and off I go.
Unfortunately there is no way to verify that that machine is actually "dumb". Fundamentally this is because modern computation and storage are microscopic phenomena. Even today we take it as an act of faith that our freshly produced electronics only do what the manufacturers say - and this is an ongoing problem for US defense contractors that outsource component manufacture to China.
This problem is also experienced by travelers who expect a "dumb browser" at the internet cafe, when in fact they are being key logged.
> What benefits do we stand to gain from still having things run or be stored on a local machine?
There are a few, such as statefulness that is maintained even without network connectivity. But the big one is that, presumably, "your" device is more trustworthy than a dumb terminal because, at the very least, you haven't acted to subvert your own security (although even this is often not the case).
Unfortunately there is no way to verify that that machine is actually "dumb". Fundamentally this is because modern computation and storage are microscopic phenomena. Even today we take it as an act of faith that our freshly produced electronics only do what the manufacturers say - and this is an ongoing problem for US defense contractors that outsource component manufacture to China.
This problem is also experienced by travelers who expect a "dumb browser" at the internet cafe, when in fact they are being key logged.
> What benefits do we stand to gain from still having things run or be stored on a local machine?
There are a few, such as statefulness that is maintained even without network connectivity. But the big one is that, presumably, "your" device is more trustworthy than a dumb terminal because, at the very least, you haven't acted to subvert your own security (although even this is often not the case).