In the future, any computer you lay your hands on will be your computer.

Submitted by ApocalypseSpokesman t3_zbk743 in Futurology

Think of a landline telephone. It's just a piece of hardware. When you pick it up and dial a number, nothing really distinguishes it from millions of others.

Likewise, you will be able to roll up to any laptop anywhere in the world, log in, provide biometrics, and it will be functionally your device. Because the physical device itself will just be a container that runs the disk image corresponding to the things that constitute your computer--your downloaded apps, the documents and images on your hard drive, your browser history--which exist on AWS or a similar cloud environment. In the same way a Macbook can run a Windows partition, this container will be OS agnostic.

Also, there will be some inducement (carrot or stick or both) to keep webcams and mics on as often as possible, because that's data that someone can benefit off of.

Speculation 20-30 years out.

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LarryGumball t1_iyrjj3r wrote

Already possible via web browsers and passwords. And as you said aws and cloud environments.

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ApocalypseSpokesman OP t1_iyrp9x7 wrote

Possible in some particular situations, yes, but not the norm.

I can't just go over to my friend's house or the library and have access to everything that's on my hard drive.

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LarryGumball t1_iyrq0hj wrote

I would argue that's more your fault for not setting it up. I have a media computer I can access pretty much anywhere to watch or game. Only con being the network speed. I could do the same without the computer by having it on a cloud server but choose not to. And with the method of connecting to said device being done via https it can pretty much be logged into from any device that has a browser.

Most computer towers and laptops I've worked with also allow booting from network.

I could go on but you can already do this if your willing to set it up there's just been no consumer demand for this yet. As I have seen this in corporate networks with thin clients and vms (thou you could launch the connection to the vm via software on a thick tower).

Edit: also Chromebooks and their kin are this to a lesser degree

Point I'm making is fully possible now just why would everyone want this instead of having a personal device?

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SomeoneSomewhere1984 t1_iysc3zz wrote

You've just described a thin client, and they've been around forever and haven't taken off. ChromeOS is closest to this in the consumer space.

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AboveAverageIQtoo t1_iyrramv wrote

As others have already commented it's basically possible now. That said, atm I wouldn't trust a computer to be spyware free and not grab passwords or personal info. Perhaps it would be safer in the future.

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fwubglubbel t1_iyuli7z wrote

It is a terrifying thought that people are so trusting to corporations with their innermost secrets. There is a lot of personal info on my computers and on separate hard drives for good reason. My (and my wife's) art, music, writing, finances, legal, etc., not to mention our homemade Jetsons/Flintstones mashup porn videos. Fuck giving all that to AWS.

I'm guessing that you are young and have no data of value, or no value of privacy.

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professor_mc t1_iyrouqs wrote

It is already like that for the most part. At work I can log in on any computer in any building and get all my apps and files. At home I can access all the same apps and files from my desktop, phone and multiple tablets. There will always be some limits since people only want authorized users to access devices.

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cyclingthroughlife t1_iytil6c wrote

We're currently doing research as part of a federally funded research grant that is looking at the future of the Internet of Things, and where federal research investments and resources should be directed. One of the things that we believe will happen is the concept of pervasive computing, and that some of the processing workloads could be assigned on a dynamic as needed basis on a network of available edge servers and even on the device itself. This is more for machine to machine processing of workloads.

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Fit_Pirate_3139 t1_iytsjgb wrote

So if the wifi is down, then what? Does it run slower then a 486?

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cyclingthroughlife t1_iytw1zo wrote

In those applications where it is mission critical, where connectivity is unreliable, or where it is latency sensitive, the processing is done on the device. For example, autonomous vehicles do a lot of the processing within the vehicle itself. Another use case application could be on a mining excavator located in a remote area far from any connectivity. Another example are IoT applications on offshore oil platforms.

But that said, there are companies that are providing a network of edge servers. One company we spoke with is trying to deploy a network of edge servers in traffic cabinets (for autonomous vehicle applications). In this case, the connectivity method of choice will be cellular (5G). I believe they are running a pilot now out in Texas.

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Fit_Pirate_3139 t1_iytsmx3 wrote

The catch is, what about the ones of us who like to be offline? We still need local resources to do the work.

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YourWiseOldFriend t1_iytti43 wrote

>because that's data that someone can benefit off of.

So, I'll be providing that data to 'someone' gratis, free of charge, costs them nothing. Awesome.

Also, all your data is 'in the cloud'. One day there's 'an event' and POOF all my data are irretrievably gone and thank you for playing.

The Chinese are already being controlled by their app that the government can switch the pandemic condition off to 'orange' or 'red' and now they're 'quarantined' wherever they are so they can't move.

But sure, put my data beyond my control, I feel so much safer now. At least somebody other than myself could benefit from knowing when and where my face was at some time in the past.

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[deleted] t1_iyumouw wrote

In this scenario you don't actually own any of the things you describe.

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exalw t1_iyrjbkl wrote

Interesting prognosis, especially since 'landline telephones' actually did the reverse, probably because the industry profites much more from overproducing, any opinions on that OP?

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ApocalypseSpokesman OP t1_iyroyml wrote

That's a fair point, but the ones in this case who will be profiting will be the cloud service providers, just another service hundreds of millions of people are paying for in perpetuity.

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HToTD t1_iyrv10f wrote

Richard Stallman pushed for a version of this reality as early as the 1970s. He had a significant number of people at MIT using blank usernames and passwords in order to make it happen.

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qepdibpbfessttrud t1_iytd368 wrote

More likely that devices for keeping personal data and specific personal computations will shrink and eventually be cybernetic powered by the body, meanwhile the cloud compute will be AI-powered with your profiles grabbed from the Net into a terminal u are connecting to play or work

I doubt that personal compute is going away completely. Private keys will play an increasing role of valuable data that needs to be kept secret

Cameras and microphones will be everywhere, that's for sure. I think that some people will be walking around and streaming directly from their brain once the tech is ready

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multiverse_robot t1_iytdjlp wrote

the landline telephone anology doesn't make sense. a landline telephone doesn't hold a user's state. if it does hold an address book or something.. that is not available to the user when they use a different landline telephone

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vasjpan02 t1_iytqtsq wrote

ha, that was the 1980s promise. in fact this cycles every generation, from central (then mainframe now cloud) to personal, because users keep trying to shake loose from self-aggrandising tek/it/dp/mis fud(fear,uncertainty, doubt)

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AdvertisingFree4150 t1_iyuh8q2 wrote

maybe if home users or work user opt for it but i doubt most will. people like privacy and companies need privacy.

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CopperKing71 t1_iyumsf1 wrote

Also the same as carrying around a Live CD on a USB. Plug in USB and boot on any hardware. Also, Windows has a similar functionality, Windows-to-Go or something ...

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RedditeName t1_iyvqzye wrote

I can already load my data anywhere and access it. This statement assumes that all operating systems will be homogenized and local processing power is irrelevant.

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Poly_and_RA t1_izlcuwl wrote

How can you ever trust it? If you type text on someone elses keyboard; how can you ever know that it's NOT recording every key you press and transmit it to some third party? How can you know it's NOT secretly making a copy of all your personal data?

And what's the benefit? People have already been carrying personal computers around for more than a decade; we call them mobile phones. They fit in a pocket. Trying to borrow some random hardware instead of having your own hardware would provide which benefit(s) precisely? 

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apemental t1_iytv4ex wrote

Sounds like an extension of accessing your email account on a library computer or using your Uber account on a fleet of cars.

I'm all for it as long as the identity service isn't centralized. Maybe a decentralized id blockchain used by the Googles and Ubers and aws of the future.

That being said, some people will always want their own Ferrari or gaming rig at home.

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