RANT: Cloud of this, IoT of that . . .

[yyrkoon 250]

So, am I the only one who is getting tired of hearing about "the cloud of this" or "the IoT of that" ?

 

Networking has been around since when ? the 60's at least right. Then embedded devices date back to at minimum the '70's right ? So since when did this "rocket scientist" of a person decide to reinvent these ideas that have been around for tens of years. Known as "network connected storage", or network connected sensors" ?

 

It's almost as bad as someone proclaiming in public "Hey, dont use your hand, there is this new product known as toilette paper . . ."

 

Or am I worrying too much about this whole thing ? heh.
 

[zeke 693]

Ten years ago, IoT used to be labeled M2M or machine to machine. It was a fad as well.

 

It's crazy how marketing can make me feel like my work is worthless unless I implement "that one killer feature".

 

I think it's best for me to ignore the false sense of inadequacy and just be awesome at doing and making the things that I like.

[Rei Vilo 695]

Every new year comes with a new fad.

 

A couple of years ago, it was 3D printer. Then it was quadcopter. Now it is IoT.

 

From my perspective, IoT is a rash of technology still looking for the killing app.

 

IoT paramount? A guy checking a dashboard with a tablet on the seaside.

 

Not to forget the magic IoT is supposed to bring to every dumb things and make them smart.

 

Smart phones, smart watches, smart cars, smart cities, maybe smart guys?

 

And greenery as an extra bonus.

[yyrkoon 250]

It's crazy how marketing can make me feel like my work is worthless unless I implement "that one killer feature".

 

I think it's best for me to ignore the false sense of inadequacy and just be awesome at doing and making the things that I like.

This is kind of how I feel too. In the context of "the cloud" I feel useless because I do not know the technology. But then I stop, and think for a minute. Realizing that "the cloud" is more than likely just a software front end for network attached storage. For technologically challenged people. Who can not figure out how to use FTP, sshfs, NFS, etc. 

 

EDIT:

Now, if we stop and think about it even further. Technically this "front end" could possibly even be a UI for git, or something else very similar.

[yyrkoon 250]

Every new year comes with a new fad.

 

A couple of years ago, it was 3D printer. Then it was quadcopter. Now it is IoT.

 

From my perspective, IoT is a rash of technology still looking for the killing app.

 

IoT paramount? A guy checking a dashboard with a tablet on the seaside.

 

Not to forget the magic IoT is supposed to bring to every dumb things and make them smart.

 

Smart phones, smart watches, smart cars, smart cities, maybe smart guys?

 

And greenery as an extra bonus.

In the context of "the cloud" I would agree somewhat. Since "the cloud" is a way for technologically challenged people to get remote storage working fairly easily. But in the context of "IoT" I think "the internet of things" mantra really adds nothing useful into an already existing situation.

 

So, you could call SensorTAG peanut-butter apple sauce for all I care. But that does not add anything unique into a type of product, that makes it otherwise anything other than what it already was. A sensor, that is somehow connected to a network.

[spirilis 1,265]

The real problem always boils down to the ownership IMO. Cloud this, cloud that smells offensively to me of greedy entrepreneurs trying to shoehorn a rent-seeking paradigm into something that should be anything but. It's stunting the widespread adoption IMO by keeping it only within the realm of the wealthy and early-adopting type of folks. The terms themself in combination with the verbiage used around it defines the space of what people know and think about, to the marketer's advantage.

[pine 140]

In my humble opinion, these are like fashion of what we wear. It changes every so often, when someone with evangelistic mind and power of some sort (be it economic or established in certain field of the society) coined a term, marketing people found potential, and there we go again. Please don't get me wrong, by buzzwords I have no negative meaning to these terms (as they bear serious definitions behind and appears on academic papers), but merely describing these on perspective suitable on this topic.

 

Yes they tend to be overused with a vague definition, but on the bright side they are not necessary an evil as they arouse the interest of the public.

 

Consider this, from a scale of 0 to 10 of "awareness of an IoT technology", with buzzwords like this the score will be much higher than without it. More people may find interests in it (until they eventually landed on the TCP/IP network from last century and M2M technology last decade like we do). With buzzwords, technology can be more appealing to the general public.

 

Not all of these buzzwords will revolutionize anything. Fashion changes all the times, but how many "ties", "jackets", "cap" do we have in the past that last so long? These must have someone first do / invent / wear it the very first time, and at that time they were like buzzword. Yet they succeeded and lasted.

 

To the two terms IoT and cloud in the original topic, imho cloud is a much more successful in terms of revolutionizing computing. I tend to believe this is so because I always find myself easier to convey and explain cloud than IoT to others. The gist of it is utility computing that moves away the actual equipment from the end-user, and billed just like water and electricity. Not only is it a model change, paradigm shift, but one that actually happened that made possible many opportunities to people that are not possible in the past. E.g. I can rent some GPUs to do CUDA on xyz cloud provider for as long as I want - which also means as much as I can afford and willing to spend. It really revolutionize things.

 

IoT is like in infancy. I am doubtful if the spreadsheet killer app for it will ever be invented, but that's not what I'm betting on to measure its success. On specific areas / industry, the fact that wireless technology shrink and even lowered power consumption will find its potential application.

 

I think so long as we keep our self an inquisitive mind, be critical to ideas, use our brains to think and think again, and pass this message and attitudes to our peers, we can live happily with these buzzwords.

[yyrkoon 250]

 

To the two terms IoT and cloud in the original topic, imho cloud is a much more successful in terms of revolutionizing computing. I tend to believe this is so because I always find myself easier to convey and explain cloud than IoT to others. The gist of it is utility computing that moves away the actual equipment from the end-user, and billed just like water and electricity. Not only is it a model change, paradigm shift, but one that actually happened that made possible many opportunities to people that are not possible in the past. E.g. I can rent some GPUs to do CUDA on xyz cloud provider for as long as I want - which also means as much as I can afford and willing to spend. It really revolutionize things.

Again, I somewhat agree with this sentiment, but this sort of thing existed before the term "cloud" ever came along. Perhaps not GPGPU, but that's a matter of timing, and not a matter of lack of a term. Beowulf for instance, has been around a long, long time. As well as many other ways to combine processors together over a network, in order to achieve a single, or even perhaps many different goals.

[pine 140]

Again, I somewhat agree with this sentiment, but this sort of thing existed before the term "cloud" ever came along. Perhaps not GPGPU, but that's a matter of timing, and not a matter of lack of a term. Beowulf for instance, has been around a long, long time. As well as many other ways to combine processors together over a network, in order to achieve a single, or even perhaps many different goals.

I'm with you absolutely, Beowulf is a very solid example. Honestly, while I'm not against buzzwords as explained, I feel the same as you do when seeing cloud of this and that, all over the Internet. The choice of word "Cloud" is exceptionally bad, consider most of us prefer a sunny day over raining 

[hmjswt 9]

Hi,

 

Nice to read your commends.

I thought I was the only one getting very tired of seeing old things being sold as new.

I am using computers since 1967. And I have seen very little new things coming along.

Ok, the systems are getting smaller and cheaper.

But there is very little real innovation going on.

Again and again thing that are already working for years are being renamed and relabeled and sold as something new.

Especially programming languages. Just put a new wrapper on some old language and you can sell it as something new.

Just glue a couple of things together and you can make a program.

Until you have to do really new things. Then nobody knows how to program at a low level.

Because they are used to  just cut and paste objects until they get something that seams to work.

it is all old wine in new sacks.

But then, I am a grumpy old electron pusher.

I even don't have a smart phone.

So what do I know about new technology.

So I go back to my old XP systems and old style solder station to build and program some more model rocket computers.

See you in the clouds.

 

Henk Siewert

[yyrkoon 250]

I'm with you absolutely, Beowulf is a very solid example. Honestly, while I'm not against buzzwords as explained, I feel the same as you do when seeing cloud of this and that, all over the Internet. The choice of word "Cloud" is exceptionally bad, consider most of us prefer a sunny day over raining 

lol . . . fair enough.

[yyrkoon 250]

I think the thing that bothers me the most about this whole situation is this:

 

We as computer people have spent a life time of work doing the various things we do, to improve the computer field in general. Then some idiot( poser ) comes along and starts "reinventing" things he had no hand in creating. Like the idiot politician what's his nuts who claimed to have invented the internet. Except this is a bit different.

 

EDIT:

 

Oh, and yes I do realize that we're all different and are going to have at least slightly different opinions. It is not my goal to make anyone think like me. I feel that I'm allowed to voice my opinion, so I expect others will feel the same way about their own opinions . . . hopefully.

 

Anyway, for me, this topic hits pretty close to "home" in some ways for me. So I'll probably be a bit more passionate on this topic than some others.

[Fred 453]

It could be worse. They could have called it the Internetduino.

[yyrkoon 250]

It could be worse. They could have called it the Internetduino.

resistance is futile !

[yyrkoon 250]

So, I got this email from TI . . .

 

 

Free webinar: Design a cloud connected IoT gateway with security protection

 

 

 

Designing an IoT gateway with security protection can be a very challenging task. This webinar is designed to jump start the development of a cloud connected IoT gateway that secures the data exchanged between the gateway and the cloud. The webinar will also address the development of different low cost wireless nodes that communicate with the cloud through the gateway.

 

 

Which makes it seem as though the whole world will come to an end *UNLESS* we watch this webinar. Anyway, I'm left wondering how many people, especially those who wrote this BS email "flyer" understand how hard it is to secure *ANY* server - period. Surely that is all we're talking here. A single server that put data from sensors, or whatever onto the web. Why try and make it all magical in mysterious ? heh . . .