Americans think “the cloud” is a real cloud

[onehandle]

Citrix recently commissioned a study to find out what the average American consumer thinks about cloud computing. The results show that even though people are using cloud computing extensively, they don’t really understand what it is – some even think it’s a “real” cloud, like in the sky.

For example, 51 percent of respondents, including a majority of Millennials, believe stormy weather can interfere with cloud computing.

Despite that, 97 percent of those polled are actually using the technology in some form or another – online shopping, banking, social networking and file sharing all qualify as “cloud” services.

If nothing else, this demonstrates the absence of technical literacy among general consumers, and the confusion that’s created when people insist on adopting cute monikers like “cloud” to describe something that can be clearly defined in plain language: network-based file storage and data management.

http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/09/05/americans-think-the-cloud-is-a-real-cloud

Sigh... I weep for the future.

[quinnox]

1. ...

[Xyzse]

22. LOL

What episode did that come from?

[quinnox]

39. not sure

It's actually fairly common image used on internet forums, it was easy to find it on the internet which is what I did. I'm a star trek fan but I'm not the type that has encyclopedia like knowledge as some others do regarding the episodes.

[Xyzse]

40. True...

I have Netflix, and it has the whole Next Generation series...
One day, I will find it.

[phantom power]

2. please kill me

[snooper2]

3. ROFL ROFL ROFL...

Ironic I'm jumping on a call in two minutes to talk about a new "cloud" we are thinking about setting up in the network for some certain applications


I wish I had that thread still where I was arguing with somebody that "Anybody" can do "Any" job LOL....

[flamingdem]

12. Be sure to bring your umbrella, scattered showers up there today! nt

[n2doc]

4. And it has tubes hooked up to it!

Big ol' fat ones!

[gkhouston]

43. Called "tornados".

[n2doc]

45. Here's an image of the cloud gettin' information from the ocean!

That ship must have asked for some GPS , or something!

[gkhouston]

46. Multiple data streams and too much churning. n/t

[RagAss]

5. This reminds me of when.....

oh shit...this doesn't remind me of anything.

[Odin2005]

6. The Religious Right and the New Age Left are driving us into a new Dark Ages.

We are a nation of ignorant dolts.

[flamingdem]

7. God is up there too in the cloud with an iphone and a long beard nt

[tavalon]

10. IPad, actually,

to see who's been naughty and who's been nice. Wait, no, that's the other guy.

[gollygee]

8. ROFL

Hilarioius.

[tavalon]

9. Oh, my

that's just sad.

[upaloopa]

11. Technology changes faster than people can get use to using it. Most people don't give a shit.

Most people don't burn incense to the alter of technology, nor should they.

It's like this, there is all this new stuff available but do you really need to use it? To me it's like going to the salad bar and picking out the things you want to eat. You're certainly not going to eat everything that is available.

I think the younger you are the more you are going to use new technology because that's what you are use to. You can't wait to try out what the industry puts before you. If you are older you lived perfectly well without it and you pick what is most useful to you and leave the rest.

[snooper2]

34. We aren't asking people to know the difference between a nand and nor gate

Just to understand that there isn't some magical circuit going into the clouds


Of course billions of humans believe in magic sky people so maybe it is too much to ask LOL

[upaloopa]

49. Like I said, it is a generation thing. I think you don't understand that.

Older people hearing cloud would never associate it with technology. I'm 66 and I know a lot of people older than me who are the people I'm talking about. There is nothing about it that is humorous. It is just the way it is.

[tk2kewl]

13. Ha!

At a job I had back in the 90s we were upgrading all of our technology from mainframes and green-screen terminals to windows NT servers and workstations and my boss actually told people they needed to make sure they washed their hands so they didn't give the PCs a virus.

[foo_bar]

14. maybe the 51% aren't so far off

A local data center (which happens to use Citrix products) fried some customers after the ceiling sprung a leak due to excessive rainfall collecting on the building's roof, so I think weather could affect "the cloud" on some level (although it probably shouldn't (esp. if your idea of cloud computing isn't a dozen XenServers in the same room), but Citrix is probably guiltier than anyone of abusing the nebular metaphor, even going so far as to acquire cloud.com to boost their Cloud Cred (if your idea of a marketing coup is to name your 'cloud' "Cloud", well, that's like registering "internet.com" to corner the market on IP) after spending five years seeding nebulous imagery in order to moisten their (hypervisor oriented) product line.)

[leftyohiolib]

16. "fried some customers " isnt that illegal?

[randome]

15. Maybe that's because most people can't figure out what it's for.

Giving your data to a third party to manage is just begging for tragedies to occur.

[snooper2]

35. that is just one small aspect of cloud based computing..

but you know that right

[randome]

37. But that's what it's primarily sold as.

You give up your data or you give up the ability to run your own applications in your own sandbox. I don't see the reason for it. Some companies are jumping on the bandwagon without having thought through the potential consequences.

[Tace]

17. Stormy Weather Really Does Interfere With The Cloud

...if you're on a satellite connection to the network.

Just sayin'.

[bhikkhu]

18. The weather interferes with my internet connection

...which is line-of-sight to a satellite uplink (or something like that).

Without seeing the questions asked, I'd take this as a throw-away "people are stupid" piece, based on things that can be easily misunderstood, and answers that can be easily twisted.

Can we not fall for the meme that the US is incredibly stupid, just for once? How about the argument that goes along with that - that Americans are incredibly lazy?

[randome]

19. Yeah, you can be a techno geek without being obnoxious.

Not everyone gives a shit about the latest 'fashions' in computing.

[Inuca]

24. Why are you attacking him/her?

What latest techno fashions are you referring to? Satellite? S/he is probably in a situation similar to mine, living in the middle of nowhere, and satellite is the only available option short of dial-up. I wish I did not have ot use this latest fashion, it's lousy and EXPENSIVE, but I do not have a choice.

[randome]

29. The 'weep for the future' line of the OP sounds like snobbery to me.

And I've been a programmer for 20 years. I know technology and I know people who have better things to do with their lives than read up on all the latest fashions.

That has nothing to do with those who love technology and want to immerse themselves in it. Or, like yourself, who have no choice.

[Inuca]

47. That's fine, but you were

not replying to the OP. maybe you meant to, but you were not.

[randome]

54. I was agreeing with bhikkhu's final paragraph.

I think you mistook my post as an attack. It wasn't.

[bhikkhu]

55. Thanks - I didn't take it as an attack

though I wasn't as clear as I could have been. My point was that it was likely a bogus study, and that I might have answered yes or no myself, depending on exactly how the question was phrased. There are too many bogus "studies" around, pre-designed to get a desired response, which then becomes a headline, then a talking point, and then an accepted fact.

What I particularly don't like are ones that make people in general appear stupid or lazy or worthless, and then when they are published you get predictable "our country sucks!", "people are so stupid!", "the [....]'s are just worthless!" responses - so it bothers me to see chiming in agreement here on that sort of thing. This one might be basically trivial, but every little bit erodes away our respect for each other, our dignity, and our basic love for humanity.

Too far down that road and the republican's positions begin to make sense!

[Inuca]

59. Apologies then n/t

[HiPointDem]

58. +100. and predictably, it elicits the kneejerk 'omg, americans (except me) are sooooo stuuupid'

responses.

[TwilightGardener]

20. This can't be real. No one is this stupid.

[Whovian]

21. OMG

Teh stupid. It burns. What has happened to this country? (Leaving out references to Tx school book publishers, Evangelical politicals striving to put literal Biblical translations into our educational systems and the push by the corpratocity to dumb down the populace.

Back to the middle ages again.

[Speck Tater]

36. I see your OMG and raise you an OMFG! nt

[Inuca]

23. Well... yes, about that stormy weather

like what I had until a few minutes ago (tornado warning fortunately nothing happened, just a few tiny, tiny branches on the ground and lots of much needed rain) AND you have to use a satellite ISP, under these conditions, stormy weather sure as hell interferes with my access to the "cloud"

[MicaelS]

25. I think "The Cloud" is simply the latest techobuzz..

Some businesses are trying to sell other businesses. Sort of like "the Paperless Office". Remember that?

[Taverner]

27. We used to call it "hosted"

But that doesn't have the same ring as "cloud"

[onehandle]

33. Except that the cloud is actually happening.

All of the major players are selling or giving away cloud services.

Offices are less paper-centric than they used to be. Several printer makers have either gotten out of the business or plan to. The iPad is accelerating this process.

[kentauros]

52. Not a single engineering company I have ever worked for,

nor continue to work for, has ever considered going paperless. Really, even with "printing" all drawings to PDF first, we're still printing them out to either half-size (11x17) or full-size (24x36). And that's just to do markups and redlines on them. Those then get stapled to the "Scrubbed" prints before they get another go over by another set of engineers and designers. They and their clients have been the most resistant to losing the paper that I've ever seen.

Perhaps if the technology for large-scale e-Ink displays takes off, then we'll see engineering and architectural firms dumping the need for "hard copies." I don't see that happening for at least five years if not more, much more. Tiny tablets can't replace large-scale viewing. You likely won't see tablets replacing most GIS displays, either,

[Egalitarian Thug]

38. Fat (distributed) server/thin client 9.3. Oh! And I've actually seen one! A paperless office!

After 25 years of searching I finally found one paperless office. The only paper in or generated by it is that which is required by law. An architect in LA. They don't even do paper paychecks/stubs.

[Taverner]

26. Well stormy weather COULD affect the "cloud"

Say, it floods and disrupts the internet backbone...

[WinkyDink]

28. Any group that hideously mixes imagery ("mouse," "web," now "cloud") ought not scorn its observers.

[valerief]

30. Americans believe in ANGELS, for crying out loud! nt

[Xithras]

31. I've been building "cloud" apps since the 90's, and I'd have answered yes to that question

A substantial percentage of Americans live in areas where telecom gets flaky in bad weather. Old cables hanging from poles are rarely weather proof.

Which is why inclement weather interferes with cloud computing. When your apps are all in the cloud, you're locked out of everything when your connection goes down.

[Javaman]

32. for a good percentage of them...

Americans are ill informed morons.

[Hutzpa]

41. Well most Americans think Barack Obama is from Kenya.

otherwise they'll be on the streets demanding the tax returns of Mitt Romney.

[RZM]

51. Nowhere close to 'most Americans' believe that n/t

[Hutzpa]

53. Should have said few Americans.

you are right, majority of Americans will be voting for him come November.

[Egnever]

42. Sorry but stormy weather can affect the cloud

Be it because you lose your connection to the internet or a tornado takes out a data center with no redundancy in another location.

Looking down on people who believe weather can affect it makes you look more stupid than the people polled. Now those people who believe it really is a cloud in the sky well....

[ljm2002]

44. Well stormy weather can interfere with any computing...

...as it can knock electricity out and can interfere with reception. Some people do get their internet service through satellite dishes.

Anyway, the "cloud" concept has been sold to people as a marketing ploy. All it really is, is servers vs. using one's own computer for processing and data storage. Big deal.

I do get tired of all these "Americans are stupid" posts, especially when the question is as ambiguous as the one cited. Yes, stormy weather can interfere with any kind of computing. If it knocks my power out, it interferes with my own local computing. If the power outage is widespread, then damn straight it can interfere with "cloud computing". But how clever to word the question in such a way that you can convince yourself that the people responding to the question think the computers are up there in the clouds. Ha. Ha. Ha. Stupid Americans. (BTW that is the collective "you", not you personally, just to be clear).

[DefenseLawyer]

48. Damn these confounded computers!

[SilveryMoon]

50. I can see these people falling for scam devices

that ensure cloud computing will always work even in "stormy weather".

And I won't shed one tear when these people part with their money like a fool.

[bhikkhu]

56. "these people"?

Nice. As said upthread, the weather does affect my internet connection, which is of a common type relying on line-of-sight to a satellite uplink. I wouldn't jump to conclusions about how foolish people are without seeing the actual questions that were asked.

And if someone was so foolish as to not know exactly how the internet works, I wouldn't wish that they be scammed and cheated in any case. There is a party that hates and disparages people in general - but you won't much of that here.

[jp11]

57. By that definition the cloud is really old.