Commentary: “RMS hates cloud computing; says you should too”
See here for a much discussed article on how RMS has said he hates cloud computing. I’m usually pretty on board with what RMS says (after I filter out the uber-geek-bias), but I’m on the fence about this issue.
My counter argument to RMS’s argument is: Damn!, but online services are just too handy to leave aside in order to maintain software development philosophical purity. Would you give up online e-mail, social networks, etc?
Besides, I love having fewer applications installed on my computer. I install and focus on the applications I really, really need and the other needs are served out there in the cloud.
RMS’s comment strikes me as purely academic with little consideration for What Really Works. I hope that online e-mail doesn’t go away, but I’d love to know how to make it more GNUy.