[p2p-research] personal server technology

[Michel Bauwens]

99.x percent of the people use less than 5% of any device's capabilities and
routinely ignore manuals ...

you can't expect every driver to be a mechanic, even if you wish this,

so it's going to be the responsibility of the free movements, and
sympathetic enterpreneur, to bring down the complexity of this ...

Michel

On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 1:29 AM, M. Fioretti <mfioretti at nexaima.net> wrote:

> On Sun, Feb 21, 2010 10:45:57 AM -0700, Matt Boggs (matt at digiblade.com)
> wrote:
>
> > The problems facing what Stephen Downes suggest are as follows:
> > first and foremost: Hardware\software failure. Your personal server
> > (PS) would need a hefty but not unreasonable system requirement to
> > compete with the ease of the 'cloud services'.
>
> Right, running a server at home with vanilla, unreliable hardware is a
> no-no. But Virtual Private Servers as those already available by
> normal ISPs are the solution to that. Because an ISP can also be a
> local, community owned ISP, that is somebody you can control a bit
> more than some multinational with datacenters in another continent.
>
> The only problem today is that most VPS offers are sized for big
> websites, not for this kind of needs.
>
> > And lastly, people. The common man wants a fuss free box they can
> > simply plug in and out without a thought.
>
> Right again, but:
>
> 1) creating a decent, graphical, integrated interface to manage, say,
>   a personal server for blogging+email+chat+calendaring 100% built
>   with Free SW already existing today is much simpler than it
>   seems. If it hasn't happened yet is only because the companies
>   running reliable datacenters (including the small ones, who would
>   benefit the most from such a shift) don't get enough demand for
>   this from single citizens.
>
> 1) the "common man" must grow up. With great power comes great
>   responsibility, says Spiderman. If you want freedom and all what is
>   behind "personal servers" you MUST take control, and deal with
>   something that cannot be as "plug&play" as Gmail, Facebook or
>   Flickr are today. A really "personal" server can and should become
>   much simpler than it is today, but cannot be as simple to have as
>   those other services. It's impossible. Those other services are so
>   simple only because somebody there thinks and worries for you in
>   exchange for your personal data, while keeping complete freedom to
>   delete your data and files, or to put you offline "just because"
>
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