Topic: Cloud Storage

Following the Southern California fires, the discussion turns to the limitations of fireproof safes in firestorms. The hosts recommend digitizing memorabilia and maintaining off-site backups, such as hard drives or cloud storage, to prevent the total loss of personal history and manuscripts.

Referencing Klaus Schwab's warnings of a "cyber pandemic," the hosts discuss the vulnerability of modern cloud-based data systems. They contrast current "cavalier" backup practices with legacy methods involving physical tape archives and off-site storage, suggesting that modern data volumes have become unmanageable.

LastPass notifies customers of a significant security breach where hackers stole cloud storage keys and customer vault data, including encrypted passwords and personal metadata. The hosts advocate for decentralized password management solutions like VaultWarden or physical notebooks over centralized cloud services.

Microsoft 365's cloud storage service is praised for its fast search capabilities and indexing efficiency compared to local desktop software. The benefits of using remote servers to process and index large volumes of data are discussed. Mention is also made of Acronis as an alternative cloud service provider.

LifeLock recently experienced a security scare involving customer emails, highlighting the risks of centralized data storage. The hosts argue that the "computer revolution" was intended to decentralize control, yet users have become reliant on cloud services due to convenience. They advocate for local storage solutions, noting the affordability of high-capacity hard drives.

John C. Dvorak discusses his recent PCMag column regarding the risks of total reliance on Amazon Web Services. The conversation highlights the vulnerability of the podcast's infrastructure, noting that if Amazon's "glacial service" or cloud servers fail, the show's notes and backups would be lost. They debate the likelihood of a major corporation simply quitting a service despite the financial consequences.

The hosts critique the Microsoft Office 365 subscription model, specifically the "five account" family plan. They argue that the cloud storage is inferior to local hardware and that the subscription model creates a dependency where all users lose access if the primary account holder stops paying. They suggest open-source alternatives like LibreOffice as a way to avoid this "genius" marketing trap.

John C. Dvorak reviews the "Lima" personal cloud device, a Kickstarter project that plugs into a router to create a private cloud. He compares it unfavorably to Western Digital's personal cloud solutions, noting that the Lima software is not yet "ready for prime time." The hosts also briefly discuss the Amazon Echo, acknowledging that the device is constantly listening to users.

A host laments the loss of efficient PR databases, noting that major agencies like those representing Microsoft no longer seem to track journalist interactions effectively. The conversation touches on the frustrations of migrating data between cloud services and the "single point of failure" inherent in centralized non-profit management software like Blackboard.

Mozilla is incorporating DRM (Digital Rights Management) into its browser to support streaming services like Netflix. This shift toward cloud-based streaming is criticized as technically inferior to local storage, especially given the low cost of high-capacity hard drives and the bandwidth limitations of the "sluggish cloud."

The hosts process several donations, including a significant contribution from Joshua Fraser, creator of the No Agenda Radio app. Fraser explains that the app includes ads to generate revenue from non-donors. Another donor, Per-Ola Gustafsson from Sweden, shares a story about Google closing his account while continuing to charge him for cloud storage.

The acquisition of Drop.io by Facebook led to the service's abrupt closure with only 45 days' notice, resulting in the destruction of thousands of links used in podcast show notes. This event highlights the instability of "freemium" cloud business models and the risks of relying on third-party hosting for professional assets. In response, a custom URL redirector service, curryscloud.com, was developed to ensure that public links remain under personal control even if the underlying file storage provider changes.

The file-sharing service Drop.io is criticized for selling to Facebook and subsequently announcing the closure of its service, which resulted in the deletion of archived show materials. This event is used as a cautionary tale regarding the unreliability of cloud-based storage for paying users.

The hosts discuss the technical upgrades at the "crackpot command center," including a new 5-terabyte RAID 5 NAS system. They express a desire to move away from Gmail and "the cloud" toward self-hosted email servers to ensure privacy from federal surveillance. They weigh the convenience of Google's search capabilities against the security of private hosting.