In his ‘Ragdoll Metaphysics’ column for Offworld, Jim Rossignol mulls over the tradition of science-fiction to predict the next great technical/social revolution. The Cloud-sourced service that OnLive is offering has been speculated upon in the past. We’re even seeing the first few attempts climb out of the primordial pool to lie gasping on dry land. Digital Download services such as PSN, XBLA, Steam and Impulse are becoming ubiquitous and irreplaceable and Cloud-gaming is the next evolutionary step. Though the implied dangers for the consumers are a huge step backwards in terms of digital intellectual copyrights.
Cloud-computing values the rights of the company over the consumer. Like Rossignol, I’m a tad nervous about placing all my eggs in one basket. Some trundling idiot might just come by and step on all of them at once. It’s happened before. (CF: this walmart music service story)