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Offline Computing :The End

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Deozaan:
I think it's pretty far off as well. In a Utopian society where there was no malware and people wouldn't pry into private information or mishandle information, it would be great to have everything connected and available from anywhere.

Since that's not likely to happen, we're going to have to continue using offline computing for a number of reasons. First and foremost is that internet technology, though widely available, is still too expensive and limited or unavailable in too many parts of the world.

Second, we're going to need better encryption being used in nearly all formats of internet use. E-mail, IM, file transfers, web sites, etc.

Third, and this is related to the first, bandwidth is still too limited for web applications to provide as good use and offline software. Although I suppose you could still download the software and install it locally, but it could require an internet connection to use. But that's not cool.

Things are definitely heading in that direction, where physical distribution of media is slowly being phased out in favor of digital distribution. And I can see how this could relate to most things done on a PC. But we've already seen all the problems this causes, with DRM, etc.

There are a lot of changes that need to take place before absolute online computing is feasible.

mahesh2k:
Hmm...offline Im manageing my website/project 9 years frm netcafe....so still thr is bandwidht and cost issue can't be online till i afford it.....

Linux softwares are not avilable in media like DVD/CD or etc in most of the countries so option for that operating system is restricted with online repository...
i have other points to discuss but will come as others reply....

Daleus:
I agree that that offline computing, in general, will be around for some time to come.  However, there are some types of software that have all but abandoned that approach.

I recently moved to a rural area where I can't get a high speed connection - the best I can do is dial up.  Because dialup is also so slow, I don't get online that often from home anymore. I have to try to do any downloads etc. while I'm here at work.  As you might guess, my virus checker has become out of date, I'm way behind on Windows Updates, and last week I lost two computers worth of work to a virus.

So I started searching for a virus checker that would allow me to manually download an update that I could then transport home and install.  So far, it's been a complete strike out!  Every package now insists on doing a live over the internet update to the exclusion of any other method!  Some even require authentication.

Welcome to the New World Order.

Now I don't imagine for a second that I have covered every virus checker out there and if someone knows of one that allows manual updating via "download and sneaker-net", I'd sure appreciate the pointer.

f0dder:
If you're on dialup (and thus not behind a wonderful NAT'ing router), you'll want to supplement your antivirus software with a firewall. XP SP2 built-in firewall is quite adequate, as long as you don't turn it off :)

But yeah, not offering manual download for antivirus updates is a thing that started several years ago.

Lashiec:
Now I don't imagine for a second that I have covered every virus checker out there and if someone knows of one that allows manual updating via "download and sneaker-net", I'd sure appreciate the pointer.
-Daleus (April 14, 2008, 09:52 AM)
--- End quote ---

IIRC all the three freeware antivirus (avast!, AVG and AntiVir) offer offline updates. And yeah, it's a pain, I know that for personal experience.

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