Security of "Web 2.0"

Ok, so for those that haven't heard yet the concept of web 2.0 is to go back to a system of smart mainframes with all your apps and data and using only a dumb terminal. I basically want to hear people's views on the idea.

A live example is of course google docs and spreadsheets.

The pros as far as I'm concerned are:
* Documents are available anywhere on any pc
* All pcs in a network are always running the same version

Cons:
* Performance depends on how many other people in the world are doing the same thing
* A system with more users is inherently less secure.
* Any breach of security will allow access to a LOT more data than storing on local workstations or local networks.

Given this report:

Google Malfunction

I want to know what you lot think.

OK, my personal experience is restricted to thin client deployments. All I sense here is a liberal spreading of BS. Sure the trend will be to provide more comprehensive and possibly sophisticated web services, but that is only a fraction of computing.

Quote:

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the concept of web 2.0 is to go back to a system of smart mainframes with all your apps and data and using only a dumb terminal

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As in a herd of white elephants waiting to be DDoSed? :eek:

Immediate problems that I can see:

• Security, particularly of data subject to regulatory compliance, financial information and intellectual property.
• Trust and reliability of service
• Licence fees
• Copyright
• Cost
• Control
• Privacy
• Resistance from consumers, a fair proportion of whom have difficulty with what they have already.
• Resistance from hardware and software manufacturers

To name but a few :)

Ard- Web2.0 is really just a marketting phrase meant to imply that you are getting a richer experience from a web page than you would have 5 years ago... Server side apps brought about through AJAX is a hallmark of what people call web2.0 but I've never heard of web2.0 encompassing a switch to thin clients.

Of course, if you ask 10 different people what web2.0 means you will get 10 different answers. The main reason I try to avoid the term..

As an example ebay, flicker, craigslist, and wikipedia are considered web2.0 sites. None of those involve thin clients or anything of the like.

well, the IDEA is to switch over to thin clients, make the browser the centre of everyones world. Yes, the term is a bit vauge. Hence the quotes.