[Social-discuss] Re: Personal Information Management and Virtual Desktop

[Steven C. Morreale, M.D./M.P.H.]

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Those three projects all look interesting and promising.
I wouldn't want to make people use a thin client on their own machine,
unless it was running on-top of their own full client.
I would want a "client program" to manage the communications with the
server environment instead of using a web-browser to do that.

One issue however with this idea is that using someone else's server and
applications takes away end user freedom and places the information
under someone else's control (potentially tempting people to not back up
their data in case it is lost).

Moving data to someone else's server is something Richard Stallman has
warned us not to do.  I think it would be ok to store data on someone
else's server if the end user was able to encrypt it so only the end
user can access that data (e.g., have the end-user create a TrueCrypt
volume on the server that can be mounted locally on the end user's
computer only by the end user, and could be copied like a file to their
own media off of the server for back-up and any purpose they desire).

It would be novel and useful for the end user's to have access to
programs offered through the server, and install them either locally or
on a virtual portion of the server dedicated to the end-user (and permit
the end user to modify the program).  This would give a whole new
element of control and freedom for the end users who would be able to be
their own administrators.  Such a server would give the end user access
to the tools they want (customized for them as desired) and gives them
the ability to link their data creations to other parts of the server
where folders are shared that can be administered by them and with other
community members based upon various permissions that they could alter.
 All of the tools would be GPL'd and the data created with them would be
able to be opened and manipulated by other end users of the server
because it would all be in free file formats.  Access to data would be
controlled by the data creator and based upon where the creator of the
data places their work on the server and how they configure the folder
permissions where they may be using the server to share a collaborative
work space.

I know I have rambled, but is the description of how this would work
clear... I don't know the logistics of how to do it on the server however.

- -Steve

address@hidden wrote:
> 
> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Re: Personal Information Management and Virtual Desktop
>       (Brylie Oxley)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:44:26 -0500
> From: Brylie Oxley <address@hidden>
> Subject: [Social-discuss] Re: Personal Information Management and
>       Virtual Desktop
> To: address@hidden
> Message-ID: <address@hidden>
> Content-Type: text/plain
> 
> There is a concept called Thin Client computing where different
> computers access application resources on a central control computer. An
> example for GNU/Linux is the Linux Terminal Server Project:
> http://ltsp.org
> 
> There are two examples of Virtual Desktops of which I am aware:
> http://eyeos.org
> http://www.lucid-desktop.org/
> 
> There is also an actively developed groupware application (mashup)
> called OpenGoo which comes close to being aa virtual deskrop:
> http://www.opengoo.org/
> 
> eyeOS, Lucid, and OpenGoo could all be used to share information behind
> a login screen. I am not sure how these could be integrated into Social
> but I believe that this would be beneficial.
> 
> 
>> How difficult would it be to install a GNU/Linux onto a server and share
>>  GUI applications and folders with people... with some way to not only
>> give various permissions but to identify who/when various end users have
>> viewed/opened any file or folder... eg. history function.
>>
>> I figure it is do-able but probably needs a good computer and great
>> network connection to make it work well.  Not sure how FirstClass was
>> always able to pull it off... I mean it worked well back when I was
>> using a dial-up modem (it started off originally back in the old BBS
>> days pre-internet/www).
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