"In the Cloud" Good or Bad?

[Foster]

DavisDad has a great thread going where he is going to write about his experience with the new FTC platform. I started this thread so his didn't get derailed. And while I'm using this as an example, I'm not taking a shot at him or his FTC project.

He makes the statement below about what they are doing for CAD

Originally Posted by DavisDad

CAD Software:

We've found 3D solid modelling software indispensable for designing our mechanical systems. We've used SolidWorks for the past several years, and SW has served us very well.

This year, I'll be exploring converting to a new software: "Onshape". This is a new CAD modeling software where all the computing is done “in the cloud”; computing is done by servers through the internet and does not require special computers or licensing on the computer = no IT overhead. Onshape also has new collaboration tools/capability similar to Google Drive and Google Docs. Onshape is FREE and easy to gain access. See here: Onshape- The Future of CAD


We'll be converting to Onshape and using it for this project. My son has worked with Onshape more than me, and thinks we'll still need SW for some of the functionality not yet available in the current beta version. We'll see...

On my desk next to me is a new Samsung 850 SSD drive and 8GB of memory about to go into my laptop so I finally have enough machine to do CAD. On the other side of the desk is my Verizon MiFi hotspot that barely has enough connection to stream cat Youtube videos.

Having been on the internet since before it was invented by Al Gore, I'm having doubts about everything in the cloud. Like this CAD package, Google Docs and Microsofts Office 365. If you assume you always have a highspeed internet access point I guess that works.

But what is the fall back plan if you don't have internet access? (Not poking at DavisDad here, lots of you have said you do everything via Google docs. ) But I've been in schools/offices that the wireless is locked down, ports on firewalls are blocked, etc. (Sometimes that's a good thing since your roboteers can't watch cat videos.)

For VEXIQ there is a really cool system for programming, but it was only "on-line" for a long time. I've read where people have lost work because their connection didn't work, roboteers couldn't update code at an event because of no internet, etc. Pretty much a non-starter for me.

Are you putting all your "eggs" in the cloud basket? What do you do when there isn't internet?

(Oh and I know, you are going to go "Well Foster, what do you do when your laptop fails" Have to tell you now, that in the closet at home is this exact model of laptop (sans SSD drive and memory). When it dies, it's a memory / disk swap and I'm back. But thanks for asking)

[connor.worley]

This might actually be good in firewall zones if it runs on standard HTTP/HTTPS. We had a blast on 1538 finding ways to circumvent the school's firewall to get PDM to work.

[Jon Stratis]

The choice of doing things locally versus in the cloud is entirely dependent on local circumstances. For me, I know that the internet at my house is both fast and reliable. I know the Wi-Fi at our school buildspace is also reliable, although there are firewall blocks in place that can be annoying (how is our business team supposed to promote us on Facebook and Twitter if those services are blocked while we're meeting?). So from that perspective working on the cloud for robotics related activities makes a lot of sense. The internet is almost always there when I'm doing robotics stuff. Exceptions would be competition and air travel. When I go to competition it's a relatively simple process to pull stuff off and store it locally for those few days, merging in any changes when I get home. Air travel isn't much different.

Unexpected internet outages do occur. And if a team is relying on the internet during the season, our time limitations make those outages hurt a lot. But the benefits of the cloud when it comes to remote collaboration (having students do work at home and merge in changes outside of meetings) can be a great benefit.

Maybe the best compromise situation would be to have a single individual (in a separate location on a different internet source) in charge of downloading current versions of everything to a flash drive before each meeting as a backup. Present it to your students as an interesting challenge, to create a "1-click" solution for getting everything - basically a little program that would download all of the files for the team from whatever cloud services the team uses, so it doesn't have to be a big manual process.