[bbarthel]

I don't think I understand what they are proposing here. When I read this it sounds like a simple return to client applications. The workflow sounds like:

1) I go to the web to download the application.

2) Once I have the application I run it locally.

3) I encrypt and save the data back to "the cloud". Since I own the data, I can specify where to save it and the "web" becomes nothing more than distributed storage.

This is nothing I can't already do if I choose. We already have things like Silverlight applications, Java applications, Flash applications, etc. that all run client-side in the browser. Throw in ClickOnce deployment from Microsoft (which installs a .NET application directly to your computer by visiting a website and agreeing to the install), the linux app repositories, or even just the old "purchase and download" model, and I do not see how this proposal solves a technical problem we currently have - and if it is not a technical problem, then proposing a technical solution isn't going to solve it.

If I understand the intent, it is to prevent companies from owning the data that we create. Where the code executes does not seem to be relevant.