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by jerf
6358 days ago
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I'd disagree with this entirely. In the digital era, ownership is so darned easy there's no reason not to own. At the very least, I have no plans to let my glorious cloud overlords have that much control over my experience. Look at this in terms of power relationships and this whole essay is a paean to the virtues of turning over all control and power over you to somebody else. Thanks, but no thanks. I know how that story ends. Without possession there is no freedom. |
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Hosting: I'm happy with MediaTemple and Slicehost owning the servers and bandwith and renting me access. Managing them is too time consuming and their value diminishes too quickly.
Boats, Planes: Again, owning them is a pain. Moving, maintaining and repairing them is expensive and time consuming. They lose value quickly. Renting time using them seems much better.
Houses: This one's a little more complex since the value often appreciates, but I think at times it's better to rent. For me, it means freedom to move, keeps more of my capital liquid etc.
The blanket statement "access trumps ownership" is too general, but I think his essay does bring up a valid point--in some cases, and perhaps more now than ever, access does trump ownership.