经济学人下载:云计算的发轫之困

Sony's security breach is particularly embarrassing because it wants to position its PlayStation console as an entertainment hub capable of delivering films and music over the internet, in addition to video games. An entertainment one-stop-shop of this nature will appeal to consumers only if it is secure and reliable; a DVD, after all, does not suddenly refuse to play for a week. Sony also failed to encrypt some of the personal details of its customers-an elementary error for a company that prides itself on its technological prowess. In Amazon's case, the problems were caused by a glitch that took longer than expected to resolve, affecting the operations of several internet firms (including Reddit, Quora, HootSuite and Foursquare) that use its services, and denting the reputations of all concerned-as well as that of the cloud itself.

安全漏洞让索尼陷入相当尴尬的境地——因为索尼希望将PlayStation游戏机定位为能够通过互联网提供电影和音乐的娱乐中心，而不仅仅是电子游戏。只有足够安全且值得信赖，这种性质的一站式娱乐才能吸引用户。毕竟，仅仅是DVD的话，不会突然被关闭一周。在加密其用户个人资料方面索尼也是失败的——对于一个标榜其技术实力的公司而言，这是一个基本的失误。在亚马逊的案例中，问题是由一个小故障造成的，解决这一问题耗时比预期要长，影响了一些互联网公司（包括使用其服务的Reddit, Quora, HootSuite 和 Foursquare）的运营，对所有相关方的名誉都产生了不利影响——“云”本身也概莫能外。

But building a totally secure and reliable cloud-based system, or indeed any other kind of computer system, is impossible. More break-ins and breakdowns are inevitable. What matters is that service-providers, consumers and corporate clients all learn the right lessons from the events of the past week.

不过，建立一个完全安全、值得信赖的基于“云”的系统或者实际上其它类型的计算机系统是不可能的。更多的侵入与故障不可避免。重要的是，服务供应商、用户、企业用户从上周的事件当中汲取正确的教训。

Cloud-cuckoo-land
太虚幻境

For providers of online services, the main lesson, beyond the obvious need to adhere to basic principles of computer security, is the importance of being open with customers when things go wrong. This seems to be something that is particularly difficult for Japanese firms, with their consensus-based decision-making and a reluctance to tell superiors when problems arise. Sony remained tight-lipped when it should have been forthcoming. Amazon has also been criticised for providing only a small amount of rather vague information about the outage. One user gave the company an "F" for communication this week; another complained that its updates seemed to have been written by its lawyers rather than its engineers.

对网络服务供应商而言，最大的教训除了明显需要坚持计算机安全基本原则以外，就是出了问题要及时向用户公开信息。对日本公司而言，这似乎相当困难。日本公司以共识为基础进行决策，当出现问题时不愿向上级反映。索尼本应透露一些信息的，但是它守口如瓶。亚马逊也因在中断服务后只提供了少量语焉不详的信息而遭批评。本周，一位用户向亚马逊传达的信息是F___，另一位抱怨说，亚马逊的程序更新似乎是它的律师——而非工程师——编写的。