What's frightening about the prospects of cloud computing (i.e centralized services), is that ultimately the end-users loose control. It was always centralization that gave control, and it was precisely the decentralization of the net up until now that gave us liberation.

With cloud computing + those wishing to control = tyranny like we have never experienced yet.

I want the intelligence to remain in the ends. Sure, create open standards, and communication protocols, and have various bots/avatars built on those protocols, and then you can get all the same services you get now with cloud computing .

But of course those in power, those with money, etc, don't have control, access to our date, advertising potentials, etc, in a decentralized system.

Advertising revenue today, total control and loss of privacy tommorow.