Ugh, the "cloud" comes to the desktop. Companies like to have all kinds of telemetry and forced non-security updates, both of which are easy to have with a hosted application. "You'll take whatever we throw up on the server, and we'll watch you like it."
Some of us poor software users don't always like one or both of these things, and client-side software is great at avoiding them: you choose when to install newer versions, and whether the software talks to the developer. Sadly, companies are figuring out how to "cloud up" client-side software with forced updates [1] and always-on telemetry, and Microsoft is jumping on the bandwagon in a big way. Maybe reverse firewalls will catch on like browser ad blockers have; probably not, but there's always a chance.
Some of us poor software users don't always like one or both of these things, and client-side software is great at avoiding them: you choose when to install newer versions, and whether the software talks to the developer. Sadly, companies are figuring out how to "cloud up" client-side software with forced updates [1] and always-on telemetry, and Microsoft is jumping on the bandwagon in a big way. Maybe reverse firewalls will catch on like browser ad blockers have; probably not, but there's always a chance.
[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/07/17/windows-1...