Sick of Hearing about the Cloud? Here's a Browser Plug-in for You

in code on 2014-05-16 04:45 (#3KX)

Cloud, cloud, cloud, cloud, cloud. Tired of hearing it? I am. Especially if you know something about server technologies, it's not hard to recognize the cloud is only marginally better than other server technologies, but is being marketed to death by breathless corporate drones who see it as an opportunity to sell, sell, sell.

If that's your case, then you need this browser plug-in, cloud-to-butt . Written by somebody who's sicker of it than you are, it replaces all occurrences of "the cloud" on a webpage with "my butt." Check out the screenshots for some hilarious examples.

This has been a Pipedot Public Service Announcement [PPSA].

[Ed. Note: plugin is available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera, so you can be sure your butt's covered]

14 comments

More general (Score: 3, Informative)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-16 05:25 (#1N7)

For Firefox there is also the excellent FoxReplace Addon. It lets you define arbitrary replacements.
Especially in the light of newspeak this is interesting. (For german there's the neusprech.org blog with examples of words used in the public debate.)

Re: More general (Score: 2, Funny)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 10:37 (#1NB)

I downloaded the Firefox extension and it's pretty funny. I notice it only converts that very phrase: "the cloud" with "my butt". So visiting 'talkingcloud.com" delivered only imperfect results. Any mention of "cloud" or "cloud platform" etc. remains unaltered. Still, Google results were hilarious:

"how to incorporate wifi services in my butt"
"click here to download our white paper from my butt"

etc. This plug in has tons of add-on potential.

Re: More general (Score: 1)

by rocks@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 12:44 (#1NK)

"....from my butt...
etc. This plug in has tons of add-on potential"

????

Re: More general (Score: 1)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 13:54 (#1NM)

Ha ha - just tried the Firefox Replace add-on, which is even better. You can replace all mentions of anything with anything else. My websurfing experience just got better.

Re: More general (Score: 1)

by songofthepogo@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 16:43 (#1NY)

Almost any statement can be improved by appending "right here in my pants!" I'll have to give this add-on a try.

Re: More general (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-19 01:14 (#1QA)

I prefer replacing "Cloud" with "extra-judicial servers", but some would argue that's just high definition web browsing ..

The next exercise craze (Score: 2, Funny)

by nightsky30@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 12:15 (#1NE)

10 easy steps to a firmer cloud!!!

But, but... (Score: 1, Informative)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-16 14:07 (#1NR)

Look I know we're a small site but isn't this plugin, or one just like it, at LEAST a year old?

I remember reading about it a LONG time ago, probably at Slash you know where.

Insert obligatory XKCD strip about "it's new to 20%" phenomenon.

But really, still, this is way old news. Sorry.

Re: But, but... (Score: 1)

by rocks@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 15:43 (#1NW)

Fair enough... but I suspect Mr. Zafiro17 -- who likes his whiskey, by the way -- is posting stories in somewhat of a hurry each morning to keep the content going while story posters remain minimal on Pipedot.

I posted a story on Nintendo from Ars the other day and totally missed summarizing the second page of the article because I only had a minute or two before getting off to work. I am noticing that my story-posting and comment quality may be suffering because I am trying to make a contribution to anything going right now on Pipedot... using the assumption that something is better than nothing at this stage. I am a lurker by nature or necessity on most sites I like, but ... man... something about Pipedot just makes me think it will be good if it can get past the 10,000 member mark (nothing like a Reboot to give something fresh energy). Anyway, I'm in on trying to get the community exchange going while it remains low at this stage, and its not as easy as it looks. Point being -- definitely state when a story topic is way old as you've done, downvote them in the pipe if your timing is right, but feel very free to post good (new) stories too!

Re: But, but... (Score: 1)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-16 15:50 (#1NX)

Yeah thanks. It seems I'm not getting any traction with this idea, but I see nothing wrong with selectively picking multiple stories from Slashdot or Soylent for discussion here. It would save a lot of time, and we are really exactly the same kind of audience. And this site is SO much easier to use and better to look at. (I get frustrated every time I try to follow a Soylent discussion, particularly.) I again suggest that Pipedot consider doing that to bulk up the article selection.

Like you, I don't have the time or inclination to do a lot of submissions myself.

Re: But, but... (Score: 1)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-17 18:23 (#1PH)

Well, anyboy who's looking for breaking news on Pipedot is barking up the wrong tree. These kind of sites - from Pipe to Soy to Slashdot and beyond - simply don't fill that role. Think back to how many times we bitched about old news on Slashdot. I mean, do the math: everything posted here includes a link <i>to some other site where it appeared first</i>. You want breaking scoops, go to a site that pays for a fleet of reporters who are actually out there gathering the scoops and breaking the news. And yes, those guys are paid. This place on the other hand, is a place where people of similar interests can gather to discuss those things, hopefully sharing their collected wisdom and their own links to things of interest.

This thing might not be breaking news, but I don't give a flying you-know-what. It was interesting to me and I thought it would be interesting to others as well. And it was! I am actually thinking of doing one article per week about some interesting project on github or elsewhere, kind of "hey, check out this interesting project!" kind of thing. I've been exposed to all sorts of interesting software by reading Slashdot/equivalent and following the links when someone posts, "oh that's cool but it reminds me of this other thing." That's interesting to me, and if there are things that interest you, well, the Submit button is at the upper right. Use it.

I have been keeping articles on the site because I like this place and has potential. It takes me a bit of time, but I'm happy to do that on the grounds that a tight group of smart, technically minded people who appreciate the site and its interface/credo and are willing to get together to discuss things that interest them - that benefits me too. Any one of these sites can be replaced by an RSS feeder with a healthy number of feeds. What makes it interesting is the people who gather there to discuss the news.

A fitting story from that other site ;) (Score: 1)

by nightsky30@pipedot.org on 2014-05-16 21:23 (#1P5)

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/14/05/16/1550229/adobe-creative-cloud-is-back

Re: A fitting story from that other site ;) (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-18 04:21 (#1PT)

In fairness, Adobe has always been well known for pulling its ideas out of my butt.

Re: A fitting story from that other site ;) (Score: 1)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-18 10:46 (#1Q3)

Actually, the folks at Adobe seem to have had their own heads up their own asses for so long now it's amazing their eyesight hasn't atrophied, like blind cavefish. I mean seriously, I'm having trouble thinking of a software company whose software is more user-hostile. I really hate their new, "streamlined" version of Acrobat Pro. The previous version had so much powerful functionality available via the menus. Now in the latest version that functionality has either been stripped out or buried so users can't find it. Either way, Adobe sucks.