One HUB?

The third thing I'm thinking of I can't quite put into words--mostly because I don't know exactly what I want. Last month I characterized it as a HUB, but I'm not sure if that's quite right.

What I notice is that every time I do something different, I lose my data. If I get a new laptop, it comes with a new version of Windows, and all my "stuff" is gone. Not just data--but how I prefer to view my folders. My favorites. If I have music, then my music. The shortcuts in my "SENDTO" folder that allows me to right-click and send something to Paint or Notepad. Not to mention actual applications (which *may* work if installed on a newer system...by really--why must I do this??).

It's not as simple as cloud computing, either. If I switch from Hotmail to Gmail, I lose all my contacts. If I switch from Verizon to AT&T and then switch again to Sprint--my contacts don't follow me. If I launch my e-book reader off the back of a ferry boat and it sinks to the bottom of Puget Sound--I've got to buy my books again.

And I'll admit--to some of these the answer is, "That's not true! I know how to..."
I get it. There are exceptions, and some of you who are too clever by half already know of them.

But the general trend is--I don't own my information. Whether my information is how I prefer my computer set up, or my music, or my e-mail address book, or my phone contacts, or my applications on my phone--all of them have to be re-done when I get a new device.

And that doesn't make sense to me. I think what I want is to own my data. Not to have Hotmail holding on to one set of contacts, and my cell phone holding on to a second, and my work phone holding onto a third...I want to own my data and have it persist no matter how often I upgrade specific devices--even if I eliminate them entirely. And I don't want any 3rd party sharing it or using it to target me with advertising. It should belong to me--my data, my files, my contacts, my music, my books, my pictures, my viewing preferences.

I want my stuff back.