I know the "cloud" is the big thing, but I predict a return to local software/hardware at some point.

The cloud is just someone else's computer. Whatever I thought the benefits were at one point (I can't even remember) no longer outweigh the cost and loss of control.

There will always be a need for offsite backups and internal clouds, but I just don't see the appeal as an individual anymore. I'm even looking into ways to have 'offsite' backups that I still control.

One idea I've had is syncing to devices in my vehicle, home, and any other space I control. This has downsides, but one location going down wouldn't cause total data loss. It's proven to be quite an engineering task.

Factors to consider include device power needs (like in a car), the effect of weather on devices (hot/cold car), security, sync technology (Syncthing is promising), how often I can be in each place for a sync, etc. Cell connected devices may be a solution here.

I think it's possible and could become easier for average people with enough time and work.