[NTLUG:Discuss] .Net and the Mono Project
Daniel Hauck
xdesign at hotmail.com
Tue Jul 17 09:59:02 CDT 2001
A lot of this remains to be seen but I can say this: (which has already been
said)
.NET is not a new idea. It's just a rehash of some older ideas. We don't
need yet ANOTHER new programming language [C#] when the stuff we have now
[Perl and Python] works very efficiently and compatibly.
Finally, the notion of "software as a service" is an idea that only works in
"huge business." Everyone has grown accustomed to having a software license
that doesn't expire. Many users routinely reject and shun publishers
[Goldenhawk technologies] who make attempts at selling self-destructing
software. (Consider if your MS Word documents all became inaccessible at
some point after Microsoft disapears forever... just a hypothetical
situation... Now if your MS Word subscription expires and you have no way to
renew your license consider the potential loss to your business! Under the
DMCA, you cannot legally write or use code to circumvent these 'security
measures' and so you cannot access your company's data without violating
federal law!)
The easy way beyond this is simply to resist the temptation to become locked
up into subscription-based licenses entirely. I don't rent my tools -- I
OWN them. I feel more comfortable when my tools are within my grasp at all
times without depending on some internet based [read flakey and DoSable]
subscription that requires not only that my computers be connected to the
internet to run, but that they are EXPOSED to the internet and all possible
security concerns exposed along with it. And all this so my administrative
assistant can write a memo to me????
If security is a concern, it is commonly held that connection to any network
is a danger regardless of the OS being used. The simple solution of
disconnection from the network is adviseable in security sensitive
situations and by far the most secure. Being locked into a .NET solution to
performing daily business removes disconnection as an option for keeping
your data secure. Does this strike anyone as being fundamentally flawed?
[GPL] Open Source software is still the best weapon against the new
Microsoft initiative. We don't have to worry about our software expiring or
self-destructing. We don't have to rely on the future of a single vendor
for the stability and growth of the software tools we use in our business.
(This is the most persuassive argument for OSS that I rarely see
mentioned -- PCs are more popular than Macs because people are never locked
into depending on a single vendor for PC equipment. OSS's greatest strength
is the same! You are not locked into a single distributor of Linux as an OS
but you are locked into a single company with Microsoft.)
I hope this does not become a 'religious' discussion and instead remains one
of sense. I tire of "Microsoft bashing" based only on a feeling we likely
share about the company. Currently, I'm using Outlook express to compose
this email and I use Japanese Windows98se on this computer. Why? Because
there is no equivalant to this under Linux.
(On a side note, does anyone know of an HTTPMail: [Hotmail] client that
works under Linux? Or even an HTTPMail: to POP3 gateway service under
Linux? Please let me know! Additionally, is there anyone out there using
Japanese and Linux? I'd love to know how it's done effectively.)
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