Re: [DotGNU]Developers: What .Net will cost you

[David J. Thomson]

> It will be only if there is no other choice to
> accomplish tasks important to users.  None of the user
> problems I've heard mentioned here (consolidated
> personal data management, access to persoanl data from
> remote devices, site password management-indintity)
> REQUIRE a central service model like .NET.  Nor do any
> of the proposed b2b uses that I've heard of (thu I'm
> not real familiar with this area.)  Hopefull, dotgnu
> will be a source of some of those alternatives

There is a prototype of a new software application/framework called the
cybersphere available from ATA Cycle. It allows you to send and receive
messages, have threaded conversations, publish/edit documents, and more,
all without any monopolized servers. You can set up your own
communications node (called a "concentre") just by downloading and
installing it. If you have a static (or even semi-static) IP on the
Internet you can start providing a secure communications "medium of
mediums" for your friends, family, village, or community.

The license, however, is not GPL because the true source is not yet
available.  :( Don't fret, because you can make it GPL! All you have to do
is figure out which five lines of code were intentionally omitted from the
included source code, and the whole thing becomes public domain and you
can do whatever you want with it, including releasing it under the GPL.
Until that happens, only certified distributors such as ATA Cycle
(www.atabike.com) and Infraweb (www.infraweb.com) are permitted to
distribute it.

If you are the one that identifies the five lines, you or the the group
you choose to represent will automatically be offered a free certified
distribution license for the next release. Furthermore, if you are the
73rd person to send a memo through the cybersphere to ATA Cycle, the Best
Bike Shop in Boston two years running according to Boston Magazine (find
them in your contacts list), you will receive a free bike! Check out ATA
Cycle at http://www.atabike.com/cybersphere.html for more details.

-David