Very Worried at MS .net

[John Peter Tapsell]

On Tue, 17 Jul 2001, you wrote:
> On 16 Jul 2001 20:59:58 +0100, John Peter Tapsell -->
> 
> > If they gain full control of a globally and totally accepted passport scheme,
> > they will control all.
> > 
> Most companies (the big ones, at
> least) know how strategic their
> client base is. Giving it to
> Microsoft through the use of .NET
> (and, consequently, passport) is not
> something they'll do lightly.
...


I started reading the first set of replies to my email, and I started getting
even more worred.  I started feeling that -the collective us- are not taking MS
seriously enough, or even understand.

In particular replies along the lines of " slashdot sucks, i didn't read the
trolls.... i don't get your point"  and " I will always use free software" and
"free software is better".  Not that i disagree with any of the points, but
they misinterpreted my original email.

Then I read Joao's reply with much interest, and some of the others.  
I think that Joao kinda sees eye-to-eye with me, but he hasn't made me feel
anymore confident that we win ;)

Addressing some of your points, Joau.  (I can't get that funny U thing..)

>[Companies] giving [their customer base] to Microsoft through the use of .NET
>(and, consequently, passport) is not something they'll do lightly.

Nope, but they can get round a lot of these kind of problems by
*) Making ISP's responisble for the passports
*) The data never leaves the ISP's - MS don't see it (They don't really want to
either probably)
*) The ISP has to get the passport certificates off of MS.  MS control the
authentification of them.

Now MS have control over the passports, yet not having them..

> Another problem is that european companies won't be able to legally
> use MS Passport (at least in Portugal and in the UK).
For now..
And they will get round it.

> The DataPrivacy Act and others prevent a company from giving personal data to
>another company in another country if you don't comply with european privacy
>directives.
Read points above, plus read the 'slashdot trolls' .

> If for some reason you think only technical people are worried about this,
> check this Business Week article in
I don't know how widespread this kind of view is, but I hope very.
However.. i think even if _everyone_ was worried, it wouldn't slow down MS
much, let alone stop them.
Everyone will just go along.. complaining etc sure, but they will go along.

As for the dotGNU project etc...

I don't know...  I hope...

Time will tell.. I just hope it is in our favour.

JohnFlux.
P.s. Take me as a pessimistic nut  - but consider the points seriously.
 -- 
"I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she's too
young to have logged on yet. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or
15 years from now, she will come to me and say 'Daddy, where were you when
they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?'" --Mike Godwin