At 6:51 PM 4/26/96, Bill Frantz wrote:
Tim May and Mike Duvos have expresses an enthusiasm for Java which I share. There are a few practical issues which should be addresses.
And bear in mind that "enthusiasm" does not mean certitude. We've all gotten enthusiastic at times about some Next Big Thing. I count this enthusiasm as part of the larger Web picture, which is unlikely to fizzle out.
Tim says:
One interesting remark I read from someone was that the Java distribution model returns us to an era of easier distribution of small programs. The "application bloat" of very large programs may be at least partly fixed. We'll see.
I have my doubts about this one. I think application bloat comes from market forces and from the kind of bundling you see in XYZCorpOffice products where you get 4 applications packaged together. This marketing approach maximizes revenue by selling you products you don't need as a matter of convenience. But, we shall see.
If you mean "Microsoft Office," I wasn't really thinking of this. The point this person I cited (I don't remember who it was) was that this makes it easier for a application to get "shelf space," because the shelf is the Web. Payment is problematic, but distribution should be easy. Obviously, Mosaic (and then Netscape) was a good example of this. A small team, or even a single person, with a Good Idea, gets distribution. The Net and Unix have long had this (with Unix tools and languages), but the Web and applets may well extend this to a broader base. We'll see.
There are some features of Java which make it less than ideal for crypto applications. These features can be overcome, but they will affect implementors and users.
I think the interesting target date to plan for is a year from now.
(1) There are not many sources of high-quality entropy available to Java applets. Keystroke timings and scribble windows are probably the best sources, but may represent an inconvenience for users.
Shouldn't be any worse or any better than with the status quo, right? I'm not sure I see the Java issue. (I've been looking at SoundClip and AudioClip, but only cursorily.) By the way, Hal Finney is working on a bignum package. --Tim May Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Licensed Ontologist | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."