At 8:23 PM 7/20/95, Jon Lasser wrote:

And from what I've heard about HotJava (not seen it yet, can't comment strongly) there needs another jump in PC power before it would be useful at the home level. Part of why we were stuck with DOS for so long is that it was what got the job done when the revolution happened. For that reason, I agree that HTML/Integrated browser solutions are what we're looking at, and at the same time don't have strong hopes for HotJava, though I would like to see it succeed.

Just to clarify, you mentioned "useful at the home level." I can't speak for Ray, but I certainly didn't mean HotJava (or PowerObjects, or OpenDoc, or Agents tools, etc.) would be used at "the home level." Such tools would likely be used at the programming level. As to HotJava itself, who knows? It's one of several tooks coming along. The key is that folks--millions of them at last count--are voting with their feet that they want the ball of wax that is "The Web" (Netscape or Mosaic, HTML, HTTP, browsers, automated handling of images and sounds, integrated Newsreaders and mailers, etc.). They, the millions of users, demonstrably don't want to mess with Linux, or FreeBSD, or PGPelm, or even simple, straight text PGP (that is, PGP not integrated with mailers, just standalone). They want ease-of-use and a semantically simple model of how things work. (This is why I like Lisp Machines when I programmed them for Intel, and why I was an early adopter of the Macintosh, and why Windows has been doing so well...and why Netscape is doing spectacularly well.) This is not an "OS War" I'm taking sides in, just simple truth about what people are buying, using, clamoring for. It's important to our longer-range goals to recognize these important trends, like them or not. --Tim May .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@sensemedia.net | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-728-0152 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Corralitos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."