RE: Netscape the Big Win

tcmay@sensemedia.net (Timothy C. May)  writes:

> * I use Netscape to read News.
> * I use Netscape to access the Web.
> * I still use Eudora to send and receive Mail. (Netscape can currently
> send mail, but not receive it. This is likely to change soon.)

I'm not about to argue that the web isn't the hotest thing on the net,
which is the hotest thing in computing... But I've got a question
that I can't resolve.

The current trend is to bundle all types of functionality into huge
monolithic programs. Add mail to netscape, add encryption, add ...

Yet most of the computers people use are multi-windows, and soon most
will even be multi-tasking.

Why are all-in-one programs so preferable to using the windowing
capabilities that are built into every X-window, Mac or Windows system?

Why not use the best mail client, another best webcrawler, and yet another
news reader?

Microsoft has been preaching the use of OLE and component programs as its
development vision for 2+ years, Macs have been popular for ten years,
why is the trend still towards adding every possible bell and whistle
to single programs?

With components, it wouldn't be hard to have a universal
Encryption/Signature module. It would get arround any propriatary
restriction that vendors may or may not try to enforce ("can Netscape be
extended or not" becomes moot).

Is clicking on another icon really too hard?

Pat

Pat Farrell    Grad Student      http://www.isse.gmu.edu/students/pfarrell
Info. Systems & Software Engineering, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
PGP key available on homepage               #include <standard.disclaimer>

> The current trend is to bundle all types of functionality into huge
> monolithic programs. Add mail to netscape, add encryption, add ...
> 
> Yet most of the computers people use are multi-windows, and soon most
> will even be multi-tasking.
> 
> Why are all-in-one programs so preferable to using the windowing

[why favor the browser approach of sticking all the client functionality
for various protocols into one program]

   The answer is: integration. While TRN is a great newsreader, and 
Eudora's a great mail reader, etc, if I read a post in TRN or a message
in Eudora, there is no hyperlinking. If I see a link or reference,
I have to cut-n-paste it into an ftp session or a web browser.
If "helper applications" for web browsers could talk bidirectionally
with the browser in a meaningful way (display output in the window for
example, and use the browser to open and fetch data), there would be
no need for all this. Isn't it much better to have inline jpeg viewing
in a page rather than launching 10 jpeg viewers externally?

   Since not all operating systems have a standard cross-platform technique
of interapplication communication, it makes porting these helper apps and
browsers all the more difficult.

   The future is in component systems like OpenDoc and HotJava. With HotJava,
you can once again return to "shopping around for the best mail reader
application", however this time, it will be a program you can run from within
the browser. Not only that, but you can automagically download it just by
going to a home page, or placing the mail reader application in your own
homepage.

  It used to be that each media type was stored in a different document,
and a special tool had to be used on each file. Now, all media types
can coexist in the same document, and the "handlers" for each media type
are packaged into the document too (or, links on where to find them)

  I wouldn't be surprised if in 5-10 years, your operating system basically
looks like a cross between Netscape, OpenDoc, and HotJava. The "browser"
would be ubiquituous, and local/LAN/WAN data would be treated transparently.


-Ray

re:
> The current trend is to bundle all types of functionality into huge
> monolithic programs. Add mail to netscape, add encryption, add ...
[snip] 
> Why are all-in-one programs so preferable to using the windowing
> capabilities that are built into every X-window, Mac or Windows system?
> 
> Why not use the best mail client, another best webcrawler, and yet another
> news reader?
[snip] 
> With components, it wouldn't be hard to have a universal
> Encryption/Signature module. It would get arround any propriatary
> restriction that vendors may or may not try to enforce ("can Netscape be
> extended or not" becomes moot).
> 
> Is clicking on another icon really too hard?

Um, thats what I do on my Mac.  The smoothness of Internet Config+Newswatcher
+IceTEE+Eudora+Anarchie is beautiful to watch - I command-click a URL while
reading mail and the right app magically takes care of everything.

[begin annoyed complaints here]

If only MacPGP were so easy.  MacPGP is such a pain in the ass for me that
I'm 90% done configuring a Linux box so I can sign/encrypt without hassle.
There are other planned uses for valkyrie, of course, but the triggering
factor is encryption.  I'd much rather keep PGP and my keys on my Duo that
I take everywhere, but that'd be too easy.

First I had troubles with it crashing my machine, then it wouldn't extract keys,
then it would extract keys but my buddy with the dos machine couldn't import
them (and yes, I had it set to ascii armor them).  The litany goes on and on.
I suspect that it is RamDoubler that MacPGP hates, but am unwilling to give it
up - I *need* that extra 12MB for work.

I'm not a moron; I got it working well enough under DOS to have taught
several friends to use it, it just doesn't like my Mac.

Does anyone have any information on when 3.0 is going to be released?  I'd
rather fight with a buggy new version than a buggy old version that will be
superceded RSN.

I'm also interested from an OpenDoc standpoint - I just got the OpenDoc DR2 CD
and would really like to make a PGP aware OpenDoc container.  I have time to
code now, but won't after September.