Re: [h2o-discuss] RealNames mixing open and proprietary

[Wendy Seltzer <wseltzer@eon.law.harvard.edu>]

I guess I'm skeptical because I can't tell whether RealNames is just
trying to one-up NSI -- if you can't get your name as a domain name, get
it here instead -- or whether they're offering a useful directory service.
Likewise, I can't tell whether they are embracing openness in a productive 
way or in the Microsoft way ("embrace and extend").

On the other hand, to give programmers more credit, they'll be able to
distinguish between the two and choose where to put their efforts.  With
open APIs, they will have that choice, and we'll see what gets developed.

--Wendy

 On Wed, 6 Oct 1999, Jon Garfunkel wrote:
> RealNames is introducing an OpenAPI to its system. That is an opening to
> start with. I happen to think that OpenAPI is a critical step towards
> attracting developers, and henceforth, a diversity of interoperable
> software. (recall my appeal last month to h2o, to assist my crusade to
> liberate ThirdVoice's API).
> 
> Traditionally the official reasons given for keeping an API closed or
> severely restricted is that not all of the API has been thoroughly tested,
> or is guaranteed to stay the same (while the realpolitik reason is that the
> company wants to frustrate clone developers). (cf the early cases against
> Microsoft, brought on by DR-DOS and PC-DOS developers).
...
-- 
Wendy Seltzer
Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School
wendy@eon.law.harvard.edu | wendy@seltzer.com | wseltzer@law.harvard.edu
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html