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• Are you kidding me? Do anything but compete or innovate you say?

  So I noticed the MSN Messenger Activity SDK is up and available for download. That said, note the following restrictions (just one of many interesting items):

  Activity API Restrictions
  Your MSN Messenger Activity must not contain any functionality that would normally be controlled by the MSN Messenger client. This includes (but is not limited to) the following items:

  • Instant messaging
  • File transfer (for example, digital photos or sound files)
  • Audio conversation capabilities
  • Control of a Web camera or use of a video conferencing session
  • Application sharing
  • Creation of a white board space

  So basically do not come up with anything that ads to instant messaging - like say encryption? Do not come up with an easy way to share family photos? Do not come up with a neat way of using a camera - like checking in on your house? Under no circumstance come up with a meeting like experience... And so it goes. My question is - what does this leave for an innovator to look at? Games? Tic-Tac-Toe? How disappointing... This is not to mention that developers have to then submit all of the work to get approved, including potentially sending source code and such.

  Can you imagine if Windows itself was like this? Yeah, perhaps it would be more secure and less prone to crashes, but I tell you this, it would also not exist. Turn the scenario around and ask Microsoft to turn over source code and watch the fur fly.

  I would love to here what Scoble has to say about this one...

  Ben
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  Sep 9, 2005 at 11:01 PM in IM

• MSN Getting the Message?

  Microsoft Web Plan takes aim at Google - via News.com

  Now this may be what I wanted... Very exciting. It appears Scoble either did not know or was playing a masterful game of poker (okay - I am not sure how masterful, but it sounded better).  Here is another link (via Dare Obasanjo) worth checking out. I must say that while I am not entirely surprised because of the open Google release, this does appear to be a departure from previous actions. I do recall that in 2002/2003 there were plans to open up the system, but all of a sudden it closed up to only the IMLogic's of the world. Either way, 2+ years later, this could be good news for the developer.

  Sep 8, 2005 at 05:26 PM in IM, Microsoft & Related, Software & Internet Development

• Overstated News.com (.com) article about GPL and Patents

  Next GPL to protect free software from lawsuits? - News.com
  Free Software Smacks Down Patents - Wired
  via News.com & Wired.com
  
  First, the News.com title is very misleading. The title makes it appear as though the GPL will somehow usurp United States patent law - which in of itself is absurd. Secondly, the first block is written such that it exaggerates the breadth of GPL by stating the GPL "...may contain a clause to penalize companies that use software patents against free software." Read that 10 times and try to unwrap its meaning. How does one use software patents against free software exactly? I was not aware that patents implied a cost to software and that somehow it is a patent versus cost equation?

  Read more
  Sep 6, 2005 at 04:57 PM in Patents