From: Joseph Block <jpb@shadow.net>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 95 13:37:31 PDT
To: pfarrell@netcom.com
Subject: Re: Netscape the Big Win
In-Reply-To: <40697.pfarrell@netcom.com>
Message-ID: <199507202041.QAA21408@shadow.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


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superceded RSN.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.