Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Standards, W3C, and Patents

Author:Karl Dubost
Posted:7/31/2000; 12:10:34 AM
Topic:Standards, W3C, and Patents
Msg #:19289
Prev/Next:19288 / 19290

Dear Dave,

It was great this morning to come to my computer and read your yesterday piece about software and Standards.

In fact, I understand your point of view, but I not really agree with it, because it's a short view (with all respect I should have). The fact is that we need standards, we really need standards, that's the story of our life. Standards are a guarantee of Interoperability.

The standards are not here to frustate industry or people, but to guarantee to people to make products which can evolve and be innovative in a stable Market Ecology.

Napster had a great success, because it uses TCP/IP, Ethernet, etc... (standards). Imagine that this company decides to have his own protocol, it couldn't have success.

For the Web, W3C is here to maintain a Web Ecology where people could evolve with harmony and being sure that they work will be operable in all software. Imagine a world where Netscape and Microsoft took two opposite directions, meaning that when you browse the web, you need two applications to see websites... It's why I hate the mention, designed for... The Web must be viewable by everyone (http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Points/). Standards are not austerity, there are cool!

I think for Napster you miss the point. You confused innovation and interoperability. You can always innovate, that's great! Frontier is a wonderful tool with so many possibilities. You and Userland has given us so good products (not perfect ;-) but really powerful). And if your application is a success, makes it standard... (means openess). It's, IMHO, you're trying with SOAP? To create SOAP, you used XML (standard) on Internet (TCP/IP - Standard), but you innovated.

I think there's a strong difference between a company with a KillerApp that becomes a standard and a KillerApp that becomes a monopoly. I prefer the first one because it gives fresh air to the market and economy. The second one kills the market (that's the example of Word (MS)). When a technology becomes a standard, it offers companies to compete each other but with a usual comon basis. It's more productive and it helps, and calls innovation.

Do you remember the problems of IMS... lack of standards, fight for proprietary protocols. It's easier for the company, but it's not good for the market and FOR PEOPLE.

HTML has had a great success, but it was open, no patent on it. It gives the opportunity to many people to develop applications: Tim Berners Lee (browser on Next, CERN httpd server), Mosaic, Viola, many others and finally Netscape. It helps the web to grow and be so popular.

I don't know if it answered some of your comments.

PS: I hope I was not rude. It's difficult for a non native english to be polite, because we not necessary manipulate all language subtilities.

-- 
Karl Dubost / W3C - Conformance Manager
          http://www.w3.org/


     --- Be Strict To Be Cool!


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