Microsoft and Intel are backing a standardization effort to connect all manners of devices, from computer peripherals to consumer electronics, using Web services protocols. The companies, along with Canon and Java software maker BEA Systems, on Tuesday published a technical specification, called WS-Discovery. The protocol is designed for situations in which network connections between devices are done in an ad hoc way. For example, the software will enable a personal digital assistant to locate available services such as printing or file sharing on a wireless network. The announcement was made in conjunction with the Intel Developer Forum, which is taking place in San Francisco this week. "Web services is coming home," Louis Burns, corporate vice president at Intel, said at the forum.
The companies intend to submit WS-Discovery to a standards organization but did not say when such a move will occur. Products incorporating the standard are expected to show up next year, Burns said. The companies said WS-Discovery is intended to work with existing Web services protocols--a set of Extensible Markup Language-based standards that simplify information sharing--for finding available services. WS-Discovery will demand less bandwidth and won't require a constant network connection, as the Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) protocol does, the companies said. The companies said current Web services specifications have simplified computer-to-computer data exchanges but have not addressed noncomputer devices such as peripherals, computer appliances and consumer electronics. WS-Discovery is intended to be a simple method for providing Web services to these devices, which tend to have temporary network connections and limited processing power, according to the companies.
News source: C|Net News.com
The companies intend to submit WS-Discovery to a standards organization but did not say when such a move will occur. Products incorporating the standard are expected to show up next year, Burns said. The companies said WS-Discovery is intended to work with existing Web services protocols--a set of Extensible Markup Language-based standards that simplify information sharing--for finding available services. WS-Discovery will demand less bandwidth and won't require a constant network connection, as the Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI) protocol does, the companies said. The companies said current Web services specifications have simplified computer-to-computer data exchanges but have not addressed noncomputer devices such as peripherals, computer appliances and consumer electronics. WS-Discovery is intended to be a simple method for providing Web services to these devices, which tend to have temporary network connections and limited processing power, according to the companies.
News source: C|Net News.com
Here it is, the new version. Nothing major in this one, really. There are a couple of little bug fixes and some general polishing. It's getting almost impossible to release versions because there's just nothing to add to it. Although there are actually two things that could be done, but they would involve rewriting big chunks of the code and loads of testing. So consider this the final version until one of two things happen: 1) Someone finds a bug. 2) Adobe breaks the app so it doesn't work anymore and I end up having to fix it.
One final thing. If Adobe Acrobat/Reader gives you any errors after you run ARSU, then do a Restore Configuration, activate Plugin Help and make sure that you aren't disabling any plugins that depend on other plugins to work. This is not a bug of ARSU. It's simple common sense. Anyway, changelog..
- Added: More coach messages on potential error situations.
- Added: Plugin Info.pdf courtesy of Nat Taylor.
- Fixed: Plugin dependency information wasn't being loaded.
- Fixed: Occasional text flickering in Windows XP.
Imagine if you had one of those internet fridges that orders groceries for you...somebody could hack into your network and order a mess of food...
Of they could reprogram your VCR to record something other than what you intend, or a lot worse...
In order to make this setup even moderately secure you'd need to use static IP adresses and WEP security (somthing that should be done anyways, but it would be a hassle setting up everything to do it).
I think it's a cool idea yes, but also a very annoying and potentially dangerous idea
On the serious side, though, perhaps if each 'device' were to be given a PGP (or a GPG in my world) key that the owner of the device had to authenticate against in order to do anything. This way, when you got a new device, you exchange keys, and it would recognize you as 'admin'. If keys get lost or forgotten or trashed in a bizarre OS upgrade, then you would be able to manually clear the device, since it is (presumeably) located in your house.
Maybe Bluetooth would be a better choice, as the range is not as far as WiFi?
And they would do this because...?
1. How is the MSFT/INTC solution being "forced on us"?
2. So you're saying that in the face of zero demand and inadequate promotion, Sun ought to have forced Jini on us?
I like the way you say things without thinking.
2. They could have worked with Sun on Jini to make it better, instead they want to reinvent the wheel so they have complete control over it. Sun doesn't have a monopoly, so they can't force anyting.
I like the way you don't think at all. It's people like you that monopolies target, since you don't know any better.
If this was really the case, why are Linux and Apple still around?
hahahahaha
They could have worked with Sun on Jini to make it better, instead they want to reinvent the wheel so they have complete control over it. Sun doesn't have a monopoly, so they can't force anyting.
Sun could have worked with Microsoft and Intel when they were developing Jini to make it better, but instead they wanted to have complete control over it.
And now for the meta-commentary:
1. If there is demand for a Jini-type product, whoever can furnish it first, fastest and best will end up taking the market. When Sun developed Jini, there was very little market demand for it and so it didn't take off. Part of this was Sun's fault, because it didn't promote it aggressively enough or try to establish a broad base of support for its technology. Part of this was because the market wasn't ready for something like that.
Today, the market is ready (or so Microsoft and Intel hope). They have prepared a new specification and a new model to meet the demand they anticipate. You propose they should have used the old, Jini specification instead of developing a new, more advanced one. That's fine. If you were in their position, you would have turned your back on progress and gone with the old stuff because... um... it makes you feel special. I'm all in favour of you feeling special, so you go right ahead. Everyone else, however, likes to have new and better technology, and Intel and Microsoft appreciate that. They gave us what we want.
Now if companies like Philips and Sony and National don't want to use this proposed specification, there is nothing that Microsoft and Intel can do about it. What will Microsoft do, promise Philips not to sell it Windows XP to include in its shavers? Tell Samsung it can't use Office in its televisions?
What's delightfully ironic is that Jini was an even more proprietary system than this MSFT/INTC proposal is. Sun would have retained absolute and complete control over Jini, just as it has with Java, instead of working to build a consortium of adopters and promoters, like our 'monopolists' did with USB.
You amuse me.
Heh. Curse them for "forcing" the world into the age of affordable desktop computing!
You know, there's a reason why communism fell. It's that rule by committee is a) inefficient and b) inevitably gets sold out to individual interests anyway. Communism was only strong when it had strong, visionary leaders like Stalin.
Likewise in the computer world. If Bill hadn't had the gonads to take over and make the hard choices on standards, we'd still be in a socialist-style computing stone age.
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