Ron Teitelbaum wrote:
Hi JP,
This is not an easy question. There are a number of things that you need to
consider. First you need to decide how secure the update needs to be. If
you are not worried about security then you have a much easier job and many
more options. In general Squeak is not secure, but it is also not less
secure then many other tools that are sent to end users.
So first answer some questions.
Is your system likely to be used by people that are interested in cracking
the system?
Some of the end-users might try this but most of them will not. They
just want a system that works and does its job. We are working with
partners who are distributing our software and I know that some of them
will try to open up the software, modify it and, in some cases, try to
sell it as their own if it is easy to get at the source. If the source
is not available and it is a bit hard to get access to the developing
interface then I believe this risk is greatly reduced.
Does your system have access to network facilities that attach to other
installations of your system?
Yes. This is a distributed networked application. It lives and breathes
on the network.
Are you concerned that someone might try to build a patch and upload that
code to your system installations? (i.e. spyware, worms, viruses)
Well, not really. Our installations mainly run on private WAN networks
owned by the customer but you never know what malicious internal users
might do. We plan on being able to run this over the Internet where this
is a major concern but will try to limit it by using secure network
connections.
Are you trying to prevent users from using features of your system without
authorization? (i.e. Try before you buy?)
Yes. We must be able to issue licenses for using features of the system.
There are no easy answers but I do believe it is a very interesting
discussion.
It indeed is and one that needs to be addressed if Squeak is to be
seriously considered as a commercial vehicle. It has huge potential in
that area if the proper hooks are in place.
As a side note I might mention that our current system is implemented in
C++ and, if it turns out to be possible with respect to the topic of
this thread, we are seriously considering porting it to Squeak. Croquet
will also play a major role as the monitoring / management tool.
Ron Teitelbaum
President / Principal Software Engineer
US Medical Record Specialists
www.usmedrec.com
Squeak Cryptography Team Leader
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:beginners-
[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jens Pall
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2007 2:09 AM
To: Squeak Beginners
Subject: [Newbies] Squeak in commercial projects
Hi
How can I use Squeak in a commercial closed source project (whole image)?
How about upgrades? I want to be able to send an upgrade to the customer
which only contains the changed code.
Thanks,
JP
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