onTap framework -- it's the reason I built a "plugin manager" for the
application. As of yet, there's nothing in the plugin manager that
will download new plugins from the web and throw you straight into the
installation, but I figure that's really only a matter of time. The
core components include zip and unzip functions, so the only piece
that's left is a place to configure webservices (to fetch plugins
from), display and select results, and of course, a webservice and
some plugins to put on it. Where I sit, transparency is something
that's a long-time coming (and still doesn't really exist) for the
most part with web applications. The SmartObjects "framework" was a
good example of transparency -- you download one small template and
run it, and it connects to the ftp server to download and configure
all the remaining components. If nothing else about the app was any
good, that at least was really slick.
> I've been a strong proponent of developers using IE, not
> because it's
> the best browser, but because that's what their customers
> use and if
> you something doesn't work in IE then you've effectively
> cut out the
> majority of visitors.
> I've changed to Firefox. I still think the above is a
> reasonable
> position, but continuing to use a browser that compromises
> my system
> is entirely unreasonable.
> With that said, while I like many technical aspects of
> Firefox they
> have a ways to go if they want to retain a significant
> userbase. I was
> using 0.9 and got a message that there was an update
> available. So I
> click on the "get the update" link and it downloads. But
> it's not like
> WindowsUpdate where it actually transparently updates
> things, oh no.
> It put it somewhere on my hard drive and I had to run the
> installer
> myself. And of course, that left me also wondering if my
> bookmarks,
> plug-ins, settings, etc were are going to come across. So
> far it seems
> okay, but uncertainty is the surest way to kill a user's
> desire to
> upgrade. Transparency is key. MS has transparency down
> pat. It's their
> biggest feature, and the cause of their problems. The
> Mozilla/Firefox
> team need to figure out how to make updates and plugin
> installation
> completely transparent while still retaining security.
> We've seen it with Netscape. User's don't like complicated
> updates.
> That's why NS4.x is STILL out there. The first time a
> general user has
> to update, with the current system in place I figure at
> least half of
> them won't.
s. isaac dealey 954.927.5117
new epoch : isn't it time for a change?
add features without fixtures with
the onTap open source framework
http://www.sys-con.com/story/?storyid=44477&DE=1
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