One of the arguments that has not come up against .NET is its tie-in to Microsoft's collection and profiling of personal information.
Users of .NET applications will be forced to be Passport users. If not immediately, then as soon as MS can manage it legally. In case you haven't read it, the Passport license agreement specifically gives MS the right to move your personal information outside the United States to whichever countries they choose. And outside the reach of US Government controls. Here are some notes from a press release today by some groups that are pushing the FTC to do something about it... They sent a letter to the FTC demanding redress - nothing happened. Here's their complaint: <quote from press release> "Despite detailing numerous privacy issues associated with XP in the July and August filings, the FTC has taken no public action to protect consumers "Microsoft's ability to track, profile and monitor the 165 million (anticipated) Passport users has far-reaching and profound implications for privacy protection in general and in particular with regard to the growth of electronic commerce," the letter said. "The groups renewed their call to order Microsoft to review its XP registration procedures so that XP customers know they are not required to register for Passport to obtain Internet access. "Meanwhile, the groups want the FTC to determine whether Passport complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and to require the release of any information that may have been "collected fraudulently and deceptively through XP and Passport." </end of quote> In my opinion it's the responsibility of the development community to make .NET irrelevant. Before you flame me for being off-topic, it's my contention that this EXTREMELY ON-TOPIC. A basic question regarding any system is protection of personal information. It's the architect/designer's role to ensure that the personal information of the system users is protected. That begins with the development platform - EJB/J2EE protects personal information, .NET /Passport forces it to be turned over to MS. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Find a job, post your resume. http://careers.yahoo.com =========================================================================== To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "signoff EJB-INTEREST". For general help, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "help".
