Interesting discussion on /. http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/30/2146250
When we started thinking about the sys admin issues for sfx (http://sfcomplex.org/ ), we had to decide on how to address free web services. One example we had used earlier was PBWiki, a very nice wiki engine. Another was http://www.airset.com/ .. a very nice web community site. The principle we evolved was simply this: we can use any SaaS (Software as a Service) system as long as any data we put into the system was easily available in a standard format. This means, for example, use of Google Calendar was fine: it is an iCal system with easily downloadable calendar data in a standard format. Note that GMail similarly passes the test: the mail data can easily be captured via the IMAP or POP protocols. PBWiki failed: there was no easy way to capture the format in a standard format .. i.e. in a wiki markup language. Ditto for airset, the system was too difficult to extract and place into any of the usual CMS systems (Joomla, Drupal etc) On the other hand, one of our projects is looking hard at deploying web applications on Google Maps and Google App Engine. This looks fairly safe: the main features we are using on Google Maps are lat/lng which transfer to other GIS systems nicely. Similarly, the App Engine uses python and Django templates, and all of the system is developed "off-line" then uploaded. It's only oddness is its datastore, which maps fairly nicely onto other sytems. We also are cautious about having a Plan B .. i.e. how to extricate. So our approach of standards and data extractability is one approach. How do you handle this? Any horror stories? .. successes? -- Owen ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
