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I have to admit, I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand it's long overdue for Microsoft to be seriously given the finger by a collective group that it is unlikely to be able to bully or "embrace and extend" around. On the other, Sender-ID does seem to be the most sophisticated of the sender validation technologies proposed to the MARID group at the IETF, it would be a shame to lose it to corporate greed if Microsoft doesn't resolve the patent issues soon.

• Symbol Technologies licenses the Palm and creates several units which can do RF, 802.11, and include a barcode scanner (high-output LED)
• Handspring invents the Springboard slot and implements pseudo-USB support for connecting the devices.
• Sony mimics that with the MemoryStick, but adds VFS support, and takes Handspring's USB protocol, changes one function, and makes their own spin on it.
• Handera, formerly TRG builds upon that with a sliding graffiti area (thanks for incorporating my idea from #palmchat back in 1998 on that one), and adds CF and SD slot architectures (still serially connected storage though, can't "run apps" from each card concurrently)
• Palm comes out with the replacement to the Vx, called the m505, and includes the Sony VFS extensions, the Handspring hardware port design (internally) and the Handspring USB modifications, but changes it enough to make yet a third fork of this pseudo-USB protocol. They also make sure to make every single thing about this new device completely incompatible with every single other thing available for their devices, even down to a 2mm change in the stylus length (I have a more detailed enumeration of those changes found here).

Why does Palm think they're about to, in any way, create a new hardware device that they think will surpass these existing innovative devices? Palm is ALWAYS behind the curve on hardware advances in this area. We're not even talking about comparing them to the iPAQ, VTech Helio, Agenda, Yopy, and the other dozens of non-PalmOS, non-WinCE handheld PDA devices.

Currently, Palm's OEMs for the PalmOS® software include:

• Sony
• Handspring
• Handera (formerly TRG)
• Qualcomm (bought out by Kyocera)
• Kyocera
• Symbol Technologies
• ...and others.

They get licensing from each and every one of these OEMs. Their hardware is the last thing to ever be updated. It is without a doubt, the least innovative portion of their business.. and they're choosing to keep it?!

I don't quite understand the motive behind this decision on their part. I suppose I'll find out at Palmsource in February.

Here's the most constructive way to deal with it.

Here is the way to protest this.

Copied below (because black text on black background doesn't work - at least in Konqueror)....

Microsoft should be feared and despised!

After taking the time to read the Microsoft Passport Web Site Terms of Use and Notices I have had a belly full of them. The potential damage they can do with this license is staggering. I encourage everyone to take the time to read it, particularly the section entitled "LICENSE TO MICROSOFT". If you've ever had any doubts about the nature of that company reading that section should put them to rest for good and all!

I don't know how many times I've heard Microsoft described as "evil" by Linux zealots and open source supporters (which I am both) and thought, "They're losing it... Microsoft is just a company!" but now I'm forced to agree with them. This license is heinous, and more, it's frightening because I know that some people won't read it and will lose the rights to their own data/content without knowing. Add that to the fact that the license is clearly attempting to gain the rights to *ALL CONTENT WHICH PASSES OVER ANY SERVICE THEY PROVIDE*. For example... this article could be copied by someone and sent to someone else who uses the hotmail email service. According to the license Microsoft would then own the rights to this article! Unbelieveable you say? Go read it and see for yourself.

Most of the time when confronted with things like this I may rage for a while but I usually conclude that there is little that I can do to cause the policy to change so why bother doing anything at all but not this time!

Effective with this posting the following blocks are in place against email inbound to MoonGroup.com or any of it's domains. If you truly understand what their license means you will do the same on your mail server.

msn.com 550 Microsoft licenses are unacceptable. No mail from their services will be accepted.
msn.net 550 Microsoft licenses are unacceptable. No mail from their services will be accepted.
microsoft.com 550 Microsoft licenses are unacceptable. No mail from their services will be accepted.
microsoft.net 550 Microsoft licenses are unacceptable. No mail from their services will be accepted.
hotmail.com 550 Microsoft licenses are unacceptable. No mail from their services will be accepted.
hotmail.net 550 Microsoft licenses are unacceptable. No mail from their services will be accepted.

As this is clearly a pre-cursor of what Microsoft's .Net initative is all about I will be watching very closely to see where it goes. I had thought that SOAP might be something very useful which would help to open them up a bit but after reading this license it's clear to me that all that .Net and Hailstorm are going to be is just another sad example of "embrace and extend".

I fear them for what they are doing! I despise them for doing it!

Good luck to all of us... we're going to need it!

Here are some related links:

The Register.COM article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/18002.html

Troubleshooters.COM new copyright and other articles: http://www.troubleshooters.com/cpyright.htm http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200104/2001 04.htm#_new_copyright http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200104/2001 04.htm#_three_articles

LEAP Thread (first article in thread): http://lists.leap-cf.org/pipermail/leaplist/2001-A pril/011248.html

By Chuck Mead on Monday April 02 2001 @ 11:55PM EDT

Here is a good HOWTO on how to provide exchange "features" to an open system using Sendmail/Cyrus
http://www.moongroup .co m/old/docs/exchange-replacement-howto/

And here is a different example, even including scheduling
http://linuxtoday.com/stories/11031.html& lt;/A>

As you know an archive of mailing lists are a great resource and time saver if you can search through them.

I had to look elsewhere to get them. Moongroup.com has a great Red Hat mailing lists archive.