Regarding the thought that "Names arent important," I suggest everyone try to think about this from the point of view of a mere mortal, a.k.a. an end user.
Most of the people I know who aren't geeks don't think of themselves as using Internet Explorer. They open the Internet. In that past, that tended to refer to AOL. These days, it's generally IE, but with customizations from Earthlink, SBC, or whoever else their ISP may be.
They also don't use Outlook or Outlook Express. They just read their email. For a lot of people, that's done using a web browser and Yahoo or Gmail. In any case, it doesn't matter much, as long as people understand how to compose, read, and reply. The name of the application is irrelevant.
From their point of view, most people I know don't even use Word and Excel. Instead, they write letters and create spreadsheets.
Pretty much the only application I hear friends and relatives referring to by name is iTunes.
But, let's face it, none of us are likely to be manually launching iexplore.exe, winword.exe, or./firefox. Even geeks typically use a GUI for launching applications. And the nature of a GUI is that people get used to the icon they click or the steps they take, not the labels on things.
In a GUI-based paradigm, names really aren't important.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet." -- Shakespear
...so I wouldn't think the current trend of long-running beta releases has anything to do with whether or not they're ready for prime time. It sure looks like a lawsuit avoidance tactic to me.
If you go 20 miles north of Cupertino to Foster City, Microsoft's maps are more current than Google's. Google still shows an empty dirt lot at 800 Foster City Blvd. Microsoft shows the PJCC buildings under construction. They opened in 2004, so Microsoft's Foster City maps are about two years old, and about a year or two newer than Google's.
Sygate's Personal Firewall Pro costs between $25 and $50 per seat, depending on the quantity you need, and it runs on Windows 2003 Server. If you have to do something host-based, I think it's your best idea.
It's what I run on my XP-powered laptop to keep it safe in hotels and at hotspots, because it's far more configurable than the built-in Windows firewall.
-Shirt & shoes required. -No loitering. -No soliciting. -Check all bags at counter. -No more than two students allowed in store at one time. -Parking lot, bathroom, etc. for customer use only.
Just because a building (or a web site) is in a public place doesn't mean that everyone is free to do whatever they want. Business owners are free to create house rules that everyone needs to follow.
Similarly, web sites can legally restrict what you are allowed to do when you visit them without having to build security measures to force compliance. If web retailers don't mind robots harvesting their inventory and prices, great. If, however, they want to place restrictions on who can access their site and how, that's entirely their prerogative.
Think about it. Leaving the door to your home unlocked would make it easier for people to steal your stuff, but it still wouldn't make it legal for them to do so unless you put up a sign saying something like, "Free for the taking."
Web scrapers are legal to develop and they're legal to use on sites with acceptable use policies that allow them. However, your customers should be prepared for the possibility that some or all of their competitors could make them stop using it at some point. And, in the interests of maintaining your own professional ethics, you should probably call their attention to the issues surrounding the job they're asking you to do.
Slashdot Mirror
Regarding the thought that "Names arent important," I suggest everyone try to think about this from the point of view of a mere mortal, a.k.a. an end user. Most of the people I know who aren't geeks don't think of themselves as using Internet Explorer. They open the Internet. In that past, that tended to refer to AOL. These days, it's generally IE, but with customizations from Earthlink, SBC, or whoever else their ISP may be. They also don't use Outlook or Outlook Express. They just read their email. For a lot of people, that's done using a web browser and Yahoo or Gmail. In any case, it doesn't matter much, as long as people understand how to compose, read, and reply. The name of the application is irrelevant. From their point of view, most people I know don't even use Word and Excel. Instead, they write letters and create spreadsheets. Pretty much the only application I hear friends and relatives referring to by name is iTunes. But, let's face it, none of us are likely to be manually launching iexplore.exe, winword.exe, or ./firefox. Even geeks typically use a GUI for launching applications. And the nature of a GUI is that people get used to the icon they click or the steps they take, not the labels on things.
In a GUI-based paradigm, names really aren't important.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet." -- Shakespear
...so I wouldn't think the current trend of long-running beta releases has anything to do with whether or not they're ready for prime time. It sure looks like a lawsuit avoidance tactic to me.
If you go 20 miles north of Cupertino to Foster City, Microsoft's maps are more current than Google's. Google still shows an empty dirt lot at 800 Foster City Blvd. Microsoft shows the PJCC buildings under construction. They opened in 2004, so Microsoft's Foster City maps are about two years old, and about a year or two newer than Google's.
MSN picture
Google picture
PJCC's website
It's what I run on my XP-powered laptop to keep it safe in hotels and at hotspots, because it's far more configurable than the built-in Windows firewall.
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/pspf_pricing.htm
Absolutely! If a burglar gets shot or injured, it's very much in the homeowner's best interest to finish the job.
You see signs everywhere you go:
-Shirt & shoes required.
-No loitering.
-No soliciting.
-Check all bags at counter.
-No more than two students allowed in store at one time.
-Parking lot, bathroom, etc. for customer use only.
Just because a building (or a web site) is in a public place doesn't mean that everyone is free to do whatever they want. Business owners are free to create house rules that everyone needs to follow.
Similarly, web sites can legally restrict what you are allowed to do when you visit them without having to build security measures to force compliance. If web retailers don't mind robots harvesting their inventory and prices, great. If, however, they want to place restrictions on who can access their site and how, that's entirely their prerogative.
Think about it. Leaving the door to your home unlocked would make it easier for people to steal your stuff, but it still wouldn't make it legal for them to do so unless you put up a sign saying something like, "Free for the taking."
Web scrapers are legal to develop and they're legal to use on sites with acceptable use policies that allow them. However, your customers should be prepared for the possibility that some or all of their competitors could make them stop using it at some point. And, in the interests of maintaining your own professional ethics, you should probably call their attention to the issues surrounding the job they're asking you to do.