[PLUG] MARIN Fails

[Jason Van Cleve]

These links showed up on a shell scripting list yesterday and today:

http://www.moongroup.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=28&Itemid=2

http://www.moongroup.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=2

(They're different.)  The first one details--after a long historical
introduction that you might as well skip--some IP problems facing the
MARIN project, which involves an MTA authorization mechanism in DNS, as
you may know.  The idea is aimed at checking the spread of worms, virii
and spam, among other things.

The second link follows up the first to state the demise of MARIN. 
Apparently, Microsoft rushed out and filed a patent covering some of the
core functionality that MARIN was to implement, and the technologists
involved could not accept the notion of M$ owning an Internet-wide
solution (those insolent open-standards proponents!).  Once again, it
seems, software patents take their toll on the progress of
technological.

--Jason Van Cleve

--
Called up the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms regional office
and asked, "What wine goes best with an M-16?"  The guy who answered did
his best to be helpful:  "That depends.  What are you smoking?"