[JDEV] Slashdot Article

[Julian Fitzell]

Michael Brown wrote:
>>"Standard stuff" being "when are you going to have stable and reliable
>>gateways to the other IM systems?"
>>
>>*sigh*
> 
> 
> Yet when /. has an article about Linux, you don't see a whole host of people
> complaining that it isn't stable and reliable running Windows
> software...weird.  Many of the Open Source/Standards advocates seem to miss
> the point when talking about Jabber.
> 
> Michael.

Well, I see their point to some degree.  If you switch to linux from 
windows, you can't run all the same programs as you could before but you 
can find alternatives and conversion programs, etc.  The point of 
instant messaging is to be able to communicate in real-time with your 
friends.  From people who see Jabber as simply an instant messenger (or 
even those who see it first and foremost as an instant messenger), you 
can't justify switching to Jabber without still being able to talk to 
your friends - Jabber would be fundamentally failing at the task of 
instant messaging since you would no longer be able to talk to any of 
your friends.

Add to that the fact that Jabber provides transports for the other 
systems and you can understand why people see it as a sometimes-flaky 
attempt to unite all the IM platforms.

That said, obviously those of us who have switched to Jabber (and have 
evntually switched as many of our friends as possible) see that there 
are other advantages.  But that is lost on someone who just needs to be 
able to talk to the 100 people they have on their Yahoo roster, or whatever.

Julian



-- 
julian at beta4.com
Beta4 Productions (http://www.beta4.com)