Re: Cooperation with balsa

[Nathan Clemons <nathan windsofstorm net>]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

I don't think anyone here has any intention of watching Balsa fade
away. However, as far as the Balsa people have worked, GnomeCard is a
GNOME application, supported and maintained by the GNOME people, that
Balsa chose to tie into.

Now, the Balsa people can take over what the GNOME people deem to be an
end-of-life application and continue further development on it. However,
most of us are rather short on time as it is, or more would have been done
to make Balsa have and do everything we want it to.

It's the perfect right of the GNOME people to admit that there are
shortcomings in the initial application designed to do a specific
function. In GNOME-land, it's perfectly acceptable to phase one app out
for another that provides more functionality. Witness EOG (Eye of
GNOME) replacing EE (Electric Eye), the Desktop Guide replacing the GNOME
Pager, etc. All apps are modular so that as long as the functionality is
duplicated and expanded upon, which app it is ideally doesn't matter.

The problem from our perspective is chosing what we do with the
situation. If the GNOME people are going to stop development on GnomeCard,
we can take over development of it. We can write our own PIM interface as
part of Balsa. We can find another PIM (be it Evolution, or whatever) and
make Balsa interface with it. Or we can go another route and either
a.) work with the different PIM people to make a standard PIM
API/interface or b.) make Balsa support multiple PIM protocols.

Competition is good as long as there isn't redundant duplicity. IE, KDE
and GNOME acheive similar functions. However, the methods used to do so
are different and the result looks different. If Evolution is going to do
everything that GnomeCard does, it may very well not be worth supporting
GnomeCard as a long term solution, since _someone_ will have to maintain
GnomeCard. Competition is good, but are you volunteering _your_ time to
keep something alive?

- --Nathan

On Tue, 9 May 2000, Snyder, Barron F. wrote:

> Why must gnomecard and balsa fade away when evolution arrives? What's wrong
> with having 2, 3, or even 5 mail programs or pims? I know I enjoy my freedom
> of choice and like to pick my software based on it's value TO ME! Just
> because someone in gnomeland says that evolution is the future doesn't mean
> the balsa and gnomecard can't also survive. Competition is good and so is
> choice. Long live balsa!
> 
> Keep smiling,
> Barron
> 

- -- 
Nathan P. Clemons                       "Peace favor your code."
nathan@windsofstorm.net                 ICQ: 2810688
IN CONSTRUCTION:                        http://gnome.windsofstorm.net

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP 6.5.1i
Comment: Made with pgp4pine 1.75

iQA/AwUBORhqxfN5FbC70vnTEQK0kQCgzb8z+e07GEi8JoiL/k3BtzQEgZQAoP8C
iVsNb0tuIduql4byRVF7GqbF
=Jlg+
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----