Re: GUI for GnuPG anyone

[Max Watson <redline pdq net>]

At 05:07 PM 3/9/98 +0100, Werner Koch wrote:
>Max Watson <redline@pdq.net> writes:
>
>> I have already written a GNOME shell for PGP5.0(i). If GNUPG is similar
>> enough,
>> I can add support for it to the GNOME PGP shell. I will tar my stuff up and
>> put
>
>Yes and no. I support a couple of the old pgp commands, but most
>commands should now be accessed by new long options.  I have now a nice
>feature to list keys separated by colons :).  It will be possible to list
>the tree of signators.  Some concepts are different but it is complient to
>RFC1991 and partly to OpenPGP.

As long as the functionality is similar to PGP, I can make my shell work
with it regardless of the actual implementation. I will have a look at it
as soon as I finish off the beta release this week.


>By the way, PGP is not free software so It may be better not to put too
>much work in it.

How cavalier. I am not such the free software zealot. (ducking the flames)
However, there are IMHO two very good reasons to work with it. One, I
personally use it. So BFD if no one with principles will touch it. I use
it, maybe someone else will like it too. Two, the rest of the world uses
PGP. I know TONS of people who are buying the <1K$ computers. When they
come to me, the local guru, for help with those damn win95 boxes and AOL, I
immediately get them to get a real ISP, and turn them on to encryption. Now
tell me what else runs on win95, has (optional) commercial support,
plug-ins for most mail/news/whatever clients, tons of documentation and
internet sites, a "For Dummies" or other newbie book that can be picked up
ANYWHERE, lots of FREE utilities and helpers, etc. Anyone who has ever seen
an issue of Wired knows what PGP is. I want to talk to these people, all
the hordes of mickeysoft. ("But come on, Grandma, RSA isn't FREE! Let me
install HURD on your computer. Don't you want to send me email?") I am not
such a snob that I only associate with the minuscule fraction of die-hard
hackers, cypherpunks, and OpenSource^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h Free Software
radicals who use ElGamal or whatever. Besides, don't those folks disdain
GUIs and X frontends for the almighty command line anyway?

Sorry about the rant but come on. Ever seen comp.os.linux.announce on
usenet? What does the moderator sign all the posts with? And always has?
Maybe one day we will live in a happy-happy world  where everyone writes
free software and people like me (application developer) will be out of a
job. I can't wait. 

BTW, my PGP shell is pretty functional. I am not really able to test the
dnd because I have nothing to drag from :), and my recent version of gtk
from cvs went wacko on dnd. I also have to figure out the panel interface
for applets/docking apps. The panel hasn't built for me in weeks. :( Other
than that, it's pretty good. As soon as it goes from alpha to beta I will
post a link.


M.Watson redline@pdq.net