[7868] in www-talk@info.cern.ch

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Re: Hot Java is here! And it *rocks*

daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sarr Blumson)
Wed Apr 5 12:39:20 1995

Date: Wed, 5 Apr 1995 12:35:40 +0500
Errors-To: procmaster@www19.w3.org
Reply-To: sarr@citi.umich.edu
From: Sarr Blumson <sarr@citi.umich.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list <www-talk@www10.w3.org>


In message <9504041403.AA10766@ouse.cl.cam.ac.uk>you write:
>
>Okay. So requirements are:
>
>1. A Safe environment (account). cf. Safe Tcl/Scheme/Python/HotJava etc.
>2. Trust that the code is genuine. cf. public-key cryptography.
>
>Now, can anyone explain why they would NEVER download applets or binaries/
>bytecodes given these requirements? All I'm trying to say is that a Safe Node
>system for getting and executing software is safer (yes, safer) than
>current practice, so rabid instance on complete security seems a bit OTT,
>though of course completely justified in its own right.

We may be in agreement here; let me test it by saying that my original 
point was that requirement 1 cannot be met by a binary distribution, at 
least in the somewhat coarse security environment provided by current 
hardware/operating systems.  I agree that an environment that does meet 
these two requirements is safer than much current practice, and 
probably even adequate for most purposes.

--------
Sarr Blumson                     sarr@umich.edu
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