 |
 |
Alexander: I don't think you're dreaming at all. Sounds like the same vision I know several OSS service firms are trying to pursue. Not to be self serving here (really, anyone who knows me will tell you that's not my style!), but in the spirit of making sure you are aware, I'll note the following: When CARE partnered with Index Data as our strategic partner, the support of Web Services was one of the criteria that we required and found in that partner. Index Data uses Web Services throughout their products. We'll be announcing other partnerships in the months ahead, and that criteria is a continuing requirement that we've found others in the open source service/development community are meeting (and by the way, using REST!). I would also note that we have some beginning recommendations for standardized Web Services practices as a result of the work of NISO (for which I'm the immediate Past Chair and James Neal is the current Chair). But in case you're not aware of it, please look at: NISO RP-2006-01, Best Practices for Designing Web Services in the Library Context (available at www.niso.org). I know NISO would welcome more work in this area if the market is willing to pitch in and help sponsor it. > * Get some outside experts in to handle usability and interaction > design, and open source the result. Create a consortium or > interest-group for library systems usability and user experience. Again, here we totally agree. If you look at the "About Us" page of CARE Affiliates webpage, you'll see one member of our organization is Ezra Schwartz, whose resume in this area is pretty impressive. We've only begun to work out how his contributions will contribute moving forward, but we already know we're planning on Ezra being at ALA, in the Open Solutions booth (where you'll find CARE, Index Data and Liblime) area and we're planning on his making presentations about this very topic. If libraries are willing to put resources into work in this area, Ezra is ready to go. > * Make sure we've got a *clean* cut of technology between business > logic and the user interface. Enforce low-key semantically-rich XHTML > and use CSS everywhere. The first major product we've pushed out with Index Data is MasterKey, which is a perfect example of what you're talking about here. A total division of the technology between the business logic and the user interface can be found in this product. Dreaming? Not at all. Like I said, we're out here and we're doing it because we share in the vision and we believe this is what the market wants. If people vote with their resources and back us, Index Data and LibLime we'll deliver more of the same. But I want to underscore the importance of what you said about how important that backing is. Everyone of the open source firms that'll be in the Open Solutions booth at ALA are, to the best of my knowledge, being financed solely by the company founders. This is specifically because these people don't want to be pulled away from their customer focus, their desire to do what they believe the market wants and needs. They don't want to be dictated to by large equity investors, venture capitalists or others who are, it seems these days, looking more for financial return than doing what is right for the customers. Until such time as those kind of money people remember that the way to make money is to treat the customer right, then we'll continue to grow through self-financing which means we'll grow slowly, organically and by hoping those that think we're right, back us by buying from us. We watched and admired all of you get the OSS movement underway and we believed the market needed companies like ours to take your ideas and software to the next level. We are certainly hoping and betting a lot, that we're right. Now it's time for the market to vote. Carl CARE Affiliates www.care-affilates.com