[cap-talk] Ben Laurie's question "How can we apply powerbox UI software pattern to stuff like sockets?"

[James A. Donald]

David-Sarah Hopwood wrote:
> That's technically possible, but it would require a new protocol that would
> have to be adopted by ISPs. I'm all in favour of being optimistic about
> adoption of capability-based protocols, but still I don't think that
> something that requires both a user *and* their ISP to adopt some new idea
> has any chance of being successful in practice. We should concentrate on
> things that can work in practice for existing infrastructure.

Assume we have a client side powerbox.  The user can enter the host name 
and protocol and the powerbox gives the untrusted client mail program 
the capability to talk the desired mail protocol to this host - and does 
not give that capability to any other software on the client's system.

If the host cooperates, the powerbox can be launched from the host web 
page, or better, the chrome around the host web page, with all the 
details filled out, and the user just has to select the mail client 
program and click on OK.  If the host does not cooperate, this being a 
new protocol the host has never heard of, well, the end user has to do 
it by hand.