[E-Lang] Possession as Metaphor (was: Pet Extensions and such (was: what is good about E?))

[Karp, Alan]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ken Kahn [mailto:kenkahn@toontalk.com]
> Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2001 11:12 AM
> To: Mark S. Miller
> Cc: e-lang@eros-os.org; Miriam Walker; Ka-Ping Yee
> Subject: Re: [E-Lang] Possession as Metaphor (was: Pet Extensions and
> such (was: what is good about E?))
> 
> 
> MarkM wrote:
> >
> > So, I speculate that if we make our homes smart in the way 
> you envision,
> and
> > get rid of physical keys, that we'll instead have 
> "physical" keys in the
> > user interface to the software we use to tell homes who 
> should be allowed
> > in.  So now we've reduced our problem to a virtualized form of our
> > original metaphor.  This could be promising.
> >
> 
> Your note made me realize that I already have the answer. 
> I've been planning
> to put locks on doors in ToonTalk. And the plan is that doors 
> would just
> open if someone approached who owned a key to the lock. I 
> didn't want to
> bother the user with taking out the key and using it. Given 
> your note I now
> think this would be a great solution for the physical world 
> as well. Locks
> on doors needn't recognize you, just verify that you are carrying an
> appropriate key. Proximity can be the UI so things can be as 
> convenient as
> unlocked doors.

I already have that.  My HP badge works as long as I get close enough to the
sensor.  The real problem is POLA when people have a large number of keys.
(We got this wrong in e-speak Beta 2.2 by making it easy for people to put
all their keys on one key ring.)  The problem is providing a good way for
people to specify which keys they want to use in a particular situation.
Otherwise, we've got the ACL problem of every request carrying the user's
full authority.

>
>			(snip)
> 
> Best,
> 
> -ken
> 
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_________________________
Alan Karp
Principal Scientist
Decision Technology Department
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories MS 1U-3
1501 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(650) 857-3967, fax (650) 857-6278
https://ecardfile.com/id/Alan_Karp
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Alan_Karp/