In the service of Aunt Tillie -- Zero-configuration networking

[Chris Ricker]

On Tue, 2 Mar 2004, Eric S. Raymond wrote:

> Chris Ricker <kaboom at gatech.edu>:
> > On Tue, 2 Mar 2004, Alan Cox wrote:
> > 
> >> Rendezvous is Apple's name for their version of it. A trademark is much less
> >> of a problem because you can name yours something different. 
> > 
> > Right, but the only open-source mDNS implementation I know of is Rendezvous,
> > so between that and MS's patents AFAIK it's just another idea without a
> > usable open-source implementation for Fedora to even consider shipping....
> 
> MS's patents?  This stuff was invented by Stuart Cheshire, a guy at Apple, and
> has been shipping in Apple products since 1998.  If there were going to be
> a patent kerfuffle with MS it would have happened already.
> 
> Cheshire thinks the mDNS implementation is unencumbered and is not only
> willing but eager for Linux to adopt it.  Now, possibly he's wrong,
> but wouldn't it be a good idea to ask him and look into the facts before
> muttering "patents" and turning off your brain?

Um, turn on *your* brain, and read Patent 6,101,499. If I remember right,
Chesire even acknowledge's MS's claims in some of the IETF drafts.  
Link-local address configuration has patent claims. The mDNS code has
trademark issues. About the only working part of Zeroconf available for
Linux without issues AFAIK is OpenSLP, and there's no point in shipping that
by itself....

later,
chris