List of Publications (bibliographic)

A collection of essays about Moral Philosophy.

This document is a case study of NSF SBIR proposal number 0946146, titled "Libre Texting: A Reshaping of the Medium."

The proposal was submitted by Neda Communications, Inc. to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) on June 9, 2009. The proposal was declined by the NSF. We received notification of this decision, along with the review comments, on November 02, 2009.

We examined the NSF review comments closely, subjecting them to our own internal analysis and discussion. Our conclusion is that they are almost entirely incorrect, representing a near-total lack of understanding by the reviewers of the substance of the proposal. Based on this and our subsequent interactions with the NSF, we also believe there are serious process issues regarding NSF evaluation of non-proprietary SBIR proposals such as ours.

We have established this case study to enable open consideration and discussion of these issues. The case study documents the entire trajectory of our proposal, from its initial submission through to its ultimate disposition. In particular, the case study includes our own counter-analysis of the NSF review comments. Here we provide point-by-point identification and clarification of the many technical errors and misstatements contained within the review comments.

The case study also includes references and pointers to all other relevant materials, including the original SBIR proposal, and the NSF review comments. These materials are web published and freely available online for examination by anyone.

Provides a complete description of Neda's Q1-2001 business plan and execution strategy.

This proposal presents a strategy for a Network Service Provider to rapidly extend its service offering to include comprehensive Layer 7 capabilities and is directed towards any provider of network-oriented services.

This document describes the long-term strategic vision for Neda's By* family of Libre Services. Additionaly it creates a framework for cooperative exection of that vision.

As By* Libre Services are copyleft and patent-free, the entire concept is positioned as an instance example for operation in the for-profit non-proprietary quadrant.

Our vision and plans are lofty, ambitious and extensive. We have spent considerable effort articulating our vision and inviting participation of others. All in one place our full vision as a collection of articles is publicly available in this document.

The basic underlying principles of our vision are these:

• The correct model for software is the Free Software model
• The correct model for Internet Services is the Libre Services model
• The correct model for a coherent set of Libre Services is the By* unified model

By "correct" we mean that these models bring far greater benefits than their proprietary counterparts. The benefits we speak of are not a set of abstract idealizations, conceived without reference to the practical realities of the world. The Free and Libre models bring real and practical benefits to all relevant constituencies, including societal, engineering, and business.

The Free Software model is now well established as a viable reality, and is being energetically moved forward by others. Our strategic vision concerns the second underlying principle: the Libre Services model. Our goal is to establish Libre Services as a viable model for delivery of Internet Services, and eventually as the dominant model, worldwide.

The realization of this ambition has two major dimensions: public, and private.

• The public dimension. In contrast to the proprietary services model, Libre Services are a commnunal public resource, not owned by anyone, freely available for use by society at large. Development and promotion of the general Libre Services model must therefore take place in a non-commercial, public context. The general Libre Services movement is being led by the Free Protocols Foundation (FPF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the maintenance of patent-free protocols and software. For more information visit the FPF website at: http://www.freeprotocols.org/

• The private dimension. If Libre Services are to come into widespread usage they must be operated, delivered and supported for end users. In practical terms, this is something that must be done by service providers in a private, commercial context. Somewhere in all this there must be a business model that supports delivery of Libre Services to individual users.

  Neda Communications, Inc. is exercising leadership in the commercial arena. We have formulated an appropriate business model, and we are the first company to deploy and operate Libre Services in a commercial context. For more information visit the Neda website at: http://www.neda.com/

The public dimension of this initiative is fully described in a document called the Libre Services Manifesto, written and published by the FPF. This document is available at: http://www.libreservices.org/

The present document, titled Neda Strategic Direction Statement, provides a complete description of Neda's long-term business direction and strategy. Our strategy is based fundamentally on the Libre Services model, and therefore a complete understanding of our strategy also requires a complete understanding of the Libre Services model. This document therefore includes the Libre Services Manifesto as a subset. This document also includes a description of the commercial constructs Neda has built on top of the Libre Services model. Our goal is to provide in a single document everthing required to understand what we are doing.

Provides a complete description of Neda's business plan and execution strategy.

This paper describes the deployment of the By* services as the new model for delivery of Internet Services, planet-wide.

This article communicates Free Protocols Foundation's July 31, 2001 position regarding the Research in Motion (RIM) Mobile E-Mail Patent Assertion (Patent# 6,219,694, entitled System and method for pushing information from a host system to a mobile data communication device having a shared electronic address).

This article communicates Free Protocols Foundation's September 12, 2002 position regarding the Research in Motion (RIM) Mobile E-Mail Patent Assertion (Patent# 6,219,694, entitled System and method for pushing information from a host system to a mobile data communication device having a shared electronic address).

This article provides a description of the Free Protocols Foundations processses to ensure the development and maintenance of patent-free protocols.

Libre Services are an extension of the principles of free software into the Internet services domain. They are Internet services that can be freely copied and reused by anyone. Any company or organization can reproduce and host any Libre Service, either for its own use, or for commercial or non-commercial delivery to others. The Libre Services model exists in relation to the proprietary Internet services model of AOL, MSN, Yahoo and Google, in an analogous way to how GNU/Linux exists in relation to Microsoft Windows.

In essence, the Libre Services model represents a proposed definition of the free software ideology within the services domain. We have articulated the Libre model fully in the form of an industry paper titled, "Libre Services: a non-proprietary model for delivery of Internet services," available online at http://www.freeprotocols.org/PLPC/100101.

The interested reader can choose to read more, or less, than this defining paper. For the reader wishing to read less, the key ideas are summarized in the form of a brief Executive Summary.

And for the reader wishing to read more, the Libre concept paper is itself part of a larger set of papers collectively called the "Libre Services Manifesto," describing every aspect of the Libre model, including a project-based model for collaborative participation and bootstrapping. The full manifesto is available at http://www.freeprotocols.org/PLPC/100105.

This paper defines a set of projects representing the major stages of work required for bootstrapping the Libre Services industry into existence.

This article describes the Libre Services concept, and how we intend to turn it into a reality.

Libre Services are an extension of the principles of free software into the Internet services domain. They are Internet services that can be freely copied and reused by anyone. Any company or organization can reproduce and host any Libre Service, either for its own use, or for commercial or non-commercial delivery to others. The Libre Services model exists in relation to the proprietary Internet services model of AOL, MSN, Yahoo and Google, in an analogous way to how GNU/Linux exists in relation to Microsoft Windows.

In essence, the Libre Services model represents a proposed definition of the free software ideology within the services domain. We have articulated the Libre model fully in the form of an industry paper titled, "Libre Services: a non-proprietary model for delivery of Internet services," available online at http://www.freeprotocols.org/PLPC/100101.

The interested reader can choose to read more, or less, than this defining paper. For the reader wishing to read less, the key ideas are summarized in the form of a brief Executive Summary.

And for the reader wishing to read more, the Libre concept paper is itself part of a larger set of papers collectively called the "Libre Services Manifesto," describing every aspect of the Libre model, including a project-based model for collaborative participation and bootstrapping. The full manifesto is available at http://www.freeprotocols.org/PLPC/100105.

This article provides a description of how WhiteBerry and WiFi++ can be used in combination to bring new and enhanced messaging capabilities to the mobile professional.

This article provides a general overview description of the LEAP protocols.

This article provides an analysis of the factors which lead to the success or failure of protocols, including discussions of several historical case studies.

This article provides a description of how WhiteBerry and Bluetooth can be used in combination to bring new and enhanced messaging capabilities to the mobile professional.

Au-delà de ses failles techniques et de procédure, nous pensons que le WAP représente une erreur fondamentale de conception de ce qui peut être réalisé en utilisant des téléphones cellulaires, et de ce que les utilisateurs vont vraiment vouloir faire avec leurs téléphones.

La messagerie mobile et la recherche de l'Internet mobile représentent deux formes très différentes d'activité de communications. La messagerie mobile signifie une possibilité d'envoyer et de recevoir des messages personnels, tandis que la recherche de l'Internet signifie une récupération d'information d'où que ce soit.

This article provides a detailed criticism of a set of specifications called the Wireless Application Protocol, or WAP. This article demonstrates that WAP is entirely unfit to play the role of a Mobile Messaging industry standard.

This article has been translated into French. The French translation is available as PLPC-100015.

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This document describes the Lightweight & Efficient Application Protocols (LEAP), a set of protocols for mobile and wireless applications.

This article is a follow-on to our previous article "The WAP Trap." It describes how XHTML and LEAP can render WAP irrelevant. It then deals with what to do with what is left of WAP. This paper too, is likely to cause considerable controversy.

This article provides a description of how equivalent functionality to the closed BlackBerry mobile messaging solution can be implemented based on a completely open model, using existing open-source software implementations of LEAP, and existing off-the-shelf hardware components.

This article provides a point-by-point comparison of the LEAP protocols to the WAP specifications. This article demonstrates that LEAP has all the desirable characteristics of an industry standard protocol that WAP lacks.

This article provides a description of the processes used to develop the LEAP protocols, and how and why these differ from conventional development processes. This article also includes a criticism of the IETF protocol development processes.

This article provides an overview of the Mobile Messaging industry, and a description of the essential factors that are required for its long term success and growth.

This document is the transcript of a Small Business Innovation Program (SBIR) proposal, submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) by Neda Communications, Inc. on December 3, 2009.

The proposal describes Libre Texting, a new incarnation of the Mobile Email/Wireless Texting (henceforth just "Texting") medium, based on the Free Software ideology. Today the Texting industry is dominated by the proprietary, walled garden model. The goal of Libre Texting is to provide equivalent functionality to existing proprietary Texting solutions such as BlackBerry, but (a) based entirely on patent-free protocols and free software, (b) using any mobile Internet device, and (c) wherever any type of wireless Internet connectivity is available. The proposed approach comprises five elements:

1. The inherent propagative power of the Free Software and end-to-end models
2. An overlay network architecture
3. A new set of messaging protocols
4. A novel software architecture for Message Transfer Agent integration
5. A new software architecture for multiform device integration, based on Device-Resident End-MTA middleware

The proposed technology is highly synergistic with current industry dynamics, including: burgeoning recognition of the power of FOSS, ready availability of Linux-based mobile devices, and widespread Wi-Fi availability. Existing email protocols lack push-mode delivery, and bandwidth and power efficiency; the proposed new protocol profile corrects these shortcomings. The proposed research is to determine feasibility of all critical elements of this approach at large scale.

This document is the transcript of a Small Business Innovation Program (SBIR) proposal, submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) by Neda Communications, Inc. on June 9, 2009.

The proposal describes Libre Texting, a new incarnation of the Mobile Email/Wireless Texting (henceforth just "Texting") medium, based on the Free Software ideology. Today the Texting industry is dominated by the proprietary, walled garden model. The goal of Libre Texting is to provide equivalent functionality to existing proprietary Texting solutions such as BlackBerry, but (a) based entirely on patent-free protocols and free software, (b) using any mobile Internet device, and (c) wherever any type of wireless Internet connectivity is available. The proposed approach comprises five elements:

1. The inherent propagative power of the Free Software and end-to-end models
2. An overlay network architecture
3. A new set of messaging protocols
4. A novel software architecture for Message Transfer Agent integration
5. A new software architecture for multiform device integration, based on Device-Resident End-MTA middleware

The proposed technology is highly synergistic with current industry dynamics, including: burgeoning recognition of the power of FOSS, ready availability of Linux-based mobile devices, and widespread Wi-Fi availability. Existing email protocols lack push-mode delivery, and bandwidth and power efficiency; the proposed new protocol profile corrects these shortcomings. The proposed research is to determine feasibility of all critical elements of this approach at large scale.