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Ignorant Soul: “I’ve been reading a lot lately about everybody having one address where they can receive their e-mail, fax mail, and voice mail and even be represented across the Web by a piece of technology called a personal agent. Now I hear there’s a Seattle company getting in on it. Will this company's software platform revolutionize how we interact on the Web?”--Steve Crovack, Capitol Hill
Ignoramus: Steve, I was in the dark myself about this new technology. But that’s not unusual. I mean I didn’t get this nickname for being clairvoyant. Hey, we all can’t be Nathan Mhyrvold. Here’s the scoop…
OneName has come up with some nifty free software, and that's an understatement. If its platform is widely adopted by the companies that connect us to the Internet (ISPs, web-based email providers, etc.), its use will revolutionize how we interact with the Net. But that is a big fat IF. Although OneName's patented software, called XNS, has been in development for six years, the hard work is just beginning. No one knows if XNS will gain mass acceptance or what function it will ultimately serve.
And there's lots of confusion about what OneName is up to. For instance, some recent articles have wrongfully implied that you get a universal email address when you register with OneName.
So…this Igno tracked down Adam Engst, a local Internet/Macintosh expert and publisher of TidBITS (www.tidbits.com). Engst is not an unbiased observer. He's teamed up with OneName to create and head the XNS Public Organization Trust (XNSORG), a non-profit group that's half watchdog, half XNS promoter.
Ignoramus: Adam, what is OneName’s software, and how does it work?
Engst: Actually, OneName has created a full-bore technology. It's a lot more than just a piece of software. The platform is based on eXtensible Name Service, or XNS for short. My firm belief is that if XNS is successful, it will influence the lives of all Internet users. Big words, I know, but I've spent vast amounts of time and energy into backing them up.
Basically, XNS is a new layer of Internet software that creates a virtual web server, or agent, to represent each registered user as he/she interacts on the web. The "agent" data resides on the servers of OneName currently, but eventually the idea is to get ISPs and web-based email providers, such as Yahoo, to also register and host agents. XNS is open-source [non-proprietary and based on XML (a cousin of HTML; see Igno column on XML)].
You don’t have to be a Hollywood superstar to have an agent. This web-agent technology levels the playing field. It automatically talks to the other agents interacting on the web, be they companies or people. Your agent supplies only information you've agreed to disclose, and only discloses it under the terms you've specified. It's a bit like that Hollywood expression, "I'll have my people work with your people." Your XNS agent would negotiate things like what solicitations you'll accept, what info you want the recipient to know about you, etc.
For instance, let's say I'm looking for a digital camera. I could sign up to receive camera promos from three different websites. And the names of these websites would show up in my XNS account as sites allowed to send me info. After I buy a camera, I would uncheck the permission given to those websites to contact me.
Another major benefit is that you'd need only your XNS name and password to access any XNS-registered website.
Ignoramus: So XNS helps me interact on the Internet. But every one you deal with online must also have an XNS agent for the system to work, right?
Engst: Right. It will be some time before most websites support XNS. But once people start using it, it will spread very quickly because it's so useful.
Ignoramus: And how would XNS get adopted?
Engst: OneName will have to get the companies that connect us to the Internet--the ISPs in particular--to become XNS agencies. That is, your ISP would offer to register you as an XNS agent as well as their other members. The XNS software is free and the ISPs already have the hardware and bandwidth in place to host the agent info.
Ignoramus: Why would an ISP go through the hassle of becoming an XNS agency, that is, installing the XNS software and hosting all that agent data?
Engst: Because they could derive multiple revenue streams from this. For one, they could charge an annual registration fee. OneName, for instance, now charges companies $100/year to register. Also, agencies would get a share of the annual fee for each "permanent" link established between one of their registered agents and a website. That fee might be $1 to $2 annually for each synchronized link, and it would be paid by the website.
Ignoramus: OK, so say I've given Moss Alley Motors permission to remind me every four months that I need an oil change. That's a permanent link, right?
Engst: Right. This sort of ongoing link is tremendously valuable for companies, because it helps with customer retention and satisfaction. Say you changed email addresses. If you entered your new address into your XNS agent and you had Moss Alley listed as one your contacts, Moss Alley would automatically get your new email.
Actually, we have already had a lot of interest from insurance companies because they need to keep track of their customers. And XNS would allow them to do that, without violating their privacy. Also, mobile-phone companies are interested partly because of XNS' auto-fill form capacity. If your agent contains all your billing and shipping info (you can have multiple credit cards/shipping addresses), then this data can automatically pop up when you're buying online. One very large mobile-phone company was very enthused in talking to us, because they think XNS' ability to permanently link people/websites enables a lot of the projects they had in mind.
Ingoramus: Undoubtedly, a lot of people will fear having all their billing data and other info stored on servers outside their control.
Engst: No doubt. But they don't have to provide that info. Initially, all they need to provide is an email address, not even their name. As XNS gets popular, and therefore more useful, they can opt to add additional info. We have very strong privacy protection built into XNS. The agencies (companies hosting your data) cannot use that info in any way. And your data belongs to you only--you can change it, update it and transfer it among agencies. There is a chance that someone could find your password. But we've tried to come up with a password system that's hard to crack.
Also, the idea is that the ISPs and other XNS agencies would start to differentiate the types of XNS services they offered. One ISP, for instance, might cater to people who are extremely security conscious. They'd have their servers in a bunker somewhere and have extra password checks. And they would probably charge more for that extra level of security.
Ignoramus: Much has been made of XNS' privacy and anti-spam features. How would these work?
Engst: Say you wanted to buy some sauce at hothothot.com, and the only info your XNS agent contained was your name. You'd fill in your billing info, since your agent didn't contain it (after which the agent would remember it). The data you entered could not be retained, shared or used to spam you, unless you specified otherwise. These are the default XNS preferences, if you will. And these terms would be spelled out in a privacy contract between your agent and the agent of hothothot, which would be stored on the servers of both host agencies. So you'd log into your XNS account to see what permissions/data you've allowed your agent to provide to specified websites.
The anti-spam feature is based on a special agent that would reside on your ISP's email server. This agent would challenge any new entity that sent you mail, to make sure it agreed to a no-spam provision. If spammers ignored the no-spam rule, they'd be violating a legally enforceable privacy contract.
Ignoramus: Neat. But Adam, what can you do today, if you register with OneName?
Engst: It's pretty limited. The two things you can do immediately once you've registered at OneName is to create a greeting: So if you type =adamengst into Internet Explorer's input line, you'll see my greeting. You can also swap constantly updated business cards with other registrants. But this only works in Windows and only if you download the desktop special agent. This feature is already synchronized with Microsoft's Outlook, Outlook Express and Netscape (all under Windows). What we're hoping to see in the future is all contact managers offering such synchronization, so that registrants' address books can be updated automatically.
Ignoramus: What's XNSORG?
Engst: To enforce privacy protection and foster development of the XNS platform, I and three other people set up the XNS Public Trust Organization: Drummond
Reed of OneName; Geoffrey Strongin of Advanced Micro Devices; and Ross Ortega of Consystant. XNSOrg will act as clearinghouse for the open-source code, and protect users by enforcing privacy rules and taking legal action when necessary. Also, only XNSORG can register general names (with a "+" prefix), which are common words that no one should be allowed to control to the detriment of others in the XNS community. And name speculation is forbidden to prevent cybersquatting.
Ignoramus: Speaking of names, a lot of the more common names are already taken. What if I want to register as Chris Jones, for instance?
Engst: All XNS-registered names must be unique. So you could be ChrisJones101, or CDJones. In the future, you'll be able to use the alias "Chris Jones" and attach general names to it to help people find you. For instance, Chris Jones could be attached to "Seattle," "engineer," "university" and "acoustics."
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Get Your OneName: It's Free
www.onename.com
www.xns.org
2101 Fourth Ave. South
Seattle, WA 98121-2317
877-ONENAME
Fax: 206-812-6001
OneName registrations: You can register both one name and one email address for free (after the first 1 million registrations, the charge is $12 annually). The names are prefixed with "="; they cannot be sold and have no intellectual property rights. Companies pay $100 annually to register. Corporate registrations have an "@" in front, and they can be sold and assert intellectual property rights (either existing or intended).
Have a tech-related question? Email it to ignoramus@seattle24x7.com
Got a question for Ignoramus? E-mail him at ignoramus@seattle24x7.com. Be warned, however. Because of his strenuous pudding-making schedule, he can't answer all queries.