Way to tell if it is an XO

[John Gilmore]

> Basically we want to offer a service just for the Xos and are working now on
> the authentication model.

Why would you want to offer a service just for machines by one manufacturer?

If a kid has an XO and also has a Mac, do you want your service to
refuse to run on their Mac?  If so, why?  It seems to me like shooting
the messenger.  Why would you fail to provide service to someone who
only had a Windows machine, or a Fedora machine that didn't happen to
be an XO?  What about an Ubuntu machine that DOES happen to be an XO,
does it qualify?  And are you sure that next year's XO software and
hardware will continue to meet your test?  Ultimately, what "is" an
XO, for your purposes?  Would an XO not running Sugar still be an XO?
Do you even know whether you *want* next year's XO to work with your
service, or not?

It's far better to make your system depend on the presence of
*features* that you depend on.  If it needs a Python client, then ok,
it doesn't run on machines without Python.  X Window System
dependency, ok, it's clear that Mac and Windows users will have to go
an extra mile to use it.  Test for features you actually need!  Then
don't add extra tests for random features (like /ofw/model) that you
DON'T actually need.

Almost all the schemes I see like this are poorly thought through --
like most vendors' DRM systems (the sort where they decommission the
key server after a few years, then are surprised at the public
protest, then change their mind).  Perhaps yours is not, but that
would be noteworthy.

	John