![]() ![]() The bigger issues is people using open networks, often for a quick email or map check. If you’re just war-driving for the fun of collecting the data and mapping it or whatever, then no real crime has been committed. If I walk down the street and check all the door locks, am I a criminal? Probably, but the real offense doesn’t happen until I walk in the door and it becomes trespass. What’s your take on wardrivers? Some say they’re harmless while other label them as criminals. UWB brings massive bandwidth and power efficiency which, when applied to a Mesh Topology, could create a multi-gigabit wireless distribution network that will not require the expensive central offices and billing systems used to support existing phone and data carriers. Much more than Wi-Fi these two technologies in combination provide a credible threat to the existing, centralized, telecom infrastructure. ![]() ![]() Watching the wireless industry has brought two things to my attention: UWB and Mesh. What is the most interesting fact you’ve become aware of while developing iStumbler? In fact, if you write a really useable piece of software, the service model works against you because users don’t need assistance! The service model promoted by ESR really only works for enterprise open source and popular consumer packages like Linux distributions, it’s not a tenable option for a small ISV which markets directly to consumers. While I still believe in Open Source there is a lot of work to be done in finding sustainable business models for smaller projects. Publishing iStumbler has completely changed my view of Open Source development. I’m not sure that’s entirely fair to content creators, but the sentiment definatly exists and factored into my final decision: the current feature set of iStumbler including AirPort, Bluetooth, Bonjour and the Location plugins will always be free and Open Source but future plugins will be part of an ‘iStumbler Pro’ package. This has been a tough decision to make, there is a feeling on the Web that when you offer something for free it should stay free. What led to that decision? Did this situation change your view on developing open source software? In all, nearly 600 people have pitched in to help support the project as subscribers and we’ve had two code contributors, one of which is currently active.Ī few months back you noted that iStumbler may stop being free. There are two kinds of contributors: Subscribers who pay for early access to new versions of iStumbler, and code contributors. The web site averages well over 20,000 unique visitors a month, and I’m seeing roughly 30,000 downloads of each version. How many people use iStumbler? How many contribute to the project? Some features, such as the ability to browse wide-area Bonjour domains and the recently released Spectrum Widget, don’t appear in any other application. What makes it special?īesides the wireless network detection iStumbler also allow you to monitor your Bluetooth devices and Bonjour Services in one simple interface. IStumbler is the leading wireless discovery tool for Mac OS X. Currently, I’m a stay-at-home dad and work on iStumbler and other projects when there’s a minute to spare. After the ‘big pop’ of 2001 I suddenly had a lot of free time and started writing iStumbler to develop my programming skills. Before writing iStumbler I worked at various startups during the dot-com bubble in San Francisco. ![]()
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