Ian Clarke wrote:
> I do agree that bundling can make user's lives easier, but it should
> be >>client apps bundling Freenet<<, not the other way around.
>
> Ian.
>
>   

I can certainly understand where you're coming from, and agree that it 
would be ideal, but I don't think that Freenet is ready to be promoted 
by application development.. Currently, when Freenet makes a new 
revision, that hits Slashdot, Reddit, etc, and encourages people to 
download.. A new revision of Frost/etc doesn't make a blip, and 
certainly doesn't spur much action.

The second problem is that Freenet, unlike the JVM, requires direct 
interaction.. After downloading Freenet, users should (ideally) add 
Darknet links, configure cache sizes, etc. Further, the JVM doesn't load 
and consume resources when it's not being used directly by a program.. 
Freenet nodes work better when they're running 24/7, so we want people 
to leave Freenet running, even if their client-app isn't.

If you did want to push Freenet-the-service, rather than 
Freenet-the-program, I'd suggest that for the late .7 and early .8 you 
continue the focus on making the install simpler.. For example, the 
project could create a Freenet-for-embedded.zip, which defaults to 
opennet only, auto-detects it's IP, and joins the network when the .jar 
is run, rather than asking the user any questions.

Also of interest is the http://java.com/en/ page.. It uses a big 
download button, similar to Firefox, but also spends a significant 
amount of  realestate on the page showing people what they can do using 
Java. Freenet could create a similar page with links to prominent 
Freenet applications for quick download directly from the website.. 
Doing this would lend some of the media coverage and promotion that the 
project is generating now, onto the applications.

-Colin

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