Hello Andu (and others too), >> One of our objectives is to create a >> communication, collaboration and E-learning >> platform where components are mixed-and-matched >> at will, forming whole systems whose >> components interoperate seemlessly.
> I've heard this before mostly in ads ... but > never could figure out what exactly such > contraption would look like and how exactly > could one mix-and-match components and with what > purpose, could you please enlighten me? For one thing, MetaCard's architecture is ideal for this because everything in the GUI is an editable stack that can be modified or replaced by another 'custom' stack. With a bit of work, a fool-proof user-friendly system could be devised to make this swapping effortless and foolproof. Take the ScriptEditor for example. FreeGUI has several scriptEditors to choose from, so users get to pick the scriptEditor that suits them best. The prev paragraph describes what mixing and matching might look like at the GUI level of MetaCard, but there is also a more global "suite" level where the stacks of your system/solution (custom ones not bundled with MC) can be mixed-and-matched to suit your particular goals. Take, for example, a suite of Web-savvy client stacks for various Internet protocols: e-mail, FTP, Chat, etc. They all work seamlessly together, but not all teachers and/or situations require ALL of these stacks, in which case they become clutter. So the teacher/etc removes the ones he doesn't want, keeps the appropriate ones, swaps some of them with alternative ones, adds ones which are not bundled with this system of mine (third-party), etc. This applies not only to the numerous means of web-based communication in the above example. Collaborations and E-learning are also very *feature-laden* because there are innumerable ways to collaborate and to learn. Many features are required but, OTOH, the "one-size-fits-all" and "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" approaches are not the answer either. User-friendly-adaptation is the key. Imagine if we could do that with monolithic wares like MS-Office, or just about any ware on the market right now for that matter. You wouldn't be forced to put up with the messy glut of stuff you just don't use. Much simpler, less overwhelming, open to substitutions from third-parties (including open source), better adapted to needs and capabilities of the users, etc. That's how *I* see it, Alain Farmer __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ metacard mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/metacard