[Foundation-l] Java becomes Open Source, what next?

[James Hare]

I've heard that Kelly Martin is developing a MediaWiki made of Java. In any
case, Erik, it sounds great -- interactive learning applets is something
Wikiversity could use. I would like to thank Sun Microsystems for this
contribution to open source.

On 11/13/06, Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org> wrote:
>
> Sun Microsystems will make all the Java code they own available under the
> GPL:
>
> http://www.sun.com/software/opensource/java/
>
> This is a very major step. IMHO we should now make Java core part of
> our own strategy, as it's one of the best ways to deliver interactive
> content (high quality animations, learning tools, etc.). There are
> large numbers of free applets that we can potentially use, esp. in
> Wikipedia and Wikiversity.
>
> My main question is: Are there security considerations with enabling
> the upload and embedding of Java Applets? According to
>
> http://java.sun.com/sfaq/
>
> one of the capabilities of applets is to open a connection to the
> originating host. Could this be used, e.g., to create auto-vandalism
> applets and if so, can we somehow protect against it?
>
> If security is a major issue, might it be feasible to maintain a
> whitelist of certificates (to allow applets from trusted authority to
> be uploaded directly), and to flag all other applets as
> "non-embeddable" until a sysop flips a switch, so they can be reviewed
> for security? We could add a big fat warning on the file description
> page.
>
> --
> Peace & Love,
> Erik
>
> Member, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees
>
> DISCLAIMER: Unless otherwise stated, all views or opinions expressed
> in this message are solely my own and do not represent an official
> position of the Wikimedia Foundation or its Board of Trustees.
> _______________________________________________
> foundation-l mailing list
> foundation-l at wikimedia.org
> http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
>