Okay, we’ve done it: VistaTorrent.com. I’ve set this up with Jake Ludington, so that (a) people can use BitTorrent to download Windows Vista Beta 2, as they’re likely using BitTorrent to do it anyway; (b) people will now have an official MD5 hash to check against any Windows Vista (Beta 2) ISO files they might download elsewhere; (c) we can help Microsoft, based on earlier reports from them and subsequent complaints from users. We’re only doing this to help, knowing that nobody wants to wait 4 weeks for a DVD to arrive when the ISO could be downloaded so much quicker through peer-to-peer networks (with a MANDATORY MD5 CHECKSUM comparison). If you send anybody anywhere, it’s all on VistaTorrent.com. This is not a crack, this is not a hack, this is not software piracy – it’s unofficial mirroring with official validation.

We are fully prepared to kill the seeded torrent upon request, but would appeal to Microsoft’s better senses – if Microsoft isn’t going to do it themselves, isn’t it better that someone trusted is doing it for them?!

Windows Vista BitTorrent Tracker

AJAX is fun, but… this Gnomie hits the nail on the head:

It’s interesting to me how we keep coming back to “old” technology and treat it as “new”. All web-based programming, be it an OS or application, is the same as Star LAN with each workstation being only alive when connected to the server and able to run programs only when connected. The choice for most has been peer-to-peer with each workstation being alive on its own and able to shared with another as desired.

Both general systems have security and operability problems unique to their configuration. With the advent of the internet, security became tougher as an unwanted member of the network could join in without invitation or special connection whenever and however it wanted.

But the article you referenced had some very good, although generic, ideas of how one should approach the security issue when writing AJAX applications. The question seems to me to be the application that talks between the user and the server, so it is therefore a server-side issue. You and I, as users, can only choose to use or not use AJAX applications at this time.

I am still old school – I want control over my OS, my applications and my data! I am not interesting in farming it out to some unknown corporation and assume that they have my interest in mind. I love to be able to communicate my data and my ideas through the medium of the internet, but I am very aware that the US Postal Service works very well and will also perform the same service – just a LOT slower. Sometimes it is good to take a little time and be a bit more secure. But someone can intercept my letter, can’t they?

Ajax, Google and Microsoft