Ascentium xAP applications - source code release

["mark_harrison_uk2" <mph@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

After much consideration over the last few months, we have decided to
release the four Ascentium xAP applications under the GPL.

This decision is NOT, in any way, meant to suggest that other xAP
applications should be so released. It has always been my view that
making the protocol open, and then giving individual developers the
choice as to how they licenced their software was the best fit for a
protocol.

Our decision is very much driven by the fact that, due to a number of
"lifestyle issues" we are not going to have much time to keep
supporting the applications over the course of 2005/6.

All four applications have been written in Microsoft Visual Basic 6,
and therefore are native to the Windows platform.

You should be aware that all of the applications, however, depend on
third-party software that is NOT GPL. Hence, if you are downloading or
basing your own applications on mine, please remember that you may
need to additionally licence other components.

Specifically:

- All four rely on Patrick Lidstone's xAPax.ocx, which is currently
closed-source, free for non-commercial use

- xAPHomevision relies on being able to make a DDI connection into the
manufacturer's HomeVision server software.

- xAPDb and xAPlogger both rely on being able to make ODBC connections
into SQL-compliant databases.

Source code should be available on the site "in the next few
days". In
the meantime, anyone wishing for the source can email me.

Regards,

Mark
www.ascentium.co.uk\xap