1. Tru2way is all about the java-based software (middleware), not the CabeCARD. (formally known as Open Cable Application Platform – OCAP)
2. Java is 19 years old technology (200 y/o in computers years). Java failed in any real life commercial product, with the exception of toy applications (simple games) and one-of-a-kind special apps. Java is the academia’s favorite language/platform, but it is only good for education and quick demos, not mission-critical applications.
3. The bigwigs that swallowed the tru2way story, did so for the multi-platform promise: Write once, Run anywhere. They simply do not understand software. The cost of software development is in: a> Establishing what the software (app) should do b> Developing data-structures, algorithms, user-interface, protocols, etc. c> Coding Java, theoretically, addresses only Coding; However, once you have the app completed on one platform (say, Motorola box), it is cheap and the straightforward to port (re-code) the application to whatever other hardware platforms (Cisco/SA, Samsung, Pace, Panasonic, EchoStar, etc.) Witness the gaming industry; they do it all the time.
4. In order to save the little cost of porting the application (Guide/VOD) from box A to box B, which can be done quickly by a small team, the geniuses at CableLabs adopted Java-based OCAP, that adds to millions of boxes the cost of memory, CPU and royalties. If tru2way/OCAp cost extra $50 for each box, then do the math how much it cost to outfit millions of boxes with the technology. Compare it to paying 8 software engineers to port the (C/C++) application in 4 month from box A to Box B (remember, it’s only coding/porting, not developing the application!)
5. Designed for obsolescent: It is 10 years struggle to make OCAP (tru2way) platform run the basic Guide/VOD applications. The hardware cost is high. Today’s available products can barely run today’s apps (users report slower performance than legacy boxes). Any enhancement to the applications will: a. either will not happen, because 2009 hardware cannot handle more, or b. will be incompatible with today’s hardware; hence generating multiple versions (!) of each app and many unhappy customers.
6. Computer-science first? OCAP/tru2way promises to deliver TV applications on the fly, such as voting/polling, commercial-specific apps, etc. It means that the technology should: Download, allocate resources (memory, file handles, etc.), instantiate, execute, then de-allocate memory, etc. all in REAL TIME! This was NEVER done in computer science history. It cannot be done in Java.
7. All in all, tru2way (OCAP) was born as a tactic to fool the FCC that the Motorola/Cisco duopoly will end and retail Digital-Cable-Ready solutions will be available. Then, some industry executives fell for it.
8. SOFTWARE platforms are always created and controlled by monopolies. There are no examples in history that a complex SOFTWARE platform or an Operation System, designed by a committee, did well in the wild. Multiple-implementation “software platforms” do not allow applications to float between them. Conversely, applications can be ported (re-coded) to run on multiple platforms.
9. Tru2way is bad for: a. Cableco’s, because it confines their innovation and takes away their box-rentals cash cow. b. CE manufacturers, because it limits their ability to product-differentiate, while just adds cost to their products (see TiVo cold feet re tru2way) c. Consumers, because they will have to pay for the hardware & license, just to "save" the Cableco’s the cost of porting their Guide code; Meanwhile customers will see their Cable box stuck in time (200 years), while non-Java solutions move ahead at the speed of the computer industry.
10. Tru2way faith? It will live, but after a surgery to remove its OCAP (Java) heart.
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Tru2way (AKA OCAP) is a hoax:
1. Tru2way is all about the java-based software (middleware), not the CabeCARD. (formally known as Open Cable Application Platform – OCAP)
2. Java is 19 years old technology (200 y/o in computers years). Java failed in any real life commercial product, with the exception of toy applications (simple games) and one-of-a-kind special apps. Java is the academia’s favorite language/platform, but it is only good for education and quick demos, not mission-critical applications.
3. The bigwigs that swallowed the tru2way story, did so for the multi-platform promise: Write once, Run anywhere. They simply do not understand software. The cost of software development is in:
a> Establishing what the software (app) should do
b> Developing data-structures, algorithms, user-interface, protocols, etc.
c> Coding
Java, theoretically, addresses only Coding; However, once you have the app completed on one platform (say, Motorola box), it is cheap and the straightforward to port (re-code) the application to whatever other hardware platforms (Cisco/SA, Samsung, Pace, Panasonic, EchoStar, etc.) Witness the gaming industry; they do it all the time.
4. In order to save the little cost of porting the application (Guide/VOD) from box A to box B, which can be done quickly by a small team, the geniuses at CableLabs adopted Java-based OCAP, that adds to millions of boxes the cost of memory, CPU and royalties. If tru2way/OCAp cost extra $50 for each box, then do the math how much it cost to outfit millions of boxes with the technology. Compare it to paying 8 software engineers to port the (C/C++) application in 4 month from box A to Box B (remember, it’s only coding/porting, not developing the application!)
5. Designed for obsolescent: It is 10 years struggle to make OCAP (tru2way) platform run the basic Guide/VOD applications. The hardware cost is high. Today’s available products can barely run today’s apps (users report slower performance than legacy boxes). Any enhancement to the applications will:
a. either will not happen, because 2009 hardware cannot handle more, or
b. will be incompatible with today’s hardware; hence generating multiple versions (!) of each app and many unhappy customers.
6. Computer-science first? OCAP/tru2way promises to deliver TV applications on the fly, such as voting/polling, commercial-specific apps, etc. It means that the technology should: Download, allocate resources (memory, file handles, etc.), instantiate, execute, then de-allocate memory, etc. all in REAL TIME! This was NEVER done in computer science history. It cannot be done in Java.
7. All in all, tru2way (OCAP) was born as a tactic to fool the FCC that the Motorola/Cisco duopoly will end and retail Digital-Cable-Ready solutions will be available. Then, some industry executives fell for it.
8. SOFTWARE platforms are always created and controlled by monopolies. There are no examples in history that a complex SOFTWARE platform or an Operation System, designed by a committee, did well in the wild. Multiple-implementation “software platforms” do not allow applications to float between them. Conversely, applications can be ported (re-coded) to run on multiple platforms.
9. Tru2way is bad for:
a. Cableco’s, because it confines their innovation and takes away their box-rentals cash cow.
b. CE manufacturers, because it limits their ability to product-differentiate, while just adds cost to their products (see TiVo cold feet re tru2way)
c. Consumers, because they will have to pay for the hardware & license, just to "save" the Cableco’s the cost of porting their Guide code; Meanwhile customers will see their Cable box stuck in time (200 years), while non-Java solutions move ahead at the speed of the computer industry.
10. Tru2way faith? It will live, but after a surgery to remove its OCAP (Java) heart.