Version incomptabilities, code changes, __future__, etc

[mcherm at destiny.com]

simonb at webone.com.au wrote:
> i don't want to see any more versions of python.
> ITS FINISHED
> AND I LOVE IT RIGHT NOW
> if you want more then make a new language.

Regretably, Simon, you are out of luck. In order to convince
Microsoft to support Python natively in their .NET initiative,
Guido was forced to make several major concessions. One of those
was to recind the "Open Source" liscense, which allowed anyone
to freely use Python -- using any version they wanted for (pretty
much) any purpose.

Unfortunately, Python is now released on a more restrictive
liscense, which, in a future version, will require all Python
programs to contact a Microsoft Certification server and
present a Passport certification before executing. In order to
ensure that everyone migrates to the new version of the software
(to be released as soon as Microsoft finishes building the 
infrastructure), the migration will be mandatory.

This is too bad, because up until this change, it would have been
allowed -- actually, ENCOURAGED -- for you to keep a copy of
Python 2.1 around and continue using it. It would EVEN have been
permissible for you to keep the SOURCE CODE so you could make
your own updates as technology and standards march forward!
(Although most of the code is a badly-commented mess written in
an obscure and difficult language called "C", so you might find
this difficult.) This would have allowed you to keep this 
"FINISHED" product around for as long as you want.

I'm sorry you got caught up in this... but this kind of 
comercialization is unavoidable in today's world. The change has
not been made public yet, but you should expect an announcement
any day now.

-- Michael Chermside

PS:
   I wouldn't know myself, but some say that the PSU was actually
   behind the change. Some sort of plan to subvert .NET and 
   engineer a massive takeover of