Several LEAP-based products and services are currently under development. These include MailMeAnywhere, ByName and ByNumber.
In order to make use of the LEAP protocols convenient and widespread, we are providing implementations of the protocols as free and open-source software. Binary formats of the software for a variety of platforms are available. In order to provide complete solutions, the LEAP protocol components are integrated with various other free software components, forming consistent and coherent bundles. Since the initial LEAP components are oriented towards interpersonal messaging, the initial software distribution takes place through http://www.MailMeAnywhere.org.
MailMeAnywhere is a distribution center for free and open-source software which relates to LEAP, or which facilitates use of the LEAP protocols. Device implementations are available for a large number of general-purpose device platforms. Message Center implementations have been integrated with Qmail and Sendmail.
To learn more about MailMeAnywhere, see the website at http://www.MailMeAnywhere.org.
In order to make use of LEAP protocols convenient and widespread, we are also providing an initial free subscriber service which integrates the LEAP protocols into a variety of other services. We are delivering these services through the ByName.net domain. ByName provides a set of free services, based on free protocols which have been implemented as free software. The ByName services are highly personalized and are based on the user's identity - ByName is based on the user's name, while ByNumber is based on a numerical user ID.
A conventional e-mail account typically provides the user with a single address, usually of the form ``someName@someDomain.com.'' This provides the user with a single mailbox, to which all mail for that address is sent.
This becomes inconvenient when the owner uses the account for multiple types of incoming e-mail. For example, the user may use the account for both personal and work-related mail, to subscribe to various mailing lists, and to participate in usenet groups. Over time the user may get onto a large number of mailing lists, resulting in an incoming e-mail stream spanning a very wide dynamic range of importance, from urgent personal e-mail, all the way down to meaningless spam.
E-mail applications typically deal with this by providing the user with tools to manage and prioritize mail. These consist of inbox sorters and filters to eliminate spam and prioritize incoming messages based on the originator or subject.
The ByName.net service provides a better way. ByName provides you with multiple mailboxes and addresses, each of which can be dedicated to a particular type of e-mail. Furthermore, these various addresses have a simple and uniform naming scheme, based on the one symbol that is most dear and personal to you: your own name. ByName includes your name in the domain part of the address, and appends various selectors in front of the @ sign. For example, a particular subscriber might have the following addresses and mailboxes:
personal@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
office@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
urgent@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
public@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
mobile@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
pager@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
fax@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
emergency@homer.simpson.1.ByName.net
This provides our anti-hero with a consistent set of e-mail boxes that he can use for different purposes - one address for personal mail, a different one for work-related mail, and so on. Homer now has control over the routing of his e-mail without having to use a mail sorter or filters.
Your home page is also based on your name; Homer's is http://homer.simpson.1.ByName.net.
To learn more about the ByName service and to apply for an account,
see the website at
http://www.ByName.net.
The ByNumber.net service provides a complementary service to ByName, based on numbers rather than letters. ByNumber enables devices with digit-only origination capability (e.g. conventional telephone keypads) to send e-mail messages, and provides a unified way of sending messages to pagers, two-way pagers, faxes and e-mail accounts.
To learn more about the ByNumber service, see the website at
http://www.ByNumber.net.