Doug Ross is chief technology officer at BadBlue and leads its development. A co-founder of Fastech Integration and former director of technology at Alpha Software, Ross led development of its best- selling Alpha Five database. The following Q&A is continued from the previous issue of BadBlue report in which the topics of PHP, peer-to- peer and open-source software were discussed.

Q: BadBlue's browser-based user-interface... what was the motivation behind using the browser as the basis for interaction with the product, as opposed to a typical Windows user-interface?

A: There were several. Firstly, we wanted users - whether it's a guy doing PHP development in his garage all the way up to a reseller - to be able to brand BadBlue as their own. Since the interface is all HTML, anyone familiar with markup can create their own user- experience. In my opinion, that's compelling. A corporation that needs a desktop web services platform can brand the product any way they see fit without us having to charge them or do custom development.

Secondly, standards. We've consciously attempted to steer towards standards wherever possible. So in the case of a web-based UI [user interface], we have a standards-based approach using HTTP that users can extend seamlessly. That really can't effectively be done in a Windows GUI product without a ton of engineering effort.

So, in short, a decision to use a browser-based UI was really all about letting the customer have the final say. I think that's a good thing and I think customers think it's a good thing.

Q: As I read the documentation around BadBlue, there's really a lot there, even though the product footprint is small. You've thrown in a ton of "programmer-type" features that not all users may be aware of. Stuff like scheduling, peer-to-peer support, certainly the Office document sharing... how do you decide what to put in, and where's this all heading?

A: Great question, although I wouldn't characterize the features as "thrown in" (laughs). From the beginning, we felt that peer-to- peer architectures merited attention. Whether P2P was directed at file-sharing, content distribution, grid computing... marshalling a peer's services should be based upon standards. So the server is accessible as a web-server (or) as a P2P server or both.

So given the fact that the peer is controllable through web services and can be completely customized and built-out through support of CGI and ISAPI... you've got a platform that is tailor- made for all sorts of interesting business applications. And it's cheap and standards-based. So we think it's a great value proposition for businesses interested in building applications that tap into web services or peer-to-peer or any combination.

Q: Last question: what's next?

A: More on several fronts. We're fighting to make PHP mainstream in more enterprises because we think the cost savings are huge. It's certainly mainstream in the "real world" of web development. So by giving PHP more system integration capabilities, it's a win for everyone. And look for some interesting vertical applications like inventory part-finding in various industries using P2P.

And I would invite anyone interested in discussing vertical uses of the BadBlue platform to email me at the obvious address, doug@badblue.com. We're always looking for more interesting industry applications. Thanks.