Just for the record, the PEM implementation that we have been
demonstrating and trying toget ready for beta-test comes closest to
implementing the RFC's, rather than all of the recent Internet drafts.
When the dust finally settles and RSA releases a compliant version of
TIPEM, we will have a significant amount of work to do to catch up with
the constantly evolving "standards." In the meantime, all that we can
expect is that we will be compatible with ourselves, because the RFC's
have been unstable for so long that probably no two parties have an
common interpretation or implementation.
In the meantime we will have lost the opportunity to gain useful user-
community experience (not to mention potential sales) before trying to
"improve" the product by committee. I am particularly frustrated by the
need to conform to standards such as X.500 which themselves have not
yet been tested by any signficant amount of user experience, and can
therefore be expected to evolve some more.
It seems to me that this extended process may be a case of the better
being the enemy of the good.
Flame shields up, Scotty!