Windows Vista FAQ

Came accross a compiled Windows Vista FAQ today. Historical information such as the previous shipping date, reason for the name change and much more have been included. I would say this answers many of our questions in mind about the new OS.

Here is the link.
Windows Vista FAQ

3D mouse - SpaceNavigator

A company called 3D Connexion (a subsidiary of Logitech) has developed a 3D counterpart of the computer mouse, the SpaceNavigator. This new peripheral uses the USB port for connectivity. Google's support for this in 'Google Earth' should make the device more popular.

More information and pictures of possible movements of the SpaceNavigator can be found here:
A mouse counterpart for the 3D world

JAAS and JBoss

I spent some time on JAAS and JBoss. Just to share some experience about my experience.

JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service):
is a set of APIs that enable services to authenticate and enforce access controls upon users. It implements a Java technology version of the standard Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) framework, and supports user-based authorization.

JBoss:
is a J2EE based application server which can be configured to use JAAS for authentication and authorization.

The system needed 3 types of authentication. These types are required to enable the SSO (Single Sign-On) with JAAS.

1. Token: A token (web ticket) is passed through the URL. This happens when a user is redirected from one of our systems where he has already been authenticated.
2. HTTP Header: A custom defined http header is set whenever the user is redirected from particular systems.
3. Form (LDAP): When a user could not be authenticated through the first 2 types, the user is presented with a form based login. This authenticates against an LDAP server.

The system was configured to use the JBoss supplied JAAS 'client-login' (org.jboss.security.ClientLoginModule) module for authentication. And the authorization was done using a custom developed OracleRoles login module. This basically grants the required oracle roles to the authenticated user.

Further the major part of the development is a servlet filter. This filter first gets the http request and decide the type of authentication. Then it authenticates and authorizes the user using JAAS and passes request through the filter chain, if the type is either 1 or 2. When the user could not be authenticated, a redirection is done to an ASP (Active Server Pages) module to perform the form based LDAP login. After the LDAP login, the user is again sent back to the system to continue.

useful sites:
JAAS Authentication Tutorial
JAAS LoginModule Developers Guide
Security on JBoss
Wiki - ClientLoginModule

Paper storage

I received this messsage through email and I got hits from some relaible news sites for the search on the google news.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=UTF-8&q=data+can+be+stored+on+paper&btnG=Search+News