Windows Live ID Web Authentication SDK

Recently I have been researching Single Sign-On options to streamline the user's experience. One interesting provider I found is Windows Live ID Web Authentication, which allows visitors to logon to a website using their Hotmail or Windows Live account. Microsoft describes the Windows Live ID Web Authentication SDK as follows:

The Windows Live™ ID Web Authentication software development kit (SDK) gives you a platform-neutral way to bring the power of the Windows Live ID authentication service to your own Web site.

According to Microsoft the benefits include:

• Ability to use Windows Live gadgets and controls to incorporate authenticated Windows Live services into websites
• HTTP-based, platform-neutral interface for implementing Windows Live ID authentication in existing websites, even if they are hosted by third-parties
• Freedom from the technical details of authentication
• Huge user base: any of the millions of users who have a Windows Live ID can login to Windows Live ID Web Authentication websites

Download Windows Live Web Authentication SDK 1.1

Manage Windows Live Web Authentication Websites

Amazon Web Services

The new TiltedAxis website is written in ASP.NET (C#) and integrates seamlessly with Amazon Web Services.

Jungle Disk

I've been watching the Amazon Web Services since their launch.

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) finally appears to be gaining some momentum as more and more application providers write compatible application. The most popular Amazon Web Service is definitely the S3 service.

Junge Disk, a company I recently stumbled across, provides an application which creates a mapped drive in Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. The mapped drive allows users to copy or backup files from their local computer directly to Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service). This is a great example of an easy to use consumer oriented service; however, the pricing model, which factors transfer, in addition to storage, may be complex for consumers to understand.

It will be interesting to see how successful Amazon is getting developers and consumers to adopt their new services.