OpenLocker
Sunday, February 4th, 2007
Finally, OpenLocker (formerly PLW Locker) is ready after some months in development. OpenLocker is a multi-functional web application that serves as an OpenID server, and a personal homepage. As an OpenID server, OpenLocker differs from other OpenID authentication servers and attempts to preserve user privacy by using a locker metaphor. The OpenID specs specify only that an OpenID URI be unique to a specific user, but does not specify any authentication method. Usually, an OpenID server manages user accounts like any other web application: with a username (which corresponds to a unique URI) and an alpha-numeric password. Because of this, this method of using OpenID still suffers from security/privacy issues that exist in other username/password systems. OpenLocker uses a geographic locker location (which is unique) as the username and an emulated combination lock as the password.
Beyond its use as an OpenID server, user’s identity URL (connected as HTTPS, once logged in) will provide them with draggable modules, which are individual RSS aggregators. Users can pick from a collection of feeds (like OpenStudio and OpenCode) or enter any valid RSS/Atom URL to display content. This provides a page that can act as a user’s identity page as well as their homepage, where they can begin their daily Internet browsing.
