I wrote the web-application side of it in such a way that users can be authenticated without having to register an account (in the traditional sense) and remember a password. To post a comment you must first obtain a token. This token identifies you and should be kept secret. To get your token you enter your email address here and a token will be generated and emailed to you. If you ever lose your token you can just fill out the form again. This system relies on the security and authentication mechanism of a user’s email account. Only the owner of the email address will be able to get the token for that email address, so no one will be able to mascaraed as another person.

I chose this authentication mechanism because I personally hate having to register for every site I visit and remember a password for that site. It’s nearly impossible to come up with a different password for each site that requires authentication and most of the time I will only visit once or twice to test it out and never return. So with that in mind I developed a system that was simple to implement, requires very little user interaction, and provides adequate security. My thinking is that a low entry barrier will help encourage adoption of my extension.

Well enough of that rant. If you would like to check it out here are the relevant links:

• http://eat.ourbunny.com/cmntz - Extension Homepage
• https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7244 - Mozilla.org Page
• http://eat.ourbunny.com/cmntz/cmntz.xpi - Install File (If you don’t have a mozilla.org account)

Culture Jamming is an activity that generally tries to take a message and, by using the characteristics of that message, subverts it against its original meaning

I decided to use the Apple Think Different campaign to illustrate their vendor lock-in practices. By purchasing an iPod and buying a song off of iTunes, you are forever locked-in to buying more and more iPod’s*. Many companies have similar lock-in practices (Microsoft Office comes to mind) and it is always important to be able to analyze a product’s lock-in risk before purchasing it. Obviously the solution to this problem is open source software and open standards. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to listen to some MiniDisks and check out some YouTube videos on an iPhone.

* Unless of course you get one of the DRM free songs.

I am a heron i have a long neck and i pick fish out of the water w/ my beak if you don’t repost this comment on 10 other pages i will fly into your kitchen tonight and make a mess of your pots and pans

Lulz