Sooner or later, we have to deal with the issues of digital identity and security. As the broadband rollout proceeds somewhat fitfully, it raises issues of cost, convenience, freedom, and control. In the second of a two-parter, Jon dives into the details of SSL proxying. In the first of a two-parter, Jon reviews why and how to discover and use website APIs. Jabber's universal chat capability is cool, but its focus on XML-ized metadata, content, and interfaces is what really justifies the buzz.
Life's too short to process images and write HTML by hand.
Here are some strategies for automating these chores. While legal in an abstract sense, nobody yet knows the concrete implications of digital signatures. The new legislation is an invitation to start finding out. Chui Tey's survey of JVM integration projects shows that independent developers are working hard to make it so. In their e-mail to Jon, readers of this column point him to a variety of interesting software projects.