May 14, 2008February 7, 2009 by Brendon J. Wilson

Is OpenID Doomed?

Zoho made an interesting move today by adding support for using a Google or Yahoo! account to authenticate to their suite of online productivity tools. I wonder what the OpenID community will think of this?

I’ve been following the OpenID space for the last little while, and this marks a curious turn in the development. OpenID has been promoting the idea of decentralized system that would allow users to minimize the number of usernames and passwords they need to login to the various web-based applications they use. It’s a great idea, but as I did some research for a client recently I concluded that the conflicting incentives for OpenID stakeholders may prove to be a barrier to adoption.

The core challenge is that while everyone wants to control users’ information by becoming an OpenID identity provider, there’s less enthusiasm towards becoming a relying party that accepts OpenID credentials. This is not especially surprising – controlling users’ information is the means that corporations maintain lock-in, and derive competitive advantage that they use to drive revenues. Hence, the move by many large web portals to act as OpenID identity providers, but not relying parties, has been viewed as an underhanded means to exploit the interest in the OpenID standard.

What’s curious about the Zoho move is that the company has obviously made the decision to accept third-party authentication credentials in a bid to lower the barriers to adopting its products. Google’s Docs and Spreadsheet offerings are a major competitor to Zoho’s offerings, so it makes sense to try minimize the pain of switching from Google to Zoho products. However, the decision to include Yahoo! accounts in the mix confuses things somewhat. Given Yahoo’s current problems, why would Zoho want to include those users? And if you’re going to go to the trouble of supporting yet another authentication scheme to reach a wider audience, why not go for OpenID?

Overall, it seems very strange that Zoho would exert the effort to support GAuth (used by Google) and BBAuth (used by Yahoo!). Both Google and Yahoo! are now OpenID identity providers, so why go down the path that requires roughly twice the effort required to support OpenID? You could do less work, and reach more users!

I can only guess that either this work began prior to Google and Yahoo!’s OpenID support was announced. However, there is one other troubling possibility: that while OpenID solves the technical problem, using a Google or Yahoo! account to authenticate to a third-party is more easily understood by users.

May 13, 2008May 12, 2012 by Brendon J. Wilson

Why Buy a Scooter?

Since returning to Vancouver in January, I’ve noticed a change in the types of vehicles on the road. The automobile landscape in Vancouver has expanded to include two new vehicles: Smart cars, and scooters.

Before I left Silicon Valley, I was commuting to work on a Yamaha Vino 125 motor scooter. With oil exceeding $90 a barrel already in those days, it was a good decision. And apparently more people are agreeing with me – even before I left California I started noticing more and more scooters on the road in the final months. I even had people pull up beside me at stop lights and ask me about buying one. Although I sold my scooter upon my departure from California, I thought I’d do a quick run-down on the pros and cons for people considering making the jump to a scooter.

The Good

It’s easy: Although California requires you to get a motorcycle license to drive a scooter, obtaining a license is simple, especially if you already have a driver’s license. You take a simple written test to get your learner’s license, and then take a weekend safety course that exempts you from the DMV road test. Note that if you already have a driver’s license, you will also need to renew your existing license when you take the motorcycle license written test. In BC, you can ride scooters under 50cc using only your regular driver’s license (although these are pretty wimpy)
It’s cheap: While a Vespa will run you between $5K and $6K USD, Honda and Yamaha make some sporty alternatives that cost a little over $3K with tax and dealer fees. Insurance will run you about $250 for the year.
It’s fuel-efficient: I racked up 2,588 miles in a year and a half, sipping a meager 35 gallons or so of gas along the way. That’s about 70 to 80 miles per gallon (34 km/litre)!
It’s environmentally friendly: Not only are scooters more fuel efficient, but four-stroke engines in larger scooters have lower overall carbon dioxide emissions versus cars. Not only will you be saving money, but you’ll be dumping about 75% less CO₂ into the air.

The Bad

No freeway for you: Unless you go with one of high-end scooters with a larger engine, your state’s laws probably doesn’t won’t allow you to drive your scooter on the freeway. Which is OK, because…
Car drivers are insane: Nothing proves this quite like a 5-ton minivan moving into your lane without a shoulder check. Hello?? Hellooo? I’m right here!
It’s distance limited: A scooter’s ideal for commuting about 10 miles or so. Any further, and the inability to get on freeway becomes an impediment to timely travel. For me, that was perfect – I drove 10 miles a day. Who wants to spend life commuting?
Your friends are jerks: In our macho North American culture, nothing emasculates quite as quickly as driving a 236-pound scooter to work instead of a 5-ton SUV.
Rain sucks: Climate is a major consideration. While California only gets a couple showers during the year, those times can be deadly on a scooter. Low visibility, reduced traction, and even crazier drivers.

The Awesome

Traffic? What traffic? Nothing wipes the superior smile off a car driver’s face like watching a cute little girly scooter pull into the space between traffic and disappear into the distance. It’s a good feeling. Unfortunately, lane-splitting is illegal in BC, so this doesn’t apply to Vancouverites. However, there are always situations where a little extra maneuverability comes in handy.
Did I mention it’s cheap? When you’re getting 80 miles per gallon, your gas costs go through the floor. On average, I spent about $3 a week on gas. Total cost for the scooter for the first year, gas and insurance included, was less than $4K. Cost to run after you’ve paid off the scooter? Less than $35 a month.

Happy scooting!