2008 April

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Today I spent a few minutes modifying the WP-OpenID plugin to support JanRain’s ID Selector.

I added OpenID support to billso.com last month. This page has more information about the OpenID signle sign-on (SSO) system. Short story: OpenID lets users log in to a site with an ID they obtained on another web site. There are many different providers of OpenIDs, and many Internet users have not heard of the OpenID system.

So the ID Selector box provides opportunities to promote the OpenID system, and to add more users to a web site by supporting OpenID authentication.

Example of an OpenID selector box

The ID Selector is a small dropdown box that gives the user several choices for an OpenID provider. The system uses a small piece of JavaScript that calls a centralized server at www.idselector.com and generates an attractive selection box.

WP-OpenID doesn’t support ID Selectors yet, so I modified the code myself. The code is available in this ZIP file as interface.php

Installation is easy. Simply download my zipped file, extract the php file, edit it to include the ID Selection script that can be generated here, and upload the modified php file to your WordPress server at wp-content/plugins/openid/

The only hitch I have seen is that the selection button does not render properly in Safari, possibly because Safari uses its own weird buttons. In Firefox and Internet Explorer, it seems to work.

I’m tested this against WP 2.51 and WP-OpenID 2.1.8. I’m sure other people will find issues, so please add a comment to this post.

For WordPress sysads who want to type in the modified code themselves, here’s an example. The code that must be changed is found in function login_form() as follows:

<label>Or login using your
<a class="<?php echo $link_class; ?>"
href="http://openid.net/">OpenID</a> url:<br/>

<input type="text" name="openid_url"
id="openid_url" class="input openid_url"
value="" size="20" tabindex="25" /></label>

</p>

<!-- this section remaps the OpenID Selector
box to the proper field on the form-->
<script type="text/javascript">
  <!--
      idselector_input_id = "openid_url";
    -->
</script>

<!-- insert the ID SELECTOR script that
you generated at idselector.com AFTER THIS LINE -->

<!-- BEGIN ID SELECTOR -->

<script type="text/javascript"
id="__openidselector"
src="https://www.idselector.com/selector/hex"
charset="utf-8"></script>

<!-- END ID SELECTOR -->
<!-- the rest of the interface.php
proceeds as originally written-->

<?php
}

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The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported this morning that the last remaining business unit of bankrupt Aloha Airlines may shut down as early as today. I mentioned yesterday in this billso.com article that Aloha had shut down its air cargo business Monday.

If the contract services business does shut down, passenger flights on the following carriers may be suspended and thousands of passengers will might be stranded in the State of Hawaii:

American Airlines
US Airways
Japan Airlines
Air Canada
Korean Air
China Airlines

Aloha’s services unit provided gate agents, baggage services and ground personnel for these and other airlines. Outsourcing these functions to Aloha helped these airlines reduce or eliminate their payrolls in Hawaii

Pacific Air Cargo had made a bid to buy the contract services business, but the US Bankruptcy Court did not appoint a liquidation trustee yesterday to supervise the contract services business. Kany of the 950 contract services employees have decided to continue working without any guarantee that they might be paid. The deal is set to close next Monday, 5 May 2008, but PAC is trying to advance that date, and the Honolulu Advertiser reported today that PAC may try to start its own interisland air cargo business.

“I put the burden on all of our guys,” said Randy Kauhane, assistant general chairman of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 141. “I told our guys to continue to work for free if it means keeping the operation going until we can find out more details what’s going to happen. If we stop, it would interrupt the operations of the carriers that we service.”

Last night, Hawaii Governer Linda Lingle announced that she would not declare a state of emergency because of the Aloha cargo shutdown. I wonder what she will do if passengers are stranded? The Star-Bulletin published a blistering editorial this morning, taking Lingle and legislative leaders to task for their inaction during the last month.

Meanwhile, in another Star-Bulletin story, food services companies and Kauai businesses are asking the state to help restore Superferry service to that island. A small and vocal group of protesters helped stop the service in August 2007:

Jimmy Trujillo, one of the organizers of the anti-Superferry movement on Kauai, said the vessel still is not wanted.

“Aloha Air cargo is certainly a valued service. Perhaps Aloha Airlines should have been the beneficiary of a special legislative session,” Trujillo said.

“The military cargo Strykerferry isn’t the vehicle to carry depleted uranium and baked goods,” he added.

Trujillo was not available for further comment. Perhaps he has locked himself in the Iolani Palace with approximately 70 other sovereignty protesters who took over the grounds at 0530 this morning.

Got bread?

Yesterday’s shipment of Love’s bread and baked goods for Lihue is still in Los Angeles, because the contact shipper used United to fly items to Kauai. United Airlines has suspended its Kauai cargo shipments because the airline used Aloha’s cargo business for its Lihue ground services.

Love’s is shipping bread to Maui on the Superferry, according to this Star-Bulletin article.

Tags: airline · airport · Aloha · cargo · Hawaii · Honolulu · Kauai · los-angeles · Maui · supply-chain · tourism · travel · value-chain

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The Microsoft-Yahoo takeover battle may be resolved soon, according to Wired:

One of the better insights came from Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney, who handicapped the outcomes of the Microsoft-Yahoo war. Mahaney reckons there’s a 45 percent chance Yahoo sells out at a higher offer; a 40 percent chance Microsoft goes hostile; a 10 percent chance Microsoft walks away; and a 5 percent chance they both agree to the current price.

Yesterday’s New York Times had additional details. Saturday, 26 April 2008, was the deadline that Microsoft had set for Yahoo’s response to its recent purchase offer. According to this New York Times analysis, it seems unlikely that Microsoft CEO will abandon the company’s pursuit of Yahoo, because failure might send the wrong signals to the market.

Microsoft’s CFO, Chris Liddell, has led the company to spend more on acquisitions, and take on debt for the first time in the company’s 33-year history. He was profiled in Reuters article, which also discusses his management style.

To merge or not to merge

Microsoft doesn’t really need Yahoo, according to a recent research report. Michael Cusumano suggested in this New York Times article by Randall Stross that Yahoo is a poor fit with Microsoft’s enterprise software ambitions. SAP would be a better choice for Microsoft, especially after Oracle’s acquisition of BEA.

Another ZDnet report and this Wired article indicate that Yahoo has increased its severance packages for employees.

On 25 February 2008, Yahoo CEO asked his number two, Sue Decker, to join him on-stage at an important presentation, according to the New York Times. Decker has excellent ties with the advertising industry, and she was the real architect of Yahoo’s advertising business strategy.

Yang needs all the help he can get when facing nervous customers. At the event, Yang called Microsoft’s bid a “galvanizing event” for Yahoo managers, employees and board members. That’s some deep thinking… deep like a puddle. Threats of acquisition and unemployment can really command attention. The company’s plan to recapture its former dominance as an Internet portal is about seven years too late.

Photos courtesy of Carsten Knoch (top) and code_martial (bottom) through a Creative Commons license.