10:53 PM, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

TANGO Interactive extensions for the ARL year 4 SoW.

We propose two extensions to the system:

1. Security enhancements.

	This task includes the following enhancements of TANGO Interactive framework:
	
	- transition to SSL (secure socket layer) to provide
	encryption for all communications between TANGO
	Interactive server and the clients
	
	- adding support for SOCKS protocol to both the server
	and client to enable seamless use of the system across
	firewalls
	
	- adding SOCKS support to BuenaVista videoconferencing
	agent for the same purpose
	
	- adding a middleware agent to TANGO Interactive server
	enabling access to the ARL class registration database
	to enable seamless and automatic user authentication and
	access control to all on-line classes and training
	sessions.
	
	Time frame: 6 months
	
2. Implementation and deployment of the "PeopleWatch"          module.

	One of the basic obstacles to acceptance and widespread
	use of the desktop collaboration software is lack of
	tools to gain information about availability of other
	people to collaborate. Computer-based collaboration
	lacks reliability of the phone system. There is no
	accepted paradigm for "calling" other users, receiving
	"calls", and responding to them. Imagine a user of a
	videophone who tries to call a person only to find out,
	after several minutes of failed connection attempts,
	that the person s/he tries to reach deactivated his/her
	videoconferencing application. A few experiences of this
	kind may effectively discourage user from ever trying
	desktop collaboration, regardless of the quality of the
	actual collaborative application.
	
	We consider this sociological obstacle a major roadblock
	to a successful deployment of  desktop collaboratory
	tools. We propose implementation and deployment of a
	front-end service to TANGO Interactive handling this
	particular problem. The service would be automatically
	installed together with the TANGO Interactive client and
	would run perpetually in background at all times when
	the user is logged to the system, communicating with
    dedicated "directory server" and monitoring availability
	of the user for collaboration. Local configuration
	interface would offer options to protect users privacy.
	Directory service we propose differs from the well-known services such as LDAP in that it provides active "event reporting" to registered clients, enabling client notifications. "PeopleWatch" module makes use of this mechanism to provide real-time status monitoring service for selected group of users. Further, the system acts as both a configurable gatekeeper, and a PBX, routing the calls, taking and displaying instant messages, and accepting calls by starting the complete collaboration system and logging the user to a community server defined in the PeopleWatch protocol.
	
	We consider implementation of such a front-end system a necessary prerequisite for a sucessful deployment of TANGO Interactive as a desktop collaboratory.
	
	Time frame: 6 months