I had the great pleasure of co-authoring an article with my teammate Vittorio Bertocci on the September LABS release of the Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control. This article, entitled Re-Introducing the Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service, walks you through the process of authenticating and authorizing users on your Web site by leveraging existing identity providers such as Windows Live ID, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Google. Specifically, this article covers:

• Outsourcing Authentication of a Web Site to the Access Control Service (ACS)

• Creating the Initial Visual Studio Solution

• Configuring an ACS Project

• Choosing the Identity Providers You Want

• Getting the ACS to Recognize Your Web Site

• Adding Rules

• Collecting the WS-Federation Metadata Address

• Configuring the Web Site to Use the ACS

• Testing the Authentication Flow

• ACS: Structure and Features

Sounds like a lot, but hopefully you will find the article straightforward and helpful.