Hi

I'm in web development and occasionally do some client-side Java (I got my
scjp a few years ago). I've been asked to put together a proposal on how to
achieve the following, in Java.

We're looking to write a piece an application that functions over the
Internet. I'm not sure if it is called a thin-client or a rich Internet
application but the idea is that the client software will use Swing, perhaps
distributed via Web Start, and will communicate with a server. The server
will maintain the user data (in a database, perhaps via hibernate). The
logic is that if the user doesn't renew their software licence, the server
will stop communicating, and the client software becomes useless.
Importantly, the server should be able to push data to the client, as there
may be multiple clients viewing and operating on the same data.

My question is, what technology does Java offer to fulfil these
requirements? Is it possible to develop this kind of application using an
existing application server such as JBoss, or would it require a bespoke
server? Ideally, we'd like to use free and open source software in order to
keep the costs of the application down.

Any insight is gratefully appreciated.

Michael