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Open ID, your Passport to the net?

February 23, 2007 by: UKStevieB

openID

Do you remember Microsoft's Passport.NET? It was a pretty good idea, create one user account that can be used at all websites, no need to make multiple accounts around the interweb, and best of all, just the one password to remember! But it didn't take off. It's still around, though it now mostly goes under the name LiveID. Not that many sites ever implemented it and those that did soon noted how under-used this service was and dropped it. These days it is really only usable in Micosoft's own services such as MSN (aka Windows Live Messenger) and Hotmail (aka Windows Live Mail). But in the virtual life of the web world good ideas never die, they just get a Web 2.0 makeover. ;-) And so we arrive at OpenID, the same basic tenet, one account and one password. In fact, though you may not realise it you could already have an openID account! Live Journal and Zooomr are just a couple of many sites that allow you to use your current account as an openID. Will this incarnation prove to be any more sustainable than Microsoft's attempt? At the moment it appears this may well be the case with Microsoft themselves still seeing the need for such a service and will be supporting openID:
On the heels of the Windows® CardSpace™ general availability launch in Windows Vista™, Microsoft demonstrated momentum with industry partners that are working to apply this technology to help consumers realize a more confident online experience. This includes the announcement of collaboration on use of Windows CardSpace with the OpenID 2.0 specification. Through the support of the WS-Trust-based Windows CardSpace experience, consumers can take advantage of increased security against phishing attacks without adding complexity to their identity management experience. Also at the conference, Wachovia Corp., Arcot Systems Inc. and Corillian Corp. showcased a proof of concept demonstration using Windows CardSpace to deliver a simpler and safer online banking experience for customers.
With AOL signing on, Firefox 3.0 promising integrated OpenID support, Yahoo getting in on the act and up-and-coming sites such as Digg, NetVibes and SmugMug signing on it looks as though this one might be here to stay. Some still have worries over the security of the project but most concerns appear to of been addressed, so I went and signed myself up with an account at MyOpenID.com. General Info. Brad Fitzpatrick who kicked off LiveJournal is the original developer of the current system. Simon Willison has posted a Quicktime Video demo of how openID works that you can view here. As a P.S. for those who feel they will miss the opportunity to create all those new accounts in the future, don't despair, go get yourself a Useless Account, which does. . . absolutely nothing! :-)

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