RSSOpenID adds Microsoft's Live ID to its list of providers
By Angela Gunn | Published October 27, 2008, 6:55 PM
Microsoft announced on Monday that the company's Windows Live ID will support the OpenID digital identity framework, releasing a Community Technology Preview (CTP) at this week's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
The CTP allows relying-party sites and the developers of relying-party libraries to test their setups against the Windows Live ID OpenID provider endpoint. Testing now will help them to knock out bugs before the system goes live, most likely sometime next year.
Once it's ready, users of Windows Live will be able to use their IDs on that service to set up an OpenID alias. OpenID is designed to allow users to have their identities authenticated through familiar providers such as Windows Live or -- currently -- Yahoo, Google, AOL and others.
Sites that allow OpenID authentication -- known as "relying parties" -- communicate with the provider service to authenticate the visitor, rather than requiring yet another username and password.
Microsoft made a high-profile commitment to OpenID support back in February, when Bill Gates spoke at the RSA Security conference in San Francisco. In his keynote address, he warned that the username-password system currently ubiquitous online wasn't going to scale in the years ahead, and indicated that Microsoft would support OpenID 2.0 in conjunction with CardSpace, which is built into Vista.
Microsoft is inviting interested parties to try out the test system; instructions are available on the Windows Live blog.
I'd much rather the providers also be consumers. I already have several OpenID's & I surely don't need another one.
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Yeah, it has been an interesting year for OpenID -- first MySpace (which was a big deal in that sphere) now this. I'm personally curious to know how this fits in with CardSpace; Bill G. announced that back in February, and I've currently got a call into the company to see if this has any implications for / relationship to that deal. We'll keep you posted!
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Wow, now there is something I didn't see happening. I wonder if this will actually give OpenID the push they needed to succeed.
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What the internet certainly does not need is more providers. Sites implenting OpenID should start off as a consumer, before becoming a provider. Without consumers, OpenID is useless. I tried to email microsoft at openidfb@microsoft.com which they list on their blog, but my mail bounced (unknown recipient).
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Hey chaz6 -- I tried it for myself just now and you're right, it's not working. I'm going to send a note to my contact over there and see if she can pass it along to someone who can fix it. Thanks very much for saying something; let's see if things shape up!
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Sorry folks. We had some initial problems with the openidfb@microsoft.com e-mail alias, but it is now fixed.
If you have any feedback on the Windows Live ID OpenID Provider that you haven't submitted through other channels, then please resend now that the e-mail address is fixed.
Thanks for your patience.
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