PDC: Microsoft's Live ID To Support OpenID
Microsoft will let the 400 million users of its Live ID service use their credentials to log in to any site that supports the OpenID standard.
Kim Cameron, Microsoft's chief architect of identity and a Microsoft distinguished engineer, announced the plan during a session focused on Microsoft's roadmap for identity services at the company's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. In that session, Cameron announced the first beta of its Geneva framework.
OpenID is rapidly showing promise as a de facto authentication standard that transfers existing URIs into an account which can be used at sites that support OpenID access. Among those that support it are AOL, Flickr, Technorati, Wordpress and Yahoo, according to the OpenID Foundation.
What that means is you'll be able to use your Live ID credentials to log in to those and other OpenID sites. For example, if you have a My Yahoo account, you'll be able to use your Live ID to log in to it. Microsoft joined the OpenID Foundation earlier this year and had indicated ultimate support was planned in Live ID.
Cameron said this is a key step forward for addressing the login problem. "There is so much password fatigue," he said. But it's just one step, he warned. "We'll get there, one of these days."
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 10/28/2008 at 1:19 PM