Live ID Offered to Web Sites

Once again Microsoft is opening its online authentication service-formerly known as Passport, now called Windows Live ID-for use by third-party Web sites. By licensing the right to use the service at no charge, and integrating it with Windows Vista’s CardSpace identity management application, Microsoft might coax some Web sites to participate, but it’s still not clear that there’s any significant demand for outsourced authentication services.

Passport Revisited

Microsoft acquired Passport from Firefly in 1998 and initially used it to provide simple user authentication on Microsoft Web sites. A related service, Passport Express Purchase, allowed users to store information necessary for e-commerce transactions, such as their billing address and credit card numbers, so they wouldn’t have to enter this information multiple times when shopping at Microsoft sites. In 1999, Microsoft began licensing these services to third-party Web sites, enabling sites such as eBay to accept Passport sign-on credentials and access Express Purchase data to speed user visits. The company ultimately charged a fee of more than US$10,000 to license the service.