You know it’s a bad sign for a technology when the online list of customers vanishes. Thus it is for Passport, Micro$oft’s stab at online global identity management. Various major clients have backed away from it, including Monster.com, and, now, eBay.
Microsoft, for its part, discontinued its directory of sites using Passport. “The .NET Passport service offers streamlined sign-in at a wide range of Web sites and services,” Microsoft said on its Website. “We have discontinued our Site Directory, but you’ll know when you can use your Passport to make sign-in easier. Just look for the .NET Passport Sign In button!”
The moves reflect recognition that, lacking a critical mass, there was no value to web sites to use Passport vs. a local identity management scheme. Further, since every other tech company under the sun except M$ is participating in an identity management scheme under the Liberty Alliance, even M$ finds it difficult to stand alone in this arena — which is why M$ is no longer actively marketing (though, for the moment, supporting) Passport.
Which is probably not a bad thing. I’ve made use of Passport, and it was convenient enough, but I’ve always worried a bit about handing M$ the keys to website access, on top of everything else they dominate.
More commentary here and here.