MS Passport Seen As Internet 'Toll-Gateway'
Microsoft's inclusion of the Passport wallet and authentication service in its Windows XP platform, to identify Web users online, is seen as "an immensely competitive move against AOL and other consumer services". BusinessWeek's Jay Greene says, "opponents fear that Microsoft will be able to turn it into the ubiquitous identity-authentication system on the Net", with MS executives touching on e-merchant fees for payments executed via Passport. In another take, Clay Shirky, of wireless firm, Roamable, sees Passport as a potential toll-gateway to the Internet, with users being asked for their credit card details when registering.Andre Durand, CTO of instant-messaging service, Jabber.com, notes, "it's the one bolt that holds the whole framework together". By means of affirmation, Bill Gates declared in March, that Microsoft's goal was for all Internet users, to use Passport for online authentication. Going
Although 160 million new Windows PCs, containing Passport, are due to be sold in the next year, Shirky says Microsoft's stance that "we're locking you out unless you register for a Passport", will not work. Still, Microsoft is betting heavily on subscription-oriented Web services by subscribing Passport members to its Hailstorm service, to receive alerts when an eBay bid is trumped, for instance. Microsoft is under fire for not including other identity services in its beta Windows XP platform, but it remains to be seen whether 'a narrow commercial purpose' is the motive, or whether consumers will entrust their personal details to MS. Related Links
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