These posts are targeted at Novice users or those who are not familiar with online and “the cloud.” I hope to provide a lot of jumping off points for folks who are technically inclined and want to learn more as well.
I don’t know if it’s the first thing people think about when they move to storing stuff online, but identity seems like a good place to start in describing key aspects of the transition. In my last post I expressed my preference for migrating content online using a single identity. Online ID is a topic that has a rich and interesting history. I’ll spend some time on this today.
What I use: Windows Live ID.
I’ll make two admissions up front: Prior to writing this post, I didn’t think much about what provider to use, I work for Microsoft so I chose ours. Even today I am more interested in the benefits the ID provides than the machinery behind the ID itself, but the research I’ve done for this post has piqued my interest.
(Source) | Marketing buzzwords omitted for clarity: Windows Live ID is the identity and authentication system provided by Windows Live. More than 380 million users have credentials that work with Windows Live ID. Microsoft offers two software development kits (SDKs) that make it possible for developers to use this service.
By creating Web sites and applications that combine user authentication with other Windows Live services, providers can offer users online experiences that include the following:
As indicated by the copy above, LiveID has hooks for developers building applications to integrate LiveID into their apps or services. This includes other identity providers. Part of what differentiates LiveID from prior Microsoft sign-on services is that LiveID encapsulates a strategy of Microsoft as part of an “Identity Metasystem” – this dates back to 2005. Indeed, like a well-executed handoff, LiveID can manage authentication across a large number of products and services. Sadly, it has done little to improve Seattle’s running game.
People may recall Microsoft Passport might not recognize the mission as it had been defined previously. Passport was more oriented (not totally) toward being the concept of a “Digital Wallet” and less a part of a universal (and multi-platform) authentication system.
Here are some more details if you want to dig into the history of LiveID & Passport. A great blog lives here.
By hanging my hat on LiveID, I’ll get to use the following services. This list is by no means exhaustive, but reflects the ones I’m most likely to use first:
That represents probably around 80% of what I’d want to share online. (Note this does not reflect 80% of what I do online). But at least it is a suitable basis for a hub of activity. For some of those things, Live also provides a way to share / link my profile to many things:
This is a pretty “robust” set of activities that encapsulates a large portion of what I upload.
Some additional benefits – if you use some of the client software like Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Writer, etc., you can authenticate to Live from the client – making a very convenient experience when I want to push content online. I write my blog in Live Writer. Windows Live Essentials would be the place to start.
But now that I have my Windows Live ID, these services know who I am, and this is a good starting point for figuring out how I want to set things up and start to share.
I’ll put the wraps on the post here and now. In short, if you haven’t done so, get a Windows Live ID. I’m certain it will only be more useful in the future.
Next Post: Mesh, Online Libraries and keeping 6 PC’s in sync at the same time.