A great thing about blogs is that they let you join the conversation
when the conversation is about you. Today there were a bunch of rumors
about Passport and InfoCard. Trevin Chow of the Passport team addresses
them in his post Official word on Infocard and Passport where he writes
Ever since RSA, rumours
have been flying aroung the web and blogosphere about Passport's supposed demise
at the hands of Infocard:
As much as I hate to disappoint folks like CNet, ZDNet, The Boston Herald,
IT Business Edge, etc. but this is absolutely false...Here it is in as easy to understand language as possible, and feel
free to quote :)
Today, Passport supports different types of credentials. A more verbose
definition of a "credential" from Wikipedia is:
"A credential is a proof of qualification, competence, or clearance
that is attached to a person, and often considered an attribute of that
person."
Today, Passport supports email address with either passwords or mobile PINs
as credential types. Infocard will simply be another credential that will be
supported by Passport. In other words, Infocard will not replace
Passport, but rather Infocard will supplement Passport. So in a
nutshell:
1. Infocard will not be replacing Passport, contrary to the popular belief,
rumour and conjecture.
2. Inforcard will be another accepted credential type for the Passport
network. You will be able to link an Infocard to your Passport and use it to
access Microsoft, MSN and Windows Live services.
This is not to say that Infocard is not a valuable and worthwhile
technology. I'm extremely excited about the possbility of the proliferation of
infocards in the future and putting the control of sharing user information in
the hands of the user. The point being made here is that Passport will not be
wholesale replaced by Infocard.
The Infocard hype keeps getting louder and louder each day. One of these days, I may have to get off my butt and actually find out what exactly
it is. :)