Open ID

Continuing the thought process from a couple of days ago, websites need to do away with another common, repetitive element: registration.  Back when I learned to appreciate the ability to customize the interface of an application to my liking, I forgave the internet in general for the tedious task of having to enter YET AGAIN my first name, last name, email address, and so on.  But enough is enough because there is a better way on the horizon.

Microsoft had the right idea back when they came up with their Passport sign-in, and they have a relatively user-friendly approach, but their shortcoming is, I believe, that people don't want to trust Microsoft with their global registration.  I did read early on that there is apparently too many hoops to jump through for developers to look to adopting it easily, as well.

But the concept remains sound; I want to have only one registration for all my websites, and the Open ID is what will make that possible.  It is "an open, decentralized, free framework for user-centric digital identity".  It's note quite ready for prime time, but considering that it's being adopted by big names such as Digg, it soon will be.  Check out O'Reilly's pros and cons of the system.