Microsoft to Curtail Passport Service

[mattclearing]

Sometimes we win...

Microsoft to curtail Passport service

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6769205/

Consumers fail to embrace identification, e-commerce system

By Joseph Menn

Microsoft is abandoning one of its most contentious attempts to dominate the Internet after rival technology companies banded together in opposition and consumers failed to embrace it.

The world's biggest software company said Wednesday that it would stop trying to persuade Web sites to use its Passport service, which stores consumers' credit card and other information as they surf from place to place. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

The acknowledgment came after eBay Inc. posted a notice on its site Wednesday, saying it would stop using Passport in late January and rely on its own service.

[Atman]

1. A sweet little victory against Big Brother corporatism

Thanks for the bright spot in an otherwise bleak "news cycle."

[mattclearing]

2. Anytime.

The beauty of capitalism is that bad ideas have to make money to survive.

[TexasChick]

3. Now, if we can manage to make these treasonous, economic asshat

Chimp lovin', outsourcing thugs lose business even more, well...:toast:

[mattclearing]

4. They, like Wal-Mart, lose big here to win big there...

And they don't give away affiliations as willingly.

[Chico Man]

5. Hmm, why has the US govt been so nice to Microsoft lately?

My assumption is that closed source software looks magnificent to the fascist powers that be.

How many eggs has Microsoft put into IE, Outlook, Outlook Express, etc to please the current administration? How the hell would we ever know?

It would be SOOO EASY to collect and report "suspicious activity" by tapping into Microsoft products. The outbound reporting traffic would go completely unnoticed because these programs already send outbound traffic on a regular basis for day-to-day operations, auto update, etc.

All the more reason to switch to open source... if only for the peace of mind that if we wanted to, we could take a look at the code and be happy to know our privacy has not been put in jeopardy.

I seriously believe a deal has been struck behind closed doors that is allowing MS to go on unchecked with their monopoly.

[mattclearing]

6. Microsoft is a great example of Clinton not being a corporate whore.

Clinton knew the difference between good for corporations and good for the country. He vetoed many measures that would have let corporations run wild. Bush still hasn't vetoed anything, has he?

[Atman]

10. Corporations Run Wild?

Bush got the seven-volume set of VHS tapes for Christmas! Ken Lay, drunk as a skunk, flashing his fat old man-boobs is on Vol II. And don't miss tape 5, which features John Snow running naked through Yucca Mountain, where his newly Bush-invigorated CSX Railway will be making a killing -- perhaps literally -- transporting nuke waste across country by rail.

Grab a six of Hamm's and a bag of pretzels and watch it with your Wealth Management advisor. It's a total crack up!

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1st Amendment Shoppe

[mattclearing]

11. Nice.

:evilgrin:

[Atman]

9. MS VP was one of Bush's FIRST picks

In his first term. Remember -- it all seems to long ago and far away. While not watching the skies or the monitoring the borders, Bush was brushing aside the anti-trust suits against MS and intalled a top MS officer as his technology czar, or some such bullshit.

MS's future plans...e-money is a big one. MS wants to be THE company to supply e-money infrastructure. Also, watch out for these national ID cards with mag strips...something has to read those mag strips. It will be Windows-based, you can probably bet the farm on that one.

Gates' megalomania second only the Chimpy's.

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1st Amendment Shoppe

[UncleSepp]

12. Watch Oracle for the national ID card

Larry Ellison of Oracle was one of the first to push hard on the national ID card, and wanted it built with Oracle on the back end.

[Qutzupalotl]

24. Great. Now it'll take five minutes to open the application

that shows all your likes and dislikes and the name of your cat.

"Just cooperate now. You wouldn't want anything to happen to Fluffy, would you?"

[Solon]

15. All the more reason to go Open Source, don't you think? n/t

[Chico Man]

7. On another note, Amazons strategy looks to be winning big

Amazon has aggresively placed itself as a broker to just about any product you can imagine from just about any vendor, and they store a single copy of credit card information and shipping address.

In fact, I often times buy from Amazon just because I don't want to type in a credit card number / shipping info - a MS passport wet dream I suppose :) Sorry MS - you lost :P

[mattclearing]

8. Totally.

I used to love Amazon, and thought highly of Jeff Bezos until I heard he donates 60/40 Repub.

[sendero]

13. Right on....

... from now on, I use Amazon to do my research, then go buy at Barnes & Noble. :)

[mattclearing]

14. I'm not going to B&N, but if Amazon goes after Netflix, I'll really be mad

I only really bought CD's from Amazon (which are all made by evil media companies).

Now I try to make sure to only buy discounted or used cd's. This way, record companies (and their media whore parents) get no money.

If I like a band, I will see their show. Bands don't make real money from record sales anyway.

[InvisibleBallots]

16. Amazon and Blockbuster are going after Netflix

We love Netflix, and it's a great company, the ultimate American dream - not to mention a boon for the USPS too! The big boys are going after it hard, right now Blockbuster and Netflix are in a price war.

[mattclearing]

19. Yeah, I know. I just wrote a paper on Netflix's market share position.

eom

[AndyTiedye]

21. Not All CDs are Made By Evil Media Companies

I don't mind if "Tip" or "Twisted" or "Avatar" or "Millenium" Records
makes a few bucks off of me.

For some reason the big evil media companies really don't like psytrance.

[mattclearing]

22. I hear that.

You know what I mean.

[Chico Man]

23. Long live Shpongled and Simon Posford!

Long live Hallucinogen and Twisted!

[AndyTiedye]

17. Who In their Right Mind Would Entrust Sensitive Data to MICROSOFT?!?!?

author if the world's most insecure operating system and other software.

[InvisibleBallots]

18. I hear they use BSD for their passport servers anyway

just like they used BSD for hotmail at least for a long long time. Microsoft isn't stupid - they don't trust their own product either :)

[idiosyncratic]

20. Boy, ain't THAT the truth!! n/t

[Jack_DeLeon]

25. HAHA...

I never used it, the only reason I guess I'm signed up for it was because of using hotmail.