- Why use the Windows Live ID?
- Why can’t I or shouldn’t I use my existing email address for my Windows Live ID?
- Why Microsoft and not Google, Yahoo!, or OpenID?
Q. Why use the Windows Live ID?
A. There needs to be some universal login because people are inundated with PIN numbers, secret questions, and passwords to the point that the password systems are just too complex. Windows Live ID is such a system. It is still far from universal but it is being accepted by banks, large corporations, government agencies, and healthcare providers. It has more than 380 million subscribers.
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Q. Why can’t I or shouldn’t I use my existing email address for my Windows Live ID?
A. It is likely that most people will change their email address. This could cause your records to be orphaned on ours and other systems that use the universal login services. We have a way to fix this if you do eventually change your identity.
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Q. Why Microsoft and not Google, Yahoo!, or OpenID?
A. Microsoft has had their system up and running for more than five years. They have had issues in the past but have corrected these. Microsoft has committed their own products including HealthVault which is endorsed by the US Health and Human Services to Windows Live ID. Yahoo! as yet does not have an open system, and Google’s product is still in beta test from. OpenID is a distributed platform that has some advantages but lacks funding.
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