Log in to an OpenID enabled websites has become more user friendly for Google users. They can use their Google profiles URL for login now.

Google has been an OpenID provider since October 2008 already. However users had to remember a rather cryptic URL, www.google.com/accounts/o8/id, which was the same for all users. Alternatively, relying parties and users could rely on the Google login button (see below), which led to the infamous NASCAR problem of OpenID, a term coined by Daniel Burka and made famous by Chris Messina.

Now users can log in with their Google profile URL. If you have a Gmail account or use any other Google service you already have a Google profile. Simply click this URL to find your profile: www.google.com/profiles/me. That’s definitely a URL which is easier to remember for users. Below is an example of a login with a Google profile:

There are some bad news reaching us from Portland: It seems OpenID Provider myVidoop will be out of business soon. This hasn’t been communicated on the Vidoop blog yet, but tech blog TechCrunch was forwarded some emails that indicate this.

This is really unfortunate as myVidoop was a technological advanced OpenID Provider with a unique login interface. It will be missed.

While the OpenID Provider is still up and running, it’s probably a good idea to look for a new provider if you currently use myVidoop. If you use delegation you can easily change the provider. Though if you have not used delegation (or cannot use it) please log in to the Relying Parties you used your myVidoop OpenID and change your settings there. Some services allow users to associate more than one OpenID with one account. Other services allow association of an email address, sometimes even a password. If all fails, get in touch with the service and try to work out something to recover your account while myVidoop is still up.

I am really sorry that such a great provider is dead now.

By the end of last year, two big players in the software and internet business have made some interesting steps forward in supporting OpenID.

Yahoo! Is Testing Simple Registration

In November Yahoo! started testing the Simple Registration extension (Sreg) with a limited number of Relying Parties. This extension allows sharing of some basic profile information stored at the OpenID Provider.

As far as I know, the tests are not finished yet, though users can already preview the implementation. As you can see from the screenshot below, I used my Yahoo! OpenID to log in to Plaxo. Don’t mind it’s all German, though.

My real name, nickname, email address (I crossed it out), language, and timezone are forwarded to Plaxo. As usual, Yahoo! provides some informative explanations to users, so they are always informed what’s happening. That’s a real advantage of Yahoo!’s entire OpenID implementation.

Microsoft Live ID Is an OpenID

Another news that almost got unnoticed by me, in October Microsoft announced that Live IDs will be OpenIDs. Microsoft will support the OpenID 2.0 standard only.

Currently, you have to create a Live ID test account to see it work. Already established Live IDs don’t work with the demo. So hopefully, the Microsofft’s tests will end soon. I hate creating test accounts.

MySpace is certainly one of the most popular social networks worldwide. So it is really exciting to see the company adopting OpenID. Yes, MySpace is an OpenID Provider since this week. It announced possible support for the technology last summer already, but didn’t implement it until this week.

The OpenID support is part of MySpaceID, a strategy of the company to become more open, letting members log in to other sites with their MySpace login credentials and have their friends and activities from MySpace on those sites as well. If you’re familiar with Facebook Connect product, you’ll get the picture.

As you have probably guessed already, MySpace is only an OpenID Provider now, not a Relying Party that accepts other OpenIDs. That’s kind of sad but on the other hand, MySpace users are familiar with the concept of a URL representing themselves. It’s not some strange and mysterious thing to them. So this might drive OpenID adoption even more.

However if you intend using your MySpace OpenID you should keep in mind a thing or two:

• MySpace only supports the OpenID 2.0 specification. So you won’t be able to log in to sites that haven’t upgraded yet.
• As far as I can see, MySpace doesn’t support the Simple Registration extension (see the Technical Terms for more information about it), so you have to fill forms manually on new sites.
• I have tested it with various Relying Parties and was unable to log in to all of them. Some Relying Parties didn’t recognized it as an OpenID.

I am not sure who’s responsible for the latter problem, MySpace or the Relying Party, but it will hopefully be resolved. Until then try your MySpace OpenID and see if it works for you.

The number of providers listed on Spread OpenID is growing even more. We have added StartCom SSL to the provider listing today.

StartCom SSL allows login by client certificates and smart cards. It is a welcome trend that OpenID providers are adding more secure layers to the usual username/password login method to their services. This will hopefully further the acceptance and use of OpenID even more.