Via NeoWin.net, Microsoft is re-purposing (read: scaling back) their .NET Passport strategy to just Microsoft websites, and very close partner sites.

Originally, Microsoft had positioned Passport as your universal login for the internet, one button, one username/password, and you could log on to anything… Well, that was the utopian dream. It didn’t pan out.

Imagine being able to log on to your MSN mail account, your Instant Messenger, your Monster.com account, your eBay account, and ALL your 3rd party (read: independant) websites with posting forums. Suddendly you were supposed to be a person with credentials that could be accepted anywhere… Not a username/password/email/profile association that had to be created (and maintained) across all the sites you frequented.

That dream is dead… at least in the Microsoft camp. Monster.com’s last day for accepting Passport logins is said to be 10/22/2004, which means I’ll have to remember what my username/password were to be able to login.

Monster: What were you thinking? Put it back!!!

Microsoft: Don’t give up yet! You had a great idea!!!

Everybody else: get off your fanny’s and a Passport style infrastructure… well, I suppose it’s too late for the latter.