Month: November 2008

Try the CardSpace CardTile Yourself

On November 17, 2008

CardSpace Icon The directions we’ve taken CardSpace “Geneva” are strongly shaped by feedback we received about the first version of CardSpace. One of the most frequently heard feedback points was to make the user experience less disruptive. For instance, Ashish Jain wrote about “Too many clicks”.

The new “CardTile” feature, where the image of the last card used at a site can be displayed on the site’s page, enables two-click card submission, while still providing the user feedback about the card that will be used by default. The screen shot below shows an example of the CardTile in use, displaying the image of the most recently used card in the page.

FederatedIdentity.net CardTile page

The “Always use this card at this site” feature takes this a step further, enabling true one-click submission to sites where you have already used a card. See the recent CardSpace “Geneva” Selection Experience post for more details.

But back now to the subject of this post… The FederatedIdentity.net team has created a relying party page using the CardTile at https://relyingparty.federatedidentity.net/AnyIssuerRelyingParty/Login.aspx?tile=true. It should work both with selectors that do and don’t support the CardTile feature. Try it yourself!

Equifax, the Information Card Foundation, and Interoperable Verified Claims

By Mike Jones

On November 16, 2008

In Claims, Information Cards, Interoperability, Windows CardSpace

Equifax Verified Over 18 Card My congratulations to Equifax for issuing the first commercially deployed Information Cards with verified claims. This is huge step forward towards a future where individuals can routinely make verified digital statements about themselves, facilitating trusted, privacy-preserving interactions online.

I’m writing to bring you some of the story-behind-the-story in Information Card Foundation member Equifax issuing these verified Information Cards. Rather than use proprietary claims schemas in their cards, Equifax chose to use claims that are designed to be interoperable with cards that will be issued by other identity providers. Their cards use a combination of the standard Information Card claims, along with a newly defined age-18-or-over claim that anyone can implement.

This new age-18-or-over claim is the first to emerge from the new Information Card Foundation Identity Schemas Working Group. This is a place where anyone can propose a new claim URI and register it for use by all. You will find the age-18-or-over claim definition in the working group’s Claims Catalog. This is an example of how the Information Card Foundation is facilitating collaboration to advance interoperable Information Cards.

I’ll close by saying that while the Equifax page promotes the new Azigo identity selector, their card uses interoperable protocols and file formats, and is compatible with all identity selectors. For instance, you’ll see a screen shot of my Equifax card in Windows CardSpace below, showing both the use some of the standard Information Card claims, as well as the new age-18-or-over claim from the ICF Claims Catalog.

Equifax Age 18 or Over Card Details