Programming .NET 3.5

Summary

CardSpace provides the identification and authentication required for web-based transactions, while allowing the end user to select exactly how much information to provide to a given web site. It is expected that a typical web user will create a small number of specific identities: perhaps one fake identity to avoid junk email, one with minimal identification for casual membership, one with typical identification for shopping, and finally one with strong identification for commercial transactions, banking, and so forth. As CardSpace gains wider acceptance, we can anticipate that institutions such as banks and brokerage houses will begin to issue individualized cards. Over time, there may be an ebb and flow between individualized and more generalized cards.

One of the key aspects that will govern the success of CardSpace and the Identity Metasystem will be user acceptance. That is, users will have to find the technology compelling, valuable, trustworthy, and easy to use and understand.

Figure 14-17. A successful run

Traditionally, this has been a hard problem when it comes to security tokens and transactions. You only have to go to your local grocery store to see how difficult it is for a new technology to gain acceptance. Wait a while, and you're sure to see someone write out a check rather than using a debit or credit card. More often than not, the check-writers are older people ...