Re: Solving Real Problems with Linked Data: Verifiable Network Identity & Single Sign On

On Sun, Jul 11, 2010 at 7:05 PM, Kingsley Idehen <kidehen@openlinksw.com> wrote:
> Q: What about OpenID?
>
> A: The WebID Protocol embraces and extends OpenID via the WebID + OpenID

That's an unfortunate turn of phrase. The intent I assume is to
suggest that there are ways in which the two approaches can be used
together, and ways in which they quite reasonably take differing
approaches. When they differ, it's through genuine and transparent
differences rather than industry mischief. The "embrace and extend"
phrase is rather too closely associated with cynical manipulation of
partial compatibility for commercial advantage. I suggest avoiding it
here!

>From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend_and_extinguish

""Embrace, extend and extinguish,"[1] also known as "Embrace, extend,
and exterminate,"[2] is a phrase that the U.S. Department of Justice
found[3] was used internally by Microsoft[4] to describe its strategy
for entering product categories involving widely used standards,
extending those standards with proprietary capabilities, and then
using those differences to disadvantage its competitors." [...]
"The strategy and phrase "embrace and extend" were first described
outside Microsoft in a 1996 New York Times article entitled "Microsoft
Trying to Dominate the Internet,"[5] in which writer John Markoff
said, "Rather than merely embrace and extend the Internet, the
company's critics now fear, Microsoft intends to engulf it." The
phrase "embrace and extend" also appears in a facetious motivational
song by Microsoft employee Dean Ballard,[6] and in an interview of
Steve Ballmer by the New York Times."

I think we're doing something quite different here!

cheers,

Dan

Received on Sunday, 11 July 2010 18:24:45 UTC