Consumers and businesses were reluctant to use Passport as a sort of gatekeeper, and competitors soon developed an alternative approach to verifying online identity. ...

But Passport is less of a concern now that Microsoft is no longer perceived as "the evil empire," said Dave Winer, a software developer whose work on Web standards helped build a foundation for Microsoft's new services.

"Google is more the evil empire now," Winer said. "Microsoft represents the opportunity for a two-party system."