I like free services. You get what you pay for. Using Google Docs is handy and I don't think people at Google are dropping into my docs to check out what I am doing.

It's not so much what Google folks are gonna do but how easy is it for a stranger to guess your email safety questions to get into your account, reset your password, and hack into your information (think Twitter). It's too easy to figure out people's birth places and other guesses if you do simple Google or Facebook searches.

The problem of bad security using hometown and other easily discovered information could be eliminated by the combination of a cloud office service and an application on the user's PC.

I anticipate lots of people wanting to use just one account for their various Microsoft services. When it comes to electronics and the web in typical American culture, "the faster, the better" is what works; so being able to skip multiple steps of signing in separately to each account can be viewed as a bonus. Personally, I don't mind taking the extra five to seven seconds to sign in each account if it lessens the chances of Microsoft being able to follow my every move.

Perhaps, the better question is: DO you want MS Office 2010 to be able to work seamlessly with all my other account or document info on the Web? The original poster  biznass should let us know. There's a big difference between signing up for Microsoft's 1-account, 1-password access vs. letting Office 2010 translate my documents from other platforms.

I'm less than stellar at keeping track of IDs & passwords, so I like the idea of having a single ID/password that connects me with all my apps. BUT... I'm not keen on allowing Microsoft to get its hands into my non-Microsoft apps. Too much at stake there. I'd be much more comfortable going with a service like OneLogin, which exchanges encrypted factors with your computer, so your logins are more secure.

Wouldn't you trust Microsoft's ability to sync your usernames over a smaller company that may not exist in two years? Ever heard of GoingOn? These days, it's a social learning tool, but in '05 it was attemping to do exactly what OneLogin is doing, calling itself a "digital lifestyle aggregator." Good for them for finding another focus (looks like they're doing OK with university research/backing), but it wouldn't have been cool to be dropped as an initial user who'd relied on them and handed over a ton of personal login info.

Whatever makes sharing to social networks easier, I'm all for it. If that means giving Microsoft some of my password info, so be it. I applaud them that they're implementing some new features that reflect the Web 2.0 culture, and they deserve my attention because of it. I mean, free Web versions of Excel, PowerPoint, Office, and Notepad are gonna make life a helluva lot easier. The "work anywhere" theme suits me perfectly. Good move, MS.

@ SparkyMcD. You might be interested in what Ms.Snarkalicious mentioned earlier: OpenID. It's an open-source movement to have a transparent, universal standard for log-ins. Some blog platforms already are intergrating OpenIDs for user comments so that you don't have to keep divulging your email or site username over and over again.

Also, another advantage of an open-source backed ID? According to OpenID, its designed "not to crumble if one company turns evil or goes out of business."

That last part is key-- that it's a decentralized system we'll always be able to access. Is the only major hangup with OpenID its vulnerability to phishing scams?