I am trying out a beta version of "Typepad Connect" here on the blog. This is why the comments now have user pics next to them. The idea of the service is to allow readers to build a profile (for use in this blog or any other Typepad blog). I hope it is working properly.
A couple of other comment improvements are supposedly in the works. The first change is to allow users to sign in via OpenID. This will allow users with various ids, such as Google, AOL, Yahoo, etc., to sign in with those usernames. The second change is to authorize regular commenters, so that their comments won't have to be held for approval and delayed. I am looking forward to these improvements, whenever they become available.
