Actually, I re-read the article just to make sure that I wasn't being too critical. I'm not. The author doesn't mention any security risks/benefits associated with the new login form designs.

It reminds me of the time when a former boss asked me to add authentication onto the company intranet. She wanted to know who is logging in and viewing private documents, but she didn't like typing in or remembering passwords so I could only ask users for their username and "trust" that they wouldn't type in someone else's username instead. For some (probably most) users, security isn't on the forefront of their mind, so they need to be reminded of it.