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Unwired - News About GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth - May-27-2006 May 26, 2006

Here are some summaries related to wireless technologies (GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, Bluetooth) for May 27, 2006:

Are Smartcards Becoming Too Niche-Focused? May 16, 2006

CardTechnology reported recently that Switzerland is trying out a new contactless payment card aimed at moviegoers. While this seems incredibly unusual, it seems to be one of the big problems with RFID and touchless payment systems. There are numerous RFID projects afoot all over the world, and no standards.

I’m not a big fan of digital money to begin with, but to aim cards at such a small niche seems a waste of effort. What’s worse, these cards will only work at Europlex cinemas. You have to open an account, deposit funds, then use your card to buy tickets and …

Ooh Baby It’s A Wired World May 11, 2006

(With apologies to Cat Stevens). Maybe it’s force of habit, but the title of this post is proof that even when I’m discussing wireless networks, I refer to a “wired” world. In a sense, the wiring is still there, it’s just organized differently. Then again, “unwired” world just doesn’t have the same ring to it. But regardless of what it’s called, no doubt the inhabitants of Iqaluit, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, are more than happy to have their own free city-wide Wi-Fi network.

Nunavut simultaneously joins the growing list of cities and towns offering (or planning to offer) …

More RFID Technology Purchases May 10, 2006

In my last post, I talked about how a number of technology companies are buying up their suppliers. Given that RFID and NFC technology is behind most of the new digital touchless payment systems being tested in many parts of the world, it’s not suprising, then, that a company like NCR Corp (National Cash Register Corporation) recently purchased IDVelocity LLC, an RFID provider.

NCR has long been a producer of ATMs (automated teller machines), sometimes called ABMs (automated banking machines). Their technology is often branded with the logos of banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions, …

Some Interesting Technology Purchases May 7, 2006

It seems that some companies are being proactive and purchasing companies who are their suppliers or even software vendors. Now this isn’t exactly a new idea, but the actual technologies that are being gained haven’t typically been the subject of takeovers.

For example, Lockheed Martin is generally considered a defense contractor, but was often involved in NASA’s aeronautics projects as a supplier. Recently, they announced that they’ll be purchasing Savi Technology, a company that builds RFID solutions for defense and transportation. Apparently, it’s a huge purchase, in the 9-figures range.

Another similar recent purchase happened when John Deere, a …

Legitimate Global Village RFID Applications April 28, 2006

After scouring a few RFID weblogs and websites recently, I came to the realization that there are actually numerous RFID applications that do not fall into the “tracking human beings” category. Such example applications including the teaching of English and preventing incorrect usage of prescribed medicines. Certainly these are legitimate, even noble applications of RFID.

Other non-privacy-invading applications include supply chain systems, preventing lost baggage at airports, animal/ pet tracking, and even validating/ authenticating poker chips at casinos. Or imagine forklifts that can operate on their own, and know what flats they have to pick up and move. Of …

Happy Earth Day To You - Or What To Do With Your Old Cell Phone April 27, 2006

With Earth Day (Apr 22) just gone by, I was lamenting that I once again didn’t do anything significant or “green”. (I did, however, go to the first year of Earth Day celebrations when I lived in Toronto many years ago.) This thought was particularly triggered when I read how some of the large European smartcard vendors are rushing out half-baked cell phone products with SIM cards that have been rewired , just to meet deadlines. Their publicly state intent is to fix the problem with later releases of the cell phone model.

So where, then, does that leave people who …

Quantizing Humans And Tracking Supermen - RFID Chips Go Cyborg April 11, 2006

In a recent episode of Smallville, the TV show about young Clark Kent before he becomes Superman, Chloe and Clark are trying to find Lana Lang, who’s developed a deadly addiction to a drug made from Kryptonite. Chloe goes on about how she can find Lana if Lana is carrying her student id card. According to her, new college student id cards have tracking enabled.

I’m assuming that they’re talking RFID chips, and the show is of course fiction, but this is the first I’ve heard of such use of student id cards. Imagine, if you’re a parent, you could keep …

Who Are You? Whose Baby Is That? Didn’t I Write That? March 30, 2006

About a decade ago, just after the public Internet made its debut, cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson claimed in one of his novels that copyright violations would run rampant on the Internet, and there’d be nothing we could do about it.

Stephenson’s prophetic words have come true, especially in the blogosphere, where people lift content in its entirety from one website and post it onto their own. These lifters come in two categories, however: those that give credit and those that don’t. By credit, I mean either including the copyright notice and/or at least a link back to the original article.

Since links …

Will That Be Cash, Charge, or Your Finger? March 29, 2006

The Chicago Tribune reports that Pay By Touch in the United States has outfitted Jewel-Osco supermarket/ drugstores in 14 states with a pay-by-touch system. To pay, you touch your finger to a tiny piece of glass, and supply a phone number.

According to the poll at the Chicago Tribune’s website, at the time of this writing, 71.1% of 671 respondents said that they were uncomfortable with such technology. Apparently customers surveyed at these stores felt similarly.

Interestingly, the technology does not store fingerprints. Rather, it converts features of your finger into an equation. According to Pay By Touch, that means …

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