On 20 Oct 2001, at 22:09, Dr. Evil wrote:
Carry your passport, which doesn't have a mag strip (last time I checked).
My US passport does have a magstrip. It's embedded in the front cover, and must be read by a special device. I've seen it scanned only once, when leaving Montreal to return home. (point being, a driver's licence reader can't read passport magstrips) At least one club in Minneapolis has a prominent sign stating they will not accept a US passport as ID unless it's accompanied by a "yellow slip", that being the document indicating that the person has applied for a state-issued ID card. I've never taken the time to ask the reasoning behind this policy.
Do different states use different formats for the data on the magstrip?
Do all states even have magstrips?
It's probably reasonable to assume the formats differ. I haven't yet had the time to build up a magstripe reader and check mine, but Minnesota also puts a high-density barcode on the front of the license. I have read that out, and it's name, address, DOB, licence class, a couple of fields I can't figure out and a final field that says "20 EXTRA BYTES HERE". (yes, really) -- Roy M. Silvernail [ ] roy@scytale.com DNRC Minister Plenipotentiary of All Things Confusing, Software Division PGP Key 0x1AF39331 : 71D5 2EA2 4C27 D569 D96B BD40 D926 C05E Key available from pubkey@scytale.com I charge to process unsolicited commercial email