CDR: Re: VISA to smartcard the US

[Ray Dillinger]

Hmmm.  These devices could be useful, even without using 
them as credit cards.  I wonder if you could buy a batch 
of them from the manufacturer with custom software installed? 

It would sure be nice if I could make a physical key token 
that would render my system completely useless if the key 
were, say, in my wallet at work, and the computer found its 
way to, say, the hands of someone carrying out an illegal 
search and seizure.  

likewise it would be nice to store PGP keys on, etc -- bits 
of data that you want to maintain complete physical control 
of at all times. 

"Oppression is sometimes best fought with the tools that 
the oppressors have built for their own use." 

I want a PGPdisk you can boot from.

				Bear


On Tue, 12 Sep 2000, A. Melon wrote:

>Sep 12, 2000 - 07:27 PM 
>
>            Visa USA to Launch Smart Card in
>            the U.S. 
>            The Associated Press
>
>            NEW YORK (AP) - After success with its smart card in
>            Europe and Japan, Visa is aiming squarely at the U.S.
>            market with an upgraded version that contains more
>            memory. 
>
>            Over the next couple of weeks, Visa USA, the
>            companys U.S. division, will be launching smart cards
>            - microprocessors embedded in plastic -that will offer
>            prepackaged services to be determined by its issuers. 
>
>            Customers will be able to download information from
>            their computers via special card readers. Over the next
>            year or so, they will be able to store airline tickets, for
>            example, and eventually use the cards as keys to their
>            cars and homes. 
>
>            The card, which has 32 kilobytes of memory, is
>            different from Visas original version, which has mainly
>            served as a "monetary value card," said Al Banisch,
>            senior vice president of consumer credit products. 
>
>            The new card will be available free to Visas 350
>            million cardholders. 
>
>