I've read several articles about them and the uses planned, from Time Magazine to PC Magazine articles.
It's the old bit, very convenient, very easy to be misused.
roger
How many do you bring home each day? How many will you give to friends and relatives this Christmas?
If paranoia is on your personal dance card, you may want to skip this post ![]()
Still with me? OK, the following links/quotes will get you started on the subject. You can find more information with a simple search at google for "RFID chips".
~Orwellian eyes~
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
It is reminiscent of George Orwell's futuristic Big Brother in his book "1984" and it's all possible now thanks to technology being developed or on the market in the United States and Europe.
"We've reached a point where a '1984' surveillance society is technologically possible, and that trend was accelerated by the events of September 11," said Barry Steinhardt, director of technology and liberty programs at the American Civil Liberties Union.
"The technology is developing at the speed of light, but the laws that protect us go back to the stone ages," Mr. Steinhardt said.
~Genesis of the Versatile RFID Tag~
RFID Journal
Mario Cardullo received the first patent for a passive, read-write RFID tag. He tells how he came up with the idea in 1969.
~RFID Chips Are Here~
RFID chips are being embedded in everything from jeans to paper money, and your privacy is at stake.
By Scott Granneman
Bar codes are something most of us never think about. We go to the grocery store to buy dog food, the checkout person runs our selection over the scanner, there's an audible beep or boop, and then we're told how much money we owe. Bar codes in that sense are an invisible technology that we see all the time, but without thinking about what's in front of our eyes.
Bar codes have been with us so long, and they're so ubiquitous, that its hard to remember that they're a relatively new technology that took a while to catch on. The patent for bar codes was issued in 1952. It took twenty years before a standard for bar codes was approved, but they still didn't catch on. Ten years later, only 15,000 suppliers were using bar codes. That changed in 1984. By 1987 - only three years later! - 75,000 suppliers were using bar codes. That's one heck of a growth curve.
So what changed in 1984? Who, or what, caused the change?
Wal-Mart.
When Wal-Mart talks, suppliers listen. So when Wal-Mart said that it wanted to use bar codes as a better way to manage inventory, bar codes became de rigeur. If you didn't use bar codes, you lost Wal-Mart's business. That's a death knell for most of their suppliers.
The same thing is happening today. I'm here to tell you that the bar code's days are numbered. There's a new technology in town, one that at first blush might seem insignificant to security professionals, but it's a technology that is going to be a big part of our future. And how do I know this? Pin it on Wal-Mart again; they're the big push behind this new technology.

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