http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2002/2/06/smartcard.htm
02/05/2002 - Updated 08:53 PM ET One smart card for all your debts By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY The annual Demo conference that kicks off in Phoenix next week may be the most influential high-tech gabfest you've probably never heard of. But Demo is very much on the radar screen of technology luminaries across the spectrum - executives, financial analysts, venture capitalists and the press. No wonder. Demo has been the launching pad for everything from E*Trade to the PalmPilot. And though most of the 66 new products and services are being kept under wraps until the conference opens Sunday, this year's event will flaunt advances in battery technology and computer displays, along with new features for Microsoft's Tablet PC. I'll elaborate on the goings-on at Demo in next week's column. But for now, here's a sneak peek at one new technology that will surely appeal to anyone whose wallet bulges from carrying too many credit cards: A San Francisco company called PrivaSys will demonstrate a battery-powered electronic credit card with an internal chip capable of holding, say, an American Express, MasterCard and Visa - plus your debit cards, gas cards and all other accounts - on a single piece of plastic identical in size and shape to your other cards. Of course, PrivaSys is quick to point out that a whole lot of complicated industry association issues must be dealt with before each of the various financial institutions could appear on such a card. (PrivaSys has struck a deal with First Data, the largest credit card processor.) Merchants, by the way, need not change point-of-sale magnetic stripe terminals. For security purposes, whenever a consumer wants to conduct a transaction, he or she punches in a PIN directly on the card's built-in keypad, generating a code unique to the sale. The plastic includes a 10- to 16-digit readout for displaying credit card information and to let folks select the appropriate charge account to use at the store - you push arrow keys on the keypad to scroll through the list of accounts held on the card. The cards also will be able to store "loyalty" account info, allowing instant coupons and other rewards, perhaps a free soft drink in a fast-food restaurant or an upgrade to first class when seats are available. An icon on the card's readout may light up when you earn such an award. Front Page News Money Sports Life Tech Weather Shop Terms of service Privacy Policy How to advertise About us � Copyright 2002 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
