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The Timex Speedpass Watch
RedWolves2 writes "Timex Corporation is developing a watch which incorporates Speedpass technology embedded into it. McDonalds has also partnered with Speedpass with 400 stores in the Chicago area that accept speedpass. Now you can order a value meal like this "You will serve me a Big Mac Meal with a Coke!" (While waving your hand like a Jedi Knight using the Jedi Mind trick)."
Why would anyone use this technology when micropayments and the like can be done using your mobile phone using reverse billing now (you punch in a code to your mobile and an amount gets added to your phone account) and in the future there is bluetooth.
This proprietary, system will shortly float off into oblivion like all the rest.
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When the encoding is hacked... and we all have readers, and transmitters.... I could grab codes just by shacking hands with someone. This very tech could change our whole social customs when it is taught to kids, "Don't shake hands with someone unless you know them."
I am Jack's HTTP Server
If one of these things ever gets stolen, there is literally no way to trace where it is.
No signatures... nothing.
With a credit card there are a few more layers of security.
First, it needs to be swiped (can't be read from a distance...which can be potentially bad)
Second, you need to sign for it
Third, many credit cards have the option of a picture...
Pretty scary.
-kwishot
How about making the speedpass standard available for gas first?
In san diego there's not a single gas station that will accept speedpass.
I'm sick of things being hyped as new revolutionary and totally cool without seeing it become actually popular by public demand.
If you spend all your money funding new instances of your product standard before it becomes a standard you're in for a reality check, not a paycheck.
These people need to get out in the real world and see what it's like, not take the word of the company marketing and selling the products.
) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
Another scary thing would be if you lost this thing. Where I live there are consumer credit laws which basically say if there is any fraud, the consumer is not liable. This is for all electronic banking credit and debit cards. Now I bet that this dongle would leave you high and dry when some idiot went crazy buying fuel and burgers on your tab.
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He insisted that people (who are idiots, of course) value convenience over security. They want to be able to buy without giving a conscious thought to their purchases... and guess what? That just happens to be what corporate America wants too! You make so many mindless little purchases in a day, waving your arms about and clicking around the Web, you don't know what you bought.
The beauty of the system is that it takes far more effort to dispute/return a purchase than it took to make the purchase, so for most people it's just not worth their time. Meanwhile, the corporate fat cats rake in the dough.
The article says watches with this technology will only cost a few dollars more than watches without it. If it was really in the customer's best interest and not the corporation's, they would be charging $25 to $50 more for these watches. They would probably not have raised the price at all, but for $5 more people will feel like they're getting the "top of the line" model and be enticed to try the technology. I know I won't be buying one... for the consumer's sake, I hope it's discovered that this technology causes cancer or something.
Credit cards also seemed pretty exploitable when they were invented. Hey, I bet personal cheques seemed so too. And to be fair, these things are exploited, but, people will always find a way to thieve regardless of the technology. Perhaps there is some aspect in which this technology is actually safer than plastic cards... Read the other comments for info about its security features... Hmm...
What a misguided commment!
when I make a purchase, I want it to be a conscious decision.
Why can't it be both consious and easy? If the burden of typing in a number can be done away with securely then fantastic! I can buy what I want with less trouble and that's good for everyone.
That just happens to be what corporate America wants too! You make so many mindless little purchases in a day, waving your arms about and clicking around the Web, you don't know what you bought.
Oh no! Not corporate America!
If you don't know what you bought then you shouldn't have bought it. If you're so worried about being ripped off then turn off your computer and don't leave the house. And if you're charged for something that you didn't agree to purchase then don't pay for it.
The article says watches with this technology will only cost a few dollars more than watches without it. If it was really in the customer's best interest and not the corporation's, they would be charging $25 to $50 more for these watches.
I don't get how you can even suggest this. There are so many different reasons as to why they would want to sell these watches cheaply... not to mention the fact that even at these prices Timex is comfortable with their profit margins.
They have their target market, and this market requires certain prices. This is very obviously a case where pricing for volume is the right thing to do, as infrastructure has to be built that isn't there now.
> unique identification number linked to a public key directory (for authentication) and credit/debit card numbers.
It doesn't matter if someone captures your credit card number. They only need to capture your "speedpass number", which they can use at McDonalds to purchase fries on your dime. This is like having a pin to protect your password (you don't have to reveal your password, just use the pin), and writing that pin in large characters on your shirt for anyone to read. It adds a layer of complexity, but doesn't add any security.
A cryptographic solution might be to have someone beam a random number to the speedpass, encrypted with your speedpass public key, and having the speedpass beam back the decrypted random number. But that sort of thing can get expensive.
Browsing on Speedpass' own website, it appears that there is NO security other than needing physical possession of the "speedpass" device. (Their "Question and Answer" section specifically states that you don't even need to type in a PIN number)
So...who's going to be the first to build a directional "Pringles(tm) Can" antenna to record SpeedPass exchanges, and publish schematics for programmable speedpass "emulators"?
The only way I'd consider bothering with this is if I could get a "buffer" account to tie it to, and dump, say, $50 in it at a time from my real account (so that if my "Speedpass" gets stolen and is used before I have a chance to transfer the money back out of the "buffer" account, I wouldn't be able to lose more that $50 or so...) Tying it to a Credit Card just seems completely insane to me, especially since other posts say that YOU are liable for unauthorized charges on the thing...
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It would make more sense for McD's to start taking debit/credit cards first.
I never have cash on hand, and it's wasteful to pull out $20, along with the usual ATM fee just to buy a couple of cheeseburgers.