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Biometric ID Cards Ready For Trial In UK

Posted by timothy on from the read-the-article dept.

0ctal writes "Looks like us lucky Brits are getting ID cards no matter what... A 10,000 user trial starts next week. There's been a fair amount of debate on this recently, and it's been coming for some time, but live trials are sooner than expected. The trial is set up to evaluate three competing biometric products. Qinetiq, quoted by the story, are a government backed company set up to use MoD tech in civilian apps."

9 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. Tin foil! by dj245 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Looks like us lucky Brits are getting tin foil hats real soon now (TM)... A 10 user trial starts next week. There's been a fair amount of commentary on tin foil hats recently, and it's been coming for some time, but live trials are sooner than expected. The trial is set up to evaluate five competing brands of aluminium foil. Reynolds and Diamond, not quoted by the story, are a both leading company set up to use aluminium foil tech in civilian headgear apps."

    --
    Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
  2. The thing is.... by ReflectingGod · · Score: 1, Funny
    People are always going on about how this invades their privacy etc etc, but there are two things to consider:

    1. How many organisations already have all this information on you already, these cards aren't gonna be any worse.

    2. If you've got nothing to hide, then why worry about it, and if you've got something to hide, then it's something you're just gonna have to deal with.

    On the whole, the general public in the UK have nothing to fear from id cards, unless they fear a reduction in the ability of illegal immigrants and criminals to hide in the country.

  3. And... by skitzoid+(moomoo) · · Score: 1, Funny

    After spending 3 billion pounds all that will be caught is another 3 illegal immigrants pirating software.

  4. Biometrics becoming the default by PhilHibbs · · Score: 2, Funny

    One of these days, a non-biometric card will be introduced, and it will be cool and retro, and therefore newsworthy.

  5. Bah! Whatever. by teamhasnoi · · Score: 2, Funny
    When do we get the RFID tags in our hands and a UPC symbol tattooed on our foreheads?

    I won't be happy until we've all lost our humanity and we're eating Soylent Green.

  6. Politics/slashdot joke by bcmm · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one welcome our New Labour overlords...

    --
    # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i llama
    Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
  7. Re:A good Q&A on this from the BBC too... by LoocSiMit · · Score: 5, Funny
    I'm constantly astounded at how badly some 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants speak English.

    I'm constantly astounded at how badly some 20th and 30th generation immigrants speak English.

    --
    Intellectual Property
    Intellectual: of the mind
    Property: that over which one has control
  8. Qinetiq -- clueless company by geoff+lane · · Score: 2, Funny

    You may remember Qinetiq from a couple of years ago. They won a government contract to place some Census data online so that it could be accessed by people researching family trees.

    The web site opened, crashed and remained unavailable for about a year.

    Does anyone think that a company that can't build a simple web site can provide a working id cards system? I certainly don't.

  9. Re:A good Q&A on this from the BBC too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Great Britain also refers to the island upon which England, Scotland, and Whales are located

    Any whales located on an island are likely to be in trouble, unless some kind people move them back into the sea. ;-)

    Some good points about Wales though!