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Casio's Credit Card Watch
Takuryu writes "Casio, working with Japanese credit card company, JCB, has developed a combination credit card wristwatch. Workers at the main JCB office wear the RFID tagged watches and use them for security access at the office, as well as for paying for lunch in the cafeteria. I wonder what percentage of employees they have tagged?"
We all know what's going to be said. The watch is easily stolen. Has been for years and years. That's what makes it so appealing to criminals. This isn't going to catch on and for good reason. The security on these devices sounds like nothing at all.
-Dizzle
"I most likely AM so interested in myself."
Are the watches protected from simply scanning everyones as they walk past and collecting thousands of credit card numbers? Or someone could set up a series of stations throughout a mall that charge small innocuous looking charges to cars from "shell" corporations and do like they did in Office Space.
Who will the be the first to buy a watch with a watch I wonder?
This is a good concept on the surface. I know I hate having to wear my goofy security badge to gain access to our offices.
One problem I see is privacy. I have always thought that having to key in and out of work insures security but also tracks your movements. My security badge has to be really close to the reader to register, RFID tags have more range right? So what is to stop an employer from tracking your every move. I know it sounds paranoid but some companies are really strict with breaks and things.
The other problem I see is wearability and security.
Security because watches are easily lost, stolen, left behind... Since there is no picture on the watch to verify the person, presumably anyone can use anyone else's.
Wearability because as a female, I own at least 3 watches to suit my moods and clothing. With everyone having the same watch, we are one step closer to uniformity. This squelches uniqueness and creativity.
Karma, We don't need no stinkin' karma!
So if your boss calls you over for a second to talk to him in the lunch room, it'll probably be because he's trying to get a free meal off of your proximity to the cashier.
When this idea is suggested for computer password replacements I always think of my sleazy coworkers from four jobs ago who would have someone distract me near my cubicle ("Can you dig that pen out from behind the desk? It's my favorite!") while someone else uses my logged in computer.
Grrr...
Being able to hide your credit anywhere has an appeal. Sure, a mugger might ask for your cheap watch, but would they bother with your ink pen? Kinda cool to be able to give one your wallet without fear. Of course, in my case, the mugger will know which object has my credit. It will be the one wrapped in tin foil.
RFIDs creep me out. Someone being able to identify me by a device in my shoes, in my car's tires, in my shirt? It's weird and the nasty part is that no one I care about will have the ability, just big dumb companies that want to milk me. Vending machines that can take my money while I walk by are more bothersome still. I have a feeling that foil liners will become very fashionable soon, but it won't really work.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
...the engineers are then released back into the wild so that scientists can study their movements. One day, it may lead to the discovery of just how Casio is surviving in the wild this day in age.
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
[Waving hand at RFID reader adjacent to cash register]
Me: You will give me french fries
Clerk: Yes, I will give you french fries...
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The article mentions one of the more popular timepieces for Japanese kids is "NTT Docomo" (their mobile phone).
I haven't worn a watch since I last sat an exam. between my computer when I'm at my desk or PDA, phone and until recently pager when I'm not (all banned from aforesaid exam room), I always know what the time is. Indeed most of the time I don't really need to know what the time it is as my PDA will beep when I need to be somewhere. The rest of the time, who cares?
Unless vendors can integrate existing devices into a wristwatch, I suspect its days might be numbered. Even this possibility seems unlikely as the screens and data-entry possibilities for wristwatches are somewhat limited.
Then again... They said we'd be in the paperless office by now. I don't see the pencil on the way out.
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When I was a teenager one of my good friends was a Christian fundamentalist. (I'm NOT) His high school would suspend anyone who purchased a pager (this was just before cell phones were ubiquitous). Their reasoning wasn't that it disrupted class or was a drug dealer thing (sheesh), but that it was the mark of the Devil. You know 666. The theory was that beepers were just the first stage in a series of moves by the DEVIL HIMSELF to accustom us to being tagged, and that eventually we would all be given the mark of the devil.
Now I'm not about to start following his bizarre religious practices (especially since they lead him to being institutionalized), but you gotta give the wing nut some credit. We all started carrying pagers, cell phones, then GPS, and now people aren't even thinking twice when they are asked to stick a radio transceiver on their person (or in it!).
It's like cooking a frog. Stick it in while the pan is hot and he'll just jump out. But if you turn up the heat slowly he never knows it till it's too late.
I would rather be ashes than dust!
Honey, can I borrow your watch? I need to do some shopping!
if (!sig) { printf("Signature Unavailable\n"); }
to the days when not everyone had a credit card? I abhore the concept of credit cards as they encourage people to buy things they don't have the money for. For this reason I don't like taking out loans, and if I could live life without doing so I would (unfortunately if you want to own your house it is impossible for the average person to achieve this without a loan). There are two ways to spend money: 1. Save it up and then spend it 2. Borrow then spend then repay it I prefer to do the first thing myself. After all, you're eventually going to have to pay for the thing (and possibly with interest) so why not do without for a time until you can afford it. But new technology is only favouring the second payment option with credit cards getting all this new fandangled tech, but bank cards aren't getting anything. Seems strange to me.
Granted Speedpass isn't accepted everywhere by any means but gas and nowadays many McDonalds and a few supermarkets (in certain areas.)
The standard unit is small enough to just ditch the keychain and tuck the bead in my wallet; in fact with a bit of crazy glue I'm sure I could turn anything into a credit card of sorts. Since Mobil gives them away free (no fees, just a draw to their places) the tech must be cheap as hell- little more than an inductor/antenna and a simple IC with a serial number... it's basically less circuitry than a typical disposable camera, and far less than a digital watch.
To being watched :)
----- One learns to itch where one can scratch.
It uses an embedded IC chip FeliCa by Sony, according to the actual article.
Imagine the day when RFID tags are so common every coke bottle has one. Now cut them off and pack, say, 1000 or more int a match box. Carry them with you at all times. A reader sends a request and gets 1000 replies. 1000 not enough? Get 10.000. I wonder how many replies the reader would be able to handle simultaneously and how efficiently the chips could jam each other.
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2