Slashdot Mirror
VeriChip Implants 222 People With RFID
cnet-declan writes "Anyone remember VeriChip, a company that came up with the idea of implanting chips in humans for tracking them? They've been behind ideas like RFID tagging immigrant and guest workers at the border, and they've persuaded a former Bush Health Secretary to get himself chipped. In this CNET News.com article, we offer an update on how successful the idea has been. It turns out that, according to IPO documents, 222 people have been implanted, with sales revenue of $100,000."
but I'd hate to have to eventually pull that glowing red ball through my nose just to get to Mars.
People aren't lining up around the block to have uniquely identifiable bits of technology inserted into 'em? How come?
It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
if they tried to put one of those in me. I am a Canadian, and am working under contract in the US. but lets say they make it so all workers like me in a few years are required to have these flags, I can tell you now I would be going back to Canada fast. to me its a complete violation of my rights, and I well not stand for it and no one else should. Where I am is my business, and no one else's.
However, sales will skyrocket as soon as the RFID chip is required to vote on American Idol.
"There are more important things than stopping terrorism. Upholding the Constitution is one of them." - Ars Forumer.
When it becomes part of the hardware required to run Vista. That way, a generation of PCs later, everyone will need an implanted RFID chip.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Where do they put said chip? The forehead or the back of the hand?
We need to stand united against this. No matter what, don't allow yourself to be implanted.
I'm really scared about this. The most scary part is that 222 people actually paid to have this done to themselves. What were they thinking? Can they really be that stupid?
Hey, if they triple the number of implanted, they will be spot on!
Excellent, We've hit 1/3 of our goal!
Osama Bin Laden
Secret Mountain Stronghold
Durkadurkastan
You are a winner!
Congratulations Mr Bin Laden your name was selected from millions of entrants. However our couriers are having some difficulty in locating you so we are providing you with a bright new shiny RFID tag and tag injection device. Simply swab a spot on your arm (we dont want you getting an infection now do we), press the injection device against your arm and pull the trigger. Yes, its that simple! Shortly thereafter the light and sound extravaganza we have prepared for you will begin when the courier drops in your thermonuclear prize!
Yours etc.
G. W. Bush
Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
What truth?
There is no dupe
Bringing the total number of people with the implant to 888?
:>
Perhaps I don't get the joke
I read somewhere that if you want to defeat this scheme, you just need to microwave the person for like, 2 minutes tops.
What the hell is wrong with some people? Who, outside of crazy, Nazi scientists and ralieans thinks its a good idea to voluntarily put a chip in a persons body for no good reason. The few people who this might help, the few who are randomly incapacitated by illness have several, better alternatives: bracelets, id cards and if you want to get medievil tattooing themselves. A better alternative would be to place the chip in body jewelery. At least then, you can remove it.
Why would you do this to yourself, and perhaps more importantly why would you invest millions in R&D? The only way this system would work on a national level was if it was mandated by government. If that happens its time to start the revolution and get in line at the gun shop not the chip shop.
Scared of flying, pointy things snce 1979!
I can replace those RFID's for the fraction of the cost - with the same basic outcome.
Ladies (yeah, there are so many here) and gentlegeeks, I give you....
The dog collar and leash!
Already made fashionable by Goths and kinksters the world over - these handsome and/or lovely accessories come in a variety of shapes and colors to fit every occasion. Great for keeping track of guest workers, immigrants, and wandering children.
1)Find a few people who've been tagged and experiment w/ this RFID tagging system.
2)Develop 3rd party hardware and a web application that integrates w/ the google maps api to pin-point where such a person is.
3)Create a web page called Tommy Thompson Watch that shows exactly where in the world Tommy Thompson is at any given minute! At the very least, Tommy's wife might use the site. Hell, I would... Tommy's a sexy for an old man.
And it'll start glowing bright red once you turn 30.
What happens when Microsoft gets into the RFID reading business? The standards in place today will be meaningless. The people with the "fist generation" RFID chips will have to have those removed and upgraded. I can see people with two, three or even four different RFID chips in their arms, legs, foreheads just to make sure all of their info is readable by whoever wants it.
Have we learned nothing from 20 years of consumer electronic devices?
Here will be an old abusing of God's patience and the king's English.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Two reasons:
1) I cannot leave home without it. I can't go anywhere without it, and as importantly, I can go anywhere with it. I can go to the pool and if I have some medical emergency it won't matter that my wallet is in the locker or whatever. If you're a parent, your kid can't choose to leave it behind (and if you're wondering why they might want to leave their ID behind see point 2)
2) It actually preserves your privacy. Sure, someone with an RFID scanner might spot get some serial ID number, but without access to a corresponding database they don't get my medical info. There are tracking issues, but they're minor. On the other hand, anyone who sees I've got some bracelet on immediately knows I have some medical condition, and they don't need to be scanning for RFID to tell that.
The sooner some of us have the option to get these the better.
Wasn't something like this done in Jurassic Park? It was proven ineffective as all of the tagged and monitored dinosaurs were accounted for.
Well I know that America has an obesity problem, but comparing yourselves to dinosaurs...
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.
I think this is a grand idea. However, instead of using it for guest workers, we make it tied to the activation of iPods. Then everyone will get 'em!
The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
That's immoral and degrading. Now, if they could put it in the form of a suppository...
A few problems with implanted IDs:
* They have to be removed prior to a MRI. Otherwise, some Very Bad Things(tm) will happen to both the implant and the tissue surrounding it.
* If they're implanted into an extremity (like a finger) to minimize MRI problems, you create problem #2: thieves using gruesomely low-tech means to obtain those implants and use them before you can have them deactivated. Think: mugger with bolt cutters and gun who wants your index finger RIGHT NOW.
* Current ID-broadcasting implants could EASILY be spoofed by organized crime with minimal resources in the near future (if not today). So within a few years (I'd say 5, 10 max) current chips will become totally useless for cash-free transactions (subway fares, vending machines, etc). And if they implement two-factor authentication (like implant + PIN), you've just negated most of the convenience the implant is supposed to provide. Challenge-response is a possibility, but that throws a monkey wrench into the whole idea of an open standard anyone can use because THEN you need to involve a third-party both you and the seller trust to perform the authentication... and collect a few cents from you while they're at it.
Here's a better idea: get 3M to spin off a line of NexCare bandages with embedded RFID chips. Or embed it in your wedding ring or watch. Or superglue it to a toenail (or fingernail, if you want to make a geeky fashion statement).
The point is, having something embedded that's almost guaranteed to be technologically obsolete within a decade anyway -- and can cause random grief with things like MRIs in the meantime -- is just silly. You can achieve 99% of the convenience with bandages, superglue, or clothing accessories.
Person 1: My RFID chip seems to be malfuncitoning. Person 2: Stay still, I'll go get the anal probe