Essentially, copying a smartcard like this is astronomically difficult, and at the very least, m uch more difficult than xeroxing a paper card or making a duplicate of a plastic card with a hologram.
Like any computer running software, there is potential for exploitation. Bugs in the smartcard's OS could allow complete access to the code it runs and what information is stored upon its EEPROM. Even without bugs, glitching the circuits can open the device up to exploits.
And as for biometric data, a severed finger can get reach body temperature by spending a few seconds in the microwave.
You must have missed the part of the story where they mention it being bi-directional: "Microsoft will also include "two-way" dishes that allow downloads and uploads just as fast as cable modems or DSL".
The difference is impact. A 56k connection (=33.6k outbound) is rendered useless when an outbound file transfer is in progress. Compare this to a DSL line or similar where you can be playing a low-ping game of Quake3 while people are downloading files from you.
If I essentially have to go without internet while I'm sharing files, it's a pretty serious sacrifice! And who really wants to download a multi MB file from someone with a 33.6 uplink??
I don't expect to see AS400's running linux anytime soon. If a site wanted linux, they would have bought a $5000 x86 box that could quite likely outperform their $60,000 AS400. The AS400 pricing is in the world of $2000 ethernet cards and $500 modem ports. Prices for many AS400's will increase in Feburary. Without OS400, buying an AS400 doesn't make a lot of sense. A few years from now, sure, I can see hacks putting linux on old AS400's like we do with our old 486's.
When all of IBM's servers can run linux, the bang:buck ratio should be more evident. Sounds like this could introduce some canabalization at IBM.
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http://www.loam.org/solicitation/
Essentially, copying a smartcard like this is astronomically difficult, and at the very least, m uch more difficult than xeroxing a paper card or making a duplicate of a plastic card with a hologram.
Like any computer running software, there is potential for exploitation. Bugs in the smartcard's OS could allow complete access to the code it runs and what information is stored upon its EEPROM. Even without bugs, glitching the circuits can open the device up to exploits. And as for biometric data, a severed finger can get reach body temperature by spending a few seconds in the microwave.
For some ideas, check out Design Principles for Tamper-Resistant Smartcard Processors
You must have missed the part of the story where they mention it being bi-directional:
"Microsoft will also include "two-way" dishes that allow downloads and uploads just as fast as cable modems or DSL".
It sounds like you need to find a client that limits simultaneous uploads. Gnotella (Win32), for example supports this feature.
The difference is impact. A 56k connection (=33.6k outbound) is rendered useless when an outbound file transfer is in progress. Compare this to a DSL line or similar where you can be playing a low-ping game of Quake3 while people are downloading files from you. If I essentially have to go without internet while I'm sharing files, it's a pretty serious sacrifice! And who really wants to download a multi MB file from someone with a 33.6 uplink??
I don't expect to see AS400's running linux anytime soon. If a site wanted linux, they would have bought a $5000 x86 box that could quite likely outperform their $60,000 AS400. The AS400 pricing is in the world of $2000 ethernet cards and $500 modem ports. Prices for many AS400's will increase in Feburary. Without OS400, buying an AS400 doesn't make a lot of sense. A few years from now, sure, I can see hacks putting linux on old AS400's like we do with our old 486's.
When all of IBM's servers can run linux, the bang:buck ratio should be more evident. Sounds like this could introduce some canabalization at IBM.