A California company is using “lightweight, metal infused fabric material was originally developed for NASA to protect satellites from harmful radio waves” to create wallets to protect contactless credit cards. Though most in the contactless industry would stress that the protections inherent in the new credit cards are more than adequate, concerns about privacy and […]

By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor Even while two U.S. departments–State and Homeland Security–ponder PASS Card issuance, two U.S. senators have entered the fray, successfully pushing amendments that, if passed, would delay implementation of the controversial border crossing card for 17 months. PASS, which stands for People Access Security Service, is a proposed card designed to […]

McKendree College students will be able to have the financial aid disbursed to a new Higher One account with an associated debit Mastercard. Using Higher One’s OneDisburse program, the card is separate from the college ID card but offers full financial functionality. MCKENDREE COLLEGE SIGNS ON TO USE HIGHER ONE’S ONEDISBURSESM REFUND MANAGEMENT SERVICE TO […]

Former director of DMDC (the Department of Defense’s Defense Manpower Data Center), Robert Brandewie, will lead ActivIdentity’s public sector group. Mr. Brandewie was instrumental in the success of the Common Access Card and has been a tremendous asset to the entire identity community. ActivIdentity(TM) Expands Large Scale Digital Identification Leadership With Appointment of Senior Vice […]

The Medical Center at the University of Maryland has more than 10,000 ID cards in circulation at any given time using the mag stripe for access, ID, and secure camera control in operating rooms. They are now using Zebra’s P420i printer for printing and encoding of these badges. University of Maryland Medical Center Relies on […]

By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor A group of grad students at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are in the process of creating what one of the students calls the “most over-designed soda machine in the world.” Right now, the machine has attached to it a barcode scanner, a fingerprint reader, and a web […]

Wal-mart’s ‘next 300′ proving to be an educated bunch By Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor Gone are the RFID conventions dominated by basic questions like “What is Middleware?” Companies on-ready to deploy RFID technology are more familiar with fundamental issues and terms related to supply chain implementations. Whether for government or mass-market retailer mandates, the excitement […]

New technology facilitates self-checkout for patrons, automated re-shelving for personnel By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor If you haven’t been to a public library lately you might be surprised what you find. You might find you can check out your own books and DVDs without the aid of a clerk. You might find a librarian quickly […]

Federal bodies approving contractors’ wares, with little time to spare By Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor Where FIPS 201-compliant smart cards are concerned, summer’s hot and anything but lazy. The U.S. government is taking action on several fronts to help federal agencies get Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card systems in place. From giving the thumbs up […]

But don’t Bend (the Smart Card) Like Beckham By David Wyld, Contributing Editor When you think of British soccer, what images come to mind? In all likelihood, images of David Beckham artfully bending the ball into the goal and of rowdy English fans. What is increasingly being noticed is that soccer – or football – […]