June 26, 2004
Advent of RFID Towns
Japanese government will start building new IT infrastructure in 2006: current ideas include RFID tags embedded in streets, electric poles, and residence indication signs; and information services for mobile multimedia devices that assist people to navigate and find facilities in cities.
Read the full story:
Advent of RFID Towns
June 24, 2004
British Telecom partners with Deloitte
''BT Auto-ID Services, will combine its systems integration, RFID tags and readers and supply chain middleware with Deloitte's consultancy, which includes business return on investment (ROI) scenarios and change management.''
RFID finds lost golf balls
''The system is comprised of an electronically 'tagged' golf ball and a handheld unit used to find the ball. When the golfer hits a shot that is difficult to locate, they pull out the handheld unit, turn it on, and point it in the direction of interest and begin walking toward their ball. ''
Walking Internet Cookies
''VeriChip-Implanted People (VIPs): Walking Internet Cookies'' - Ian Brown, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research
June 23, 2004
Privacy advocates ask FTC for RFID technical review
''Some advocates who trumpeted RFID's potential to reduce supply chain costs called for a public education campaign to teach the public about the potential positive uses of RFID, but [Beth] Givens said a public campaign should also include privacy concerns.''
June 22, 2004
RFID Devices May Affect Heart Pacemakers, Japanese Government Warns
Japanese Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (Soumu-Sho) revealed the result of their Investigation on How Radio Waves Influence Medical Devices.
June 21, 2004
Scientists track glaciers with RF 'pebbles'
Not unlike what we've seen in the past as applications for sensor-connected Active RFID tags broadcasting information about e.g. the temperature or other stats of freight containers, these sensors track parameters about their surroundings and report back through various technologies.
June 18, 2004
Commenting now ok
If you've tried leaving a comment on this website the last couple of days you might have seen an odd error message. The problems have now been fixed. Thanks for your patience, and please do add to the interesting discussions by leaving your thoughts!
Read the full story:
Commenting now ok
RFID in the Vatican Library
''[...] the Vatican believes its 'Pergamon' system, named for the ancient city in modern Turkey that housed one of the Old World's greatest libraries, marks the first time that the system has been applied to a library catalogue on a large scale.''
''Maybe it'll be Little Brother watching you''
Columnist Lenore Skenazy discusses her future plastic fantastic RFID world's downsides in this article from the New York Daily News.
June 17, 2004
RFID passports delayed
It's being reported that the US is falling behind plans with the Biometric passports originally planned for the autumn of 2004.
RFID Privacy Gap?
''EPCglobal Public Policy Committee chair Sandy Hughes, who is also Procter & Gamble's global privacy executive, said the committee is getting input to help with policy decisions. ''At least we have a body now that's actually looking at it,'' she told the audience. ''
Read the full story:
RFID Privacy Gap?
June 15, 2004
Wireless Personal Pedometer
In late July, Philips and Nike will begin selling the MP3Run, a 256MB flash-based wearable MP3 player that comes with a separate Bluetooth module that attaches to your shoe.
IBSS and Xybernaut awarded GSA RFID listing
RIFD software maker IBSS and wearable computer manufacturer Xybernaut have announced they have been awarded a GSA Schedule listing by the General Services Administration (GSA) for radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies.
June 13, 2004
FoeBuD presents RFID-DataPrivatizer
FoeBuD, a German group of RFID and privary activists has presented the alpha version of their DataPrivatizer. The DataPrivatizer can detect RFID chips and scanners. [...]
June 08, 2004
Japanese RFID Privacy Guideline Released
The Japanese Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (Soumu-Sho) and the Ministory of Economy, Trade and Industry (Keizai-Sahgo Sho aka METI) jointly released an RFID Privacy Guideline today.
June 03, 2004
RF Spectrum Policy discussion
Spectrum policy may sound like an obscure, technical topic. However, it governs wireless technologies with huge impacts on our lives: television, mobile phones, WiFi, GPS, and radio, to name a few. Opening up wireless capacity could improve broadband connections to the home, spark deployment of peer-to-peer or location-based wireless applications, and more.
What's possible using RFID technology?
''[...]wouldn't you like to know that the meat you eat was of the highest quality and could be guaranteed disease free because it could be tracked back to the paddock the animal came from? [...]''
On RFID in Library books 2
''[...] Unlike barcode self-check systems, RFID systems can read multiple items simultaneously. This can decrease lines and increase the number of customers using self-check, in turn reducing the staff necessary at the circulation desk. [...]''
June 02, 2004
On RFID in Library books
Cameron Sturdevant explains: ''Although I appreciate City Librarian Susan Hildreth's desire to streamline the check-in/check-out process, I think using RFID tags is a bad idea.''
Users Are Taking the Lead in IT (r)evolution
''The establishment of major new information technologies has nearly always been a vendor-led process. But with RFID and Wi-Fi, it seems clear that it's customers who are taking the lead. [...]''
June 01, 2004
IBM on RFID privacy activists
''A leading IBM executive has described critics of radio-frequency identification technologies as confused and described their push against the technology as masking an ''anti-retail'' thrust.''