[118287] in Cypherpunks
Re: floppy drive SCRs (was IP: Smart Cards with Chips encouraged)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rachel Willmer)
Fri Sep 24 05:57:13 1999
Message-ID: <37EAA934.5F56E422@intertrader.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 23:27:00 +0100
From: Rachel Willmer <rachel@intertrader.com>
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To: Arnold Reinhold <reinhold@world.std.com>
CC: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>, cypherpunks@cyberpass.net,
cryptography@c2.net, Digital Bearer Settlement List <dbs@philodox.com>
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Reply-To: Rachel Willmer <rachel@intertrader.com>
> I predict the floppy smart card reader will be a dumb flop. Here's why:
Here's another one. These things are driven from watch batteries, rather
than from the computer's mains power.
There is at least one digital cash smartcard which draws sufficient
power that the battery life just isn't up to reasonable usage. I did a
US trip two and a half years ago (omigod, is it really that long ago...)
demonstrating our Mondex Internet payment software using a Fischer
Smarty as the SCR on my laptop, and discovered fairly quickly that we
needed to replace the battery every day to be sure of finishing the demo
with some battery life left.
So, I am a huge fan of Mondex for Internet cash usage, as everyone who
knows me knows, but the combination of Mondex and a battery driven SCR
would probably not prove satisfactory for reliable usage.
(Caveat: haven't checked up on currently available hardware, there may
be a mains driven floppy SCR available now or in the offing...)
On the other hand, I have found an easier acceptance of the idea of
smart card usage when I show one of the floppy SCRs to a potential user
rather than a serial port or USB, just because it *looks* familiar.
And as an aside, I'm not entirely convinced that the choice of the name
"Mr. Floppy" was a good one (which is what the Fischer Smarty sells as
in Asia)
:-)
Rachel
