[Dave Birch] Whatever security experts might think about RFID, the general feeling is (I think) that consumers will accept the technology if it delivers convenience.  A recent Canadian survey reinforces that feeling.  Three quarters think that the main advantageof RFID is saving time and just over half expect it to make their shoppingexperience easier.  That’s not to say that they don’t have concerns.  They do.  But the main concern, for 70% of consumers, is that RFID might not work properly while only 40% worry about security, privacy, or safety.

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These are the personal opinions of Consult Hyperion and its guests and should not be misunderstood as representing the opinion of its clients or suppliers. To discuss how any of the technologies discussed in this post can benefit your business, please contact Consult Hyperion.

[Dave Birch] Remember the Mu chip from Hitachi?  It was a very small RFID chip. Well, they’re looking a little clunky now that the company has introduced new versions that are that are 0.002 inches by 0.002 inches and look like bits of powder. They’re thin enough to be embedded in a piece of paper, according to company spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi.  The latest chip, which still has no name, is 60 times smaller than the Mu-chip but can handle the same amount of information, which gets stored as a 38-digit number, according to Hitachi.  Sounds very cool, but…

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These are the personal opinions of Consult Hyperion and its guests and should not be misunderstood as representing the opinion of its clients or suppliers. To discuss how any of the technologies discussed in this post can benefit your business, please contact Consult Hyperion.

[Dave Birch]  I once decided that I wanted to move to New Zealand after I saw an excerpt from an NZ "most wanted" kind of programme where the lead crime was the theft of some sheepskin car seat covers.  But perhaps more criminals will be attracted to NZ by the latest threat to civilisation as we know it, the pre-paid card.  Since last November, NZ Post has been distributing what sounds like an excellent product, pretty similar to pre-paid Visa cards distributed by the post offices in Italy.  The pre-paid Visa card lets anyone make anonymous purchases over the Web and is encouraging more people to shop online, but "fears are being voiced" that the cards may be misused by children and could aid criminals.  They didn’t mention terrorists.

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These are the personal opinions of Consult Hyperion and its guests and should not be misunderstood as representing the opinion of its clients or suppliers. To discuss how any of the technologies discussed in this post can benefit your business, please contact Consult Hyperion.

[Dave Birch] There was a lot about corporate social responsibility in the Harvard Business Review that I finally got around to reading.  For us technical persons, Clayton Christensen et al on innovation is a set text so it was his (and his colleagues’) piece that caught my eye.  He was writing about "catalytic innovations", which he says create systemic social change through scaling and replication, meet a need that is either over-served or not served at all, offer products and services that are simple and less costly, generate resources that are unattractive to incumbents and are ignored by existing players.  Should digital money be in this category?  There is a market out there made up from people who just need a simple payment account — not a bank account with credit, statements and branches — linked to a card (because cards are how retail e-payments are effected).  These people are either over-served, because they have to get a complicated and expensive bank account in the developed world, or not served at all in the less developed world because there are no bank branches or POS terminals.

Technorati Tags: banking, forum, mobile, remittances

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These are the personal opinions of Consult Hyperion and its guests and should not be misunderstood as representing the opinion of its clients or suppliers. To discuss how any of the technologies discussed in this post can benefit your business, please contact Consult Hyperion.

[Dave Birch] No, not the old Alice Cooper favourite, but my first attempt to edit a book.  Specifically, a book about Digital Identity Management, based on presentations to the Digital Identity Forum.  It’s now over a year late, but… and a drum roll is genuinely required here… it’s finally on the way.  The proofs arrived from the publishers and the editing has been completed, so at last the Amazon entry can be read as a firm expression of intent rather than a whimsical testament to cheery over-optimism.  The book is now scheduled to be out by the end of March and, as was promised, all of the delegates to the 2005 Digital Identity Forum will be sent a copy free of charge.

Technorati Tags: identity, management

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These are the personal opinions of Consult Hyperion and its guests and should not be misunderstood as representing the opinion of its clients or suppliers. To discuss how any of the technologies discussed in this post can benefit your business, please contact Consult Hyperion.