First off, people other than Olympics officials may figure out a way to read the information from the wireless cards, creating a huge breach of privacy. I personally wouldn't want to walk around with all that information embedded in a simple sporting even ticket, nor would I want the Chinese government to have possession of all my personal info forever after.

On the other side of the coin, some worry that the technical scanning of the tickets at the gates could make getting into events a slow, torturous affair. All this for only $720 a ticket!

If all that stuff about China squashing human rights and free speech didn't dissuade you from attending the games, however, I doubt this will change your mind. [Gadget Lab]

Smashing an RFID chip with a hammer surprisingly hides tampering pretty well when we're talking about flat applications like paper. While it certainly sounds destructive, on a object that's already been pummeled to a pulp (literally), a hammer can't do much damage. Other solutions that work (but aren't so pretty) include five seconds in the microwave, piercing the chip with a knife or cutting the line to its power supply. Now go hide. Because the boogie man is coming, but this time he wants a new pair of shoes. [instructables via boingboing] [image]

Developed by a team at Canada's Simon Fraser University, the bag, which uses RFID technology, also has LED icons on the side, which illuminate when the bag is missing an object, while a smiley emoticon lights up when you're ready to go. I think they left off the lipstick icon, though. [Ladybag via Talk2MyShirt]

The other features, like the in-dash computer with Sprint Mobile Broadband and Garmin GPS, are neat, but I'm not sure how much use they would get by their target audience. Maybe the Crew Chief setup, which mixes up Tool Link with GPS for crew chiefs to quickly determine the best gang for a job based on their gear and location.

CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2008 — Ford is further expanding its 'smart' features for truck customers, announcing today a collection of industry-exclusive technologies for F-Series trucks and commercial E-Series vans that will help make business owners more productive and successful.

Ford Work Solutions delivers four innovative features:

* An in-dash computer developed with Magneti Marelli and powered by Microsoft Auto that provides full high-speed Internet access via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network and navigation by Garmin. It's the first broadband-capable in-dash computer in production. This system allows customers to print invoices, check inventories and access documents stored on their home or office computer networks - right on the job site.
* Tool Link, a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) asset tracking system developed
in partnership with DEWALT, the industry leader in professional power tools, and ThingMagic, the industry expert on embedded RFID technology. This enables customers to maintain a detailed real-time inventory of the tools or equipment stored in the pickup box.
* Crew Chief, a fleet telematics and diagnostics system, which allows small fleet owners to efficiently manage their vehicles, quickly dispatch workers to job sites and keep detailed vehicle maintenance records.
* Cable Lock security system developed in partnership with Master Lock®, the industry-leading lock manufacturer, to discourage theft of expensive tools too large to fit in the cab.

"Our truck customers are smart - and they work hard," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of
The Americas. "Ford Work Solutions provides truck customers new technologies and tools
to help them work even smarter and further boost their productivity."

F-Series has been the best-selling truck in America for 31 years. Two out of every five commercial trucks sold in the U.S. wears a Ford oval.

For years, truck capability has been measured in maximum towing and payload ratings. The new 2009 Ford F-150 builds on that kind of industry-leading capability, offering the most 'smart' features that make towing and hauling more flexible, easier and safer. Ford Work Solutions adds still another dimension of capability for commercial truck owners.

"Ford Work Solutions takes productivity to a new level by bringing the office to the job site in
an integrated, seamless way that only Ford could deliver - with a strong network of industry-leading partners like DEWALT, Microsoft, Garmin, Master Lock®, Magneti Marelli and Sprint," said John Felice, general marketing manager, Ford Division.

Ford Work Solutions features were developed through hands-on research with contractors and skilled tradespeople in multiple markets around the U.S.

All four Ford Work Solutions will be available this fall on the new 2009 Ford F-150 XL, STX, XLT and FX4 trucks; F-Series Super Duty XL, XLT and FX4 trucks; and all 2009 E-Series vans. Transit Connect vans join the lineup in mid-2009. In time, several of the features will be available for dealer installation to upgrade Ford Trucks already in service.
Online On the Job Site

Ford is delivering fully integrated mobile office functionality into F-Series trucks on the job site - an industry first.

An in-dash computer, developed with Magneti Marelli, transforms the new 2009 F-150 or
F-Series Super Duty into true mobile offices, capable of linking into the business owner's main office computer network or a home computer via a cellular broadband connection.

Users can access existing files on an office computer miles from the job site, open a word processing document, a spread sheet or their business accounting program, make updates and print them in the truck on an available Ford-certified, on-board, Bluetooth-enabled, battery-powered inkjet printer.

Powered by Microsoft Auto, the system provides high-speed Internet access via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network. It works with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, offering hands-free calling with push-to-talk voice recognition, access to user phonebooks and the ability to receive text messages.

The in-dash computer also includes navigation by Garmin, which comes standard with features like re-routing due to construction or traffic congestion and points of interest including local gas stations and their fuel prices, restaurants, Ford dealerships and Quick Lane Tire & Auto Centers.

The computer is integrated into the vehicle's center stack, filling the same space normally occupied by the standard radio. It is equipped with a 6.5-inch, high-resolution touch screen,
two gigabytes of memory, a secure digital slot for additional memory, a USB port and
includes a wireless keyboard and mouse. A stylus, stored next to the CD slot, is included for use on the touch screen.

The computer is 'Built Ford Tough' - designed and tested to the same stringent standards as the other parts on the truck.
Tracking Tools

Ford F-Series trucks offer customers the most flexible, most accessible pickup boxes in the industry, thanks to class-leading hauling capability, industry-exclusive features like tailgate
and box side steps - as well as a unique technology like Ford Work Solutions Tool Link.

Developed with DEWALT and ThingMagic, Tool Link offers owners the capability to mark and scan high-value tools, safety equipment, material inventories and other important assets using RFID tags. When the vehicle is running, a pair of RFID antennas, mounted in corrosion- and impact-resistant housings on the inside of the pickup box, scan the box for the items on a pre-programmed inventory list.

The data is transmitted to a reader mounted inside the cab and displayed on the in-dash computer screen, alerting the driver if any inventoried tools are not loaded on the truck.

"Tool Link increases productivity and saves money," said William Frykman, Ford Work Solutions product and business development manager. "It helps contractors and tradespeople guarantee they show up at the job site with the right tools for each job- and that they don't leave equipment behind."

Tool Link comes pre-loaded with several standard tool lists that are easily edited to reflect specific types of jobs. The system uses industry standard second-generation RFID tags that can be fastened to tools or other items and can read and catalogue hundreds of tools or assets in just seconds.
Manage the Crew

Fleet owners and managers often need to dispatch vehicles quickly for service calls. Ford Work Solutions Crew Chief provides them a telematics and diagnostics system that delivers real-time vehicle location and maintenance tracking, allowing them to quickly respond to calls and optimally deploy their fleets.

The data is linked to a web-based application, which can be used by a fleet administrator in an office or anywhere there is Internet access - including a Ford Work Solutions in-dash computer.

As an added benefit, Crew Chief interfaces with the vehicle's electrical architecture and can monitor numerous diagnostic functions, including tire pressure or check engine light codes.
It also can be programmed to identify user-set alerts, such as unauthorized use of a vehicle or excessive idling.

The system will also provide fuel calculations and fuel tax reporting, helping fleet managers and business owners manage costs more effectively.
Master Lock Keeps Cargo Secure

"Secure, lockable storage is important for all customers," said Frykman. "That's why we worked with Master Lock to deliver the Cable Lock, a convenient way to secure items such as toolboxes, air compressors, generators or large power tools that may need to be in the pickup box when the vehicle is parked."

The strong, eight-foot, 10 millimeter steel cable is wrapped in a protective plastic sheathing and is easily woven around toolbox handles or through and around items and then locked to the truck with a cuff-style clasp.

The clasp can be attached to any of the items in the box, any of the tie-down cleats, or simply clamped back onto the cable itself. The self-retractable cable is stored in a corrosion- and impact-resistant housing mounted to the inside wall at the rear of the pickup box. The unit is spring-loaded and uses a friction mechanism that will gently retract the cable when not in use. Cable Lock is easily installed on virtually any Ford pickup truck.

Since all the data encryption done in firmware and hardware it requires no special drivers, it should play nicely with both Macs and PCs via USB 2, and since it's bus-powered the only extra thing you need to carry around is one of its keys.

Like many others in its class it takes 2.5" SATA drives, so it's pocket-sized. It's probably pretty useful if you're carrying around sensitive company data and are worried about theft. Or you are a spy with a taste for Brando products, who will sell it to you for $56. [Brando]

Using a Phidget RFID Kit, a Kwikset Powerbolt 1000, relays, a PC board, wire, and some basic software, a couple of guys managed to piece together a unique new wireless door locking system. RFID locks are nothing new, but this lock can be controlled via an RFID key fob, laptop or even a cellphone. As you will see, the concept demonstrated has potential but it still needs some more tinkering to be truly practical.

For example, the RFID key fob needs to be awkwardly passed over the knob to unlock the door from the outside —and by the time the cellphone unlocked the door I could have used a regular key and already been inside drinking a beer. If the key fob were more powerful and the door could be unlocked with a single keystroke or two on a cellphone it would be truly interesting. Plus, you wouldn't even need to have a lock on the outside of the door. [Trossen Robotics via Hacked Gadgets]

The reduction in size was achieved by utilizing the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process, where the transistor is formed directly on the silicon base. It may be disparaging to know that an RFID chip, measuring 0.15mm x 0.15mm x 0.0075 mm, holds the title for world's smallest item in that category, whilst simultaneously being far larger than your winky. Hey, at least your twinkle can memorize 38-digits... oh, it can't? Why do you wake up in the mornings? [TFOT]

If this phone were ever put into production, the easy to read buttons and large badges would make it easy for anyone with impaired vision to operate the device. Still, I can't help but envision old folks leaving these badges at every Denny's restaurant in town. [Yanko Design]

Oh, you'll pay for this indirectly; merchants will have to pay for these little trinkets, too—but at least the mini-RFID transmitters will further speed up purchases under $25 that used to require the exchange of filthy, dangerous cash. Never mind that we had a device similar to this stuck to our car's rear window to pay for gas ... eleven years ago. [Geek Zone]

What's too bad is that there isn't an official wine database like CD's have with CDDB. That way you could tag it with RFID and type in the brand, year and variety to get even more information. Currently you have to enter in all of the information by hand. Hopefully someone will bring the wine database to fruition, but in the mean check out the WineM in light show mode, it's almost more impressive than the RFID locating.

[][Product Page via TodBot]

In 2005, two weeks following the approval of VeriChip Corp's RFID chips, FDA overseer Tommy Thompson left the FDA. And five months later he ended up on the board of VeriChip Corp. Coincidence? Honestly, we're not sure.

While most of us fear the Big Brother aspects of RFID, the positive medical prospects are quite promising. You know, if they don't cause gigantic tumors in the 2,000 people who currently have implants. [AP via engadget]

Made from the same finely woven steel used in petroleum processing and aerospace applications, the wallet is, apparently, as smooth as silk. The fact that it doesn't stretch, rip or stain means that it is virtually indestructible. But it's the RFID protection that is the most interesting facet of this silver-colored billfold.

The steel in the wallet creates a Faraday cage, a shield that blocks out external electrical fields, which means no access for any baddies who are trying to steal your identity—unless they're an old-fashioned fingersmith, in which case you're screwed.

The steel wallet is available in several designs and costs between $80 and $125.

[Stewart/Stand via Wired]

These payment systems have been around for years—we remember sticking an RFID device on our car's back window for Exxon-Mobil more than 10 years ago, automatically paying for gas. It's convenience on your wrist, as long as you don't mind emitting electronic signals containing your credit card number all the time. But it's all secure, it really is. I'll have mine embedded under the skin, please, right here. – Charlie White

Press Release [MasterCard, via CrunchGear]

Pretec's new i-Disk flash drive is 25 per cent smaller than a quarter, and can store up to 1GB of data. A combination of USB flashdisk and RFID technology in a waterproof case, the i-Disk is made using a semiconductor MCP process, and measures 45.7 x 12.2 x 2.2mm. It will primarily be marketed for use in hospitals, airports and warehouses and production is expected to start in the next few months. Honestly, I don't see much use to a whole gigabyte in a RFID tag other than hiding secret space station plans inside short legged droids. If you have any ideas, please write them after the jump. – Ad Dugdale

CeBIT 2007: Pretec claims i-Disk RFID as smallest flash drive in world [DigiTimes]

which could be configured by "bringing it into proximity with the computer or network base station." In the long run, this will make networking devices easy enough for my Luddite relatives to do, which is good news for people who get weak in the knees at the thought of networking. – Louis Ramirez

RFID Tags for Apple Devices [Unwired View]

European retailer embeds RFID chips in shoes [Via Gadget Lab]

The Future of Work [Pop Sci]

Product Page [Via Popgadget]

I can't wait until I can have tiny tracking devices stitched into my clothes and sprinkled in my food and everything we do can be tracked by all sorts of creepy, shiftless entities! Whee future, wheeeee! –Adam Frucci

Hitachi develops RFID powder [Pink Tentacle]

The owners themselves specify whatever information (irreverent or otherwise) they want to be shown on the billboards, and when it's transmitted to the billboards, that phrase is displayed up in lights for all to see.

Seems like a pretty good idea until you realize that you're carrying around a tracking device just to have some fun with a billboard or two. Weird. – Charlie White

Mini Motorby Billboard Cool Hunting, via CrunchGear]

...which means you can put it on top of your iPod and it will flash a red light and start whistling if anyone tried to nab it. (The unit shown in the picture below is a prototype, the real thing won't have that big black wire with an ugly box hanging off of the end.)

The second sensor is a motion detector. But this alarm is only armed after the touch sensor has been triggered. So now the burglar is running but they head smack into alarm number three, which is a motion sensor loaded with two darts—thwap! Hahaha. Busted. Okay, now back to work.

This will be available next fall for between $29.99 and $49.99.–Noah Robischon

For once, I'm glad the FCC is painfully slow at accomplishing anything. Fortunately, if it was set to arrive here anytime soon, the base stations are pretty weak, only able to handle at most six calls at a time. To top it off, the price of making those calls — at $3 to $3.50 a minute — should deter the average moron from calling everyone in their phonebook while you try to drown out the screaming baby behind you with an episode of Metalocalypse on your laptop.

The second story isn't so much horrifying as it annoying, in that once again we get slighted on cool cell phone technology. Basically, some airports in Japan and one in Berlin are trying out a new system to let you check in with your cell phone, skipping some of the hassle of catching a flight. The Japan program only applies to domestic flights, while the Air Berlin version only works if you don't have any bags to check on the Hannover-Munich route, limiting its usefulness. Moreover, you still have to wait in line to get felt up with everybody else, so you don't get to magically warp to your flight gate, but I suppose catching any kind of break at the airport is something most people would find some relief in.

It's also worth keeping in mind that this is just the beginning of the imminent explosive growth in "touch to access" systems, which are on the verge of truly breaking out in Europe. It'll be a while before the proper infrastructure is beyond rudimentary here, though, depending on how much weight Wal-Mart throws into the RFID initiative. – Matt Buchanan

Gulf Airline to Offer Cellphone Service, With Others in Line [NYT]
At Some Airports, Cellphones Can Check In Passengers [NYT]

The article, written by one Ellen Nakashima, does a good job of scaring the pants off its readers, but it really doesn't offer any sort of alternative. So cellphone towers can track our position even after a call has finished. Are we then supposed to stop using cellphone entirely? EZ Pass (or your state's equivalent automatic toll service) collects data on where you've been. Should we then wait in line for long periods of time because people cannot find correct change?

Gadgets are your friend. There's no need to be all Henny Penny about them. Which way to the iPhone (which surely must be Apple's tool to take over the world)? – Nicholas Deleon

Enjoying Technology's Conveniences But Not Escaping Its Watchful Eyes [Washington Post]

Oh, I forgot to mention: tampering with a passport is punishable up to 25 years in prison, so proceed with your own risk. – Travis Hudson

How To: Disable Your Passport's RFID Chip [Wired]

The point? If there is even the slightest chance that you may have a very geeky stalker, you may want to avoid running at night because these Nike + iPod kits are easily hackable, as it seems. – Travis Hudson

Nike+iPod raises RFID privacy concerns [News.com]

This isn't the first time that Citibank has embraced new technology for its customers. A few months ago, they started to release RFID credit cards. I for one can't wait until they start scanning our eyes whenever we want to purchase some soda pop. – Nicholas Deleon

Citibank Singapore debuts biometric fingerprint payment system [Digital World Tokyo]

The system works by implanting a glucose-sensing RFID microchip into the patient. The chip can more accurately measure glucose levels and report it back to a digital scanner that also powers the device. Digital Angel just received their patent this week, so expect it to still be years before this product is actually available, until then—keep on prickin'. Thanks, Anthony – Travis Hudson

Press Release [BusinessWire]

Remote Vjs control [WMMNA]

Hello Kitty gets into RFID bodyguard work [Digital World Tokyo]
Pocketbook Protector [Wired]

RFID-Blocking Passport Case [DIFRWEAR]
Chipped Passports Coming Monday
[Wired]

The users will no longer have to deal with customer service agents. They will go up to a display board, find the location of their car and simply go get it. When their RFID card is close to the display screen it will configure the card to be linked to the specific car. Sounds like a pretty damn cool system, but the question remains: how secure is it? Having your rental hacked and stolen in a red light district in France could be disastrous ... maybe. – Travis Hudson

Hertz Trial Uses RFID Cards Instead of Keys [RFID Journal]

And if you forget your passcode, well, you're screwed. So implant that RFID chip in your skin like you've been planning to do. If the battery does run out, you can hold up a 9v battery to it to juice it up enough for you to get inside and replace the battery. Pretty nifty device, but at $300, it may be a little steep. – Jason Chen

Product Page [MyKey2300 via Uncrate]