Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: credit-card encoding (was Re: Wiegand wires?)
Message-ID: <1990Sep25.153854.2812@zoo.toronto.edu>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <5770030@hpscdc.scd.hp.com> <10960034@hpldola.HP.COM>
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 90 15:38:54 GMT

In article <10960034@hpldola.HP.COM> paul@hpldola.HP.COM (Paul Bame) writes:
>Speaking of credit cards, why don't we use bar codes or some other optical
>method rather than magnetic?  Seems like it would be more reliable.

Magnetic schemes have the vast advantage of being essentially immune to
dirt and surface damage.  For something that gets carried in pockets for
years, this is a significant advantage.
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