Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!isc-br!hawk!wddami!wayned From: wayned@wddami.spoami.com (Wayne Diener) Newsgroups: sci.electronics Subject: Re: credit-card encoding (was Re: Wiegand wires?) Message-ID: Date: 26 Sep 90 00:20:43 GMT References: <5770030@hpscdc.scd.hp.com> <10960034@hpldola.HP.COM> <1990Sep25.153854.2812@zoo.toronto.edu> Sender: uueagle@hawk.isc-br.com (Eagle Proj UUCP login) Lines: 19 >In article <1990Sep25.153854.2812@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >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. >-- Magnetic encoding is also quite a lot more difficult to duplicate than optical encoding would be (without going to UV or someother such thing) for your average (read "non-electronics hacker") person. -- |---------------------------------------------------------------| | // Wayne D. Diener | | // Spokane, WA | | \\ // E-mail reply to: | | \X/ To: isc-br!hawk!wddami!wayned@uunet.uu.net |