Re SDMC/Credit cards/etc
Art, IMHO that description was just someone's vague idea of how it *could* work, and will bear as much resemblance to what will eventually occur (if anything) as you or I could dream up. There have been a number of ideas put forward, many have been found wanting and discarded.
The biggest problem they have is that any sufficiently secure technology is likely to be sufficiently inconvenient that there will be little if any incentive for you and I to use it. That, plus it will have to be non-scary. The 'masses' are already concerned about ordinary internet commerce. Can you imagine buying a CD and being told "oh, we plan to keep your credit card number on file for ever just in case you lend this to any of your friends, so we can charge you"!
If I can, at great hassle and annoyance, listen to Metallica on SDMC at the same price as I can buy the CD, or at 1000x the price I can download it from Napster, why would I bother?
Or, if its 25% of the price of the CD but a limited number of replays, then DIVx shows the fate of that model.
The uses of this technology are so far aimed at the convenience of vendors, not consumers. Until that reverses, then its unlikely to succeed as a secure media. It may well succeed just as a convenient universal form factor. I had hoped CF would play that role but it would appear that it wont.
Tw |
