Clinton -- doomed & wagging, Japan collapses, Y2K bug, etc Message Board

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Politics : Clinton -- doomed & wagging, Japan collapses, Y2K bug, etc

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To: Sidney Reilly who wrote (701)	10/28/1998 7:36:00 PM
From: SOROS	of 1151

Microsoft unveils operating system for smart cards Microsoft Corp. unveiled tiny a computer operating system for smart cards as well as support for the system from 20 hardware makers, in a push by the world's biggest software company into a lucrative new market. Smart cards are embedded with microchips that store personal or financial data, allowing access while securing the information from unauthorized use. They are used in electronic commerce and data security. Microsoft is betting use of smart cards will take off as growing use of hand-held computer devices and electronic commerce drive demand for more secure ways of accessing computer networks. The Redmond, Washington-based company is competing against Sun Microsystems Inc. in the smart card market, pitting its Windows system against Sun's Java programming language. ''We brought back our work on smart cards a year-and-a-half ago when we saw increasing demand for authentication of a user's identity to access a network and an explosion in demand for online electronic commerce,'' said Craig Mundie, Microsoft's senior vice president of consumer platforms. He presented the new product at the Cartes 98 Smart Card conference in Paris Tuesday. He said test versions of the product would be ready in the first quarter of next year, while the final product would be ready mid-year. Mundie said it was ''highly unlikely'' that Microsoft would buy a smart card manufacturer as it pushes into the smart card market. A press report earlier this month said Microsoft may bid for De La Rue Plc of the U.K., the world's largest non-government printer of bank notes which is expanding into smart cards and cash handling machines. The 20 hardware companies making products that will use the system include France's Gemplus and Schlumberger Industries, two of the world's biggest smart card makers. The Windows operating system for smart cards will have memory capacity of 4.5 kilobytes, compared with 300 kilobytes for Windows CE, which is used in hand-held computers. Windows cards will cost issuers about $3 each compared to $20 for Java-based cards. ''Windows is a much lower cost solution'' than Java-based cards, said Phil Holden, Microsoft product manager for the smart-card operating system. Sun officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The worldwide market for chip cards will jump nearly fivefold to $6.8 billion in 2002 from $1.4 billion in 1997, according to Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group Inc. Shares of Microsoft rose 11/16 to 107 1/16 on Monday. businesstoday.com

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