21-02-2012, 05:01 PM
Smart card
[attachment=17649]
INTRODUCTION
AN INTRODUCTION TO SMART CARDS
It has been said that smart cards will one day be as important as computers are today. This statement contains a bit of an error because it implies that smart cards are not computers, when in fact, they are. Because smart cards are indeed tiny computers, it’s difficult to predict the variety of applications that will be possible with them in the future. It’s quite possible that smart cards will follow the same trend of rapid increases in processing power that computers have, following "Moore’s Law" and doubling in performance while halving in cost every eighteen months.
DEFINITION OF A SMART CARD
The smart card is one of the latest additions to the world of information technology. Similar in size to today's plastic payment card, the smart card has a microprocessor or memory chip embedded in it that, when coupled with a reader, has the processing power to serve many different applications. This chip is the engine room of the smart card, and indeed is what makes it 'smart'. The information or data stored on the IC chip is transferred through an electronic module that interconnects with a terminal or a card reader.
HISTORY OF SMART CARDS
The roots of the current day smart card can be traced back to the US in the early 1950s when Diners Club produced the first all-plastic card to be used for payment applications. The synthetic material PVC was used which allowed for longer-lasting cards than previously conventional paper based cards. In this system, the mere fact that you were issued a Diners Club card allowed you to pay with your "good name" rather than cash. In effect, the card identified you as a member of a select group, and was accepted by certain restaurants and hotels that recognized this group.
[attachment=17649]
INTRODUCTION
AN INTRODUCTION TO SMART CARDS
It has been said that smart cards will one day be as important as computers are today. This statement contains a bit of an error because it implies that smart cards are not computers, when in fact, they are. Because smart cards are indeed tiny computers, it’s difficult to predict the variety of applications that will be possible with them in the future. It’s quite possible that smart cards will follow the same trend of rapid increases in processing power that computers have, following "Moore’s Law" and doubling in performance while halving in cost every eighteen months.
DEFINITION OF A SMART CARD
The smart card is one of the latest additions to the world of information technology. Similar in size to today's plastic payment card, the smart card has a microprocessor or memory chip embedded in it that, when coupled with a reader, has the processing power to serve many different applications. This chip is the engine room of the smart card, and indeed is what makes it 'smart'. The information or data stored on the IC chip is transferred through an electronic module that interconnects with a terminal or a card reader.
HISTORY OF SMART CARDS
The roots of the current day smart card can be traced back to the US in the early 1950s when Diners Club produced the first all-plastic card to be used for payment applications. The synthetic material PVC was used which allowed for longer-lasting cards than previously conventional paper based cards. In this system, the mere fact that you were issued a Diners Club card allowed you to pay with your "good name" rather than cash. In effect, the card identified you as a member of a select group, and was accepted by certain restaurants and hotels that recognized this group.
