This was posted on twitter! there are a few other things perhaps...

This was posted on twitter!
there are a few other things perhaps that should also be there, things like electronic vehicle registration, and perhaps document authenticity, although Biometric authenticity may cover some of that, in things like Passports and Visa applications perhaps?

this is what was posted on twitter!
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4 of the top 10 biz tech trends need MIKOH: Cloud Computing, Biometric authent., Employee-owned IT & Smart grids http://tinyurl.com/ya9cd32

Top 10 business technology trends for 2010
Posted on December 16 2009 Posted by Abdul Rehman Categorized Under: Technology
Technology never stops moving, but what are the technologies that CIOs and IT managers really need to consider in 2010?
We sampled opinions among analysts, vendors, users, IT professionals, system integrators and pundits and came up with the following 10 to watch:

1. Cloud computing
Cloud computing now comes in at least three flavours: on-demand applications (software-as-a-service), clouds as a source of computing infrastructure (Amazon web services and its ilk), and as a paradigm for delivering services within an organisation (internal clouds). This means almost every CIO has one type of cloud computing to consider. All three are disruptive forces, with analyst firm Gartner ranking the cloud as the most strategic technology for 2010 because it ?does not eliminate the costs of IT solutions, but does re-arrange some and reduce others.?

2. Four big Microsoft upgrades
2010 will see the emergence of Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010. Throw in the late 2009 debut of Exchange 2010 and IT managers on long-term licensing deals with Microsoft have three big upgrades to consider. Office 2010 looks like another incremental update but the new SharePoint and Exchange will only ship in 64-bit versions, putting a server upgrade on many users? roadmaps. And let?s not forget Windows 7, which many CIOs must surely be considering as XP runs out of puff.

3. Virtualisation
Virtualisation has hogged headlines in recent years but continues to evolve at an impressive pace. In 2010, Gartner says virtualisation will become a standard disaster recovery and availability technique, as the practice of moving virtual machines from one location to another matures. The idea of desktop virtualisation is also powering a new round of thinking about whether thin clients are a cheaper alternative to PCs.

4. Biometric authentication
2009 saw National Australia Bank adopt voiceprints as its preferred method of authenticating its customers for phone banking and general customer service inquiries because it improves security and customer service. Many call centres have noted this experience and this technology is ready for wider deployment in 2010.

5. Next-generation firewalls
Most organisations tend to operate a fleet of security appliances, with firewalls, intrusion protection devices and unified threat management devices all helping to build a layered defence. Firewalls, however, have grown up and can now take over some of the functions of other security appliances. CIOs wishing to consolidate their security infrastructure may welcome this evolution.

6. Employee-owned IT
Traditionally, IT departments decide what kind of computers and software employees use and they take responsibility for all maintenance chores. Younger workers, however, have grown up choosing their own computers and applications and want to keep their personalised computing styles. Enter employee-owned IT, which sees workers bringing their own computers to work so that IT can lock them down with virtualisation or multiple operating systems that deliver security. IT departments save as maintenance devolves to computer vendors, while employees swear they are more productive using a machine of their choice.

7. Loyalty schemes
Analyst firm Frost & Sullivan?s Industry Director Andrew Milroy believes loyalty schemes will go mainstream in 2010. Citing their mainstream acceptance in retail and aviation, Milroy notes their absence from telecommunications and other industries and expects newly mature loyalty software will be something many CIOs are asked to consider in 2010.

8. Solid state disks
Storage may not be fashionable but it remains a colossal industry, and right now that industry is shifting towards solid state disks ? a technology that sees storage assigned to flash memory instead of magnetic spinning disks. Solid state disks are smaller, faster, cooler and use less power than conventional disks, which means they can speed up applications without the need for new servers while keeping electricity costs low ? an irresistible combination. While we are on storage, note the 2010 release of LTO-5, a new standard tape format packing 3.6 terbaytes of data onto each tape.

9. Smart grids
Smart grids are an emergent technology that imagines sensors embedded in devices to monitor electricity consumption so that they can ?decide? to operate when power is cheaper. This in turn allows power companies to predict demand more precisely, reducing waste. The idea is a favourite of green IT boosters and is also seen as a likely source of traffic for theNational Broadband Network.

10. Hybrid servers
The big IT transaction of 2009 was Oracle?s acquisition of Sun. The former has been experimenting with all-in-ones that pack a server, storage and other goodies needed to run business applications into a single box, and is said to be keen on extending Sun?s work in the same space. HP is going down the same path, working to make its storage arrays more similar to its servers to make them cheaper to manufacture. If this trend continues, data centre hardware will start to look similar.
Do 2 you agree with this list? What technologies will you be focusing on next year?
http://www.xarasolutions.org/blog/?p=29
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this may possibly be an area where Mikoh may get involved?

Australia biometric visa program to cost $69 million
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 in News
Australia?s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, announced that the new electronic visa program in the country will cost roughly $69 million and require citizens from about ten unnamed countries to submit fingerprint samples and an image of their face, according to a Secure Computing article.
The measure is put forth by the government in an attempt to better enable their border protection agents in apprehending known terrorists or criminals trying to gain entry to the country on forged documents.

In addition to trying to utilize biometric technology to better identify dangerous people trying to enter their country, Rudd is also seeking the creation of a multi-agency counter-terrorism control center whose intent would be to ensure better coordination of intelligence. Rudd and the Foreign Minister Stephen Smith have acknowledged that they will identify the countries whose citizens will be required to submit to biometric data collection for visa applications soon.

http://www.securecomputing.net.au/News/167883,biometric-visa-checks-to-cost-69-million.aspx
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And then there was this also, not sure what to make of this yet?
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An Unusual Offer for Used RFID Tags
Contributed by Joanne C. Kelleher
I received an email the other day from a Russian firm ?engaged in gathering of the used tickets of Moscow underground (based on Mifare Ultralight), processing and their secondary application.? As I read their unusual message a few things struck me.
1. Is there really enough of a market for used Mifare Ultralight subway tickets that you could build a business around this? Granted, you costs aren?t high: email marketing and selling via an online business to business marketplace.
2. How would you go about ?gathering? up to a million of these paper tickets per month? Do you bribe the garbage collectors in the underground to divert the trash to you? Do you pay street urchins to pick them up? Do you sort out the ones that have coffee spilled on them? Or does the ticket collection system retain the ticket when you enter the underground and they found a way to obtain them directly from transportation agency?
3. What is already printed on these tickets and could you print something else on top for your secondary application?
4. What does NXP think of this of this reuse? Recycling is good, but how will this impact NXP?s sales and will NXP let this firm continue?
5. If these people ?know our company? ? and we offer security solutions for RFID, embedded and other low resource devices ? why do they think that our security conscious clients would want these used chips which, by design, have no security features?
Here is the message ? with contact and pricing information removed:
Dear Sirs!
We know about your company from the Internet. You offer the clients RFID Solutions. Our company [?] is located in Russia. We are engaged in gathering of the used tickets of Moscow underground (based on Mifare Ultralight), processing and their secondary application.
The chip is called Mifare Ultra Light by NXP.
? [Chip specifications were listed here]
Cards which we offer were already used once, therefore 32 bit one-time programmable (OTP) area is already occupied. Despite it, each card has unique 7 byte serial number, and also 384 bit read/write area for user data that allows using them repeatedly in other projects.
For today we are capable to offer our clients 500 000 ? 1 000 000 used tickets of the Moscow underground per month. We are also planning to expand the business and we are searching new partners abroad.
If you consider that our product can be interesting to your clients, we can put you the used tickets of the Moscow underground in necessary quantity.
Please contact us without hesitate.


It is kind of a clever idea and I?m curious to see if this type of effort starts around other ?disposable? RFID products.