passes

Zebra Technologies introduces G-series thermal printers

Zebra Technologies just announced their new "G-series" line of thermal printers. These little guys fall under the four-inch desktop printer category and, while not specifically for the consumer market, will still appeal to industries that deal with printing labels, receipts, price marking tags, shipping and return labels, boarding passes, ID wristbands and tags, and admission tickets.

The new offerings from Zebra include the GX420t,GX420d, GX430t, GK420t, and the GK420d. Across the board, these printers feature a wide range of convenient, easy to operate printing solutions in the work or home office. Notable specifications include:

Wireless: 802.11g … Read more

Password helper PassPack goes offline (in a good way)

PassPack is a password-saving service I first checked out back in January of last year. This past week it released a really cool and smart password-saving tool that exists separately from your browser and lets you manage your passwords while offline. It also syncs up with PassPack's cloud storage to let you access your shared passwords, then sync them to multiple, authorized computers.

The application's claim to fame is that you can access your passwords while offline and without the use of your browser. If you don't feel like installing a new, standalone app, you can get … Read more

Researchers say Microsoft's CardSpace vulnerable

Using attacks similar to those used to break .Net PassPort, a group of students at the Ruhr Universitat Bochum in Germany claim to have stolen CardSpace's security tokens from a compromised machine. But Microsoft dismisses the attack, saying an attacker would need a user's help.

CardSpace is included within .NET Framework 3.0 and allows users to create personal information cards that are shared with participating Web sites for authentication. A user creates a CardSpace card for a site and the .NET software then obtains a digitally signed XML token from the site issuer. What the students in … Read more

iPass to add in-flight Wi-Fi roaming

Mobile Internet aggregator iPass it teaming up with in-flight broadband provider Aircell to give its customers access to broadband on planes.

On Tuesday, iPass announced that it would offer Wi-Fi roaming with Aircell Gogo, an in-flight broadband service expected to launch soon in the United States. Aircell's service is expected later this year on American Airlines and Virgin America.

iPass provides mobile Internet access for a monthly fee. Users can connect via Wi-Fi, dial-up or Ethernet using a single user password. Monthly services include all three connectivity options and cost between $29.95 per month for unlimited Wi-Fi in … Read more

Can TSA be trusted not to data discriminate?

The Transportation Security Administration is joining the 21st century. Just 5 years after security experts first outlined methods for faking boarding passes (and 2 years after the FBI raided my home for automating the process), TSA is finally testing out technology to neutralize this security threat. The only problem? The new authenticated boarding passes lay the groundwork for a surveillance state, enforceable all-points-bulletins, and most scary of all, data discrimination.

Can TSA be trusted to do the right thing?

For the last 4 months, Continental Airlines and TSA have been running a pilot project, which permits passengers to pass through security … Read more

Press barred from Gore's RSA speech

When Al Gore agreed to talk at the end of the RSA 2008 conference, the 2007 Nobel Laureate stipulated in his contract with RSA that no members of the press would be allowed inside the keynote address. Many of my colleagues in the press were put out about this, and rightly so.

Fortunately, this year I was registered as a speaker at RSA 2008, so I didn't have my usual press pass (although the nice guardians at the press room door certainly didn't stop me from going inside).

Since individual attendees at RSA are allowed to blog and … Read more

Cell phone as boarding pass

In the future, air travelers across the country will be able to get their boarding passes sent to their cell phones.

Continental is testing a new system that allows people checking in via their cell phone to get their boarding pass sent directly to their phones. The electronic boarding pass, which has an encrypted two-dimensional bar code, can be used instead of a paper boarding pass to get through airport security and to board planes, according to a story published Tuesday in The New York Times.

Several U.S. airlines, including American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, and Alaska, have already … Read more

Sony missing the point

Before I get into some of my CES floor finds, I had to comment on the strange announcement from Sony BMG this morning. As previously rumored, Sony will indeed join the other three major labels in selling DRM-free MP3 files to consumers. But wait! First, customers will have to walk into a retailer, plunk down $12.99 for a Platinum Pass card, then redeem a code from the back of the card on Sony's MusicPass.com Web site. And the music itself is being trickled out, starting with only 37 albums. (Press release is here if you want the … Read more

Southwest shuts down seat assignment proxy site

I'm saddened to report that Southwest Airlines has effectively shut down Pass-a-matic, the service that would act as your proxy to retrieve the coveted A-1 boarding pass. The service, which I raved about two months ago, would take your reservation number and use it to jump on the Southwest Web site precisely 24 hours before your flight's departure time to grab the good seats.

Southwest, clearly, was not amused, and recently amended the terms of service for its Web site with this proviso: "You may not use Southwest's web sites for or in connection with offering … Read more