

Suspect Has Witness that Doesn't Lie: His Metrocard - gabrielroth
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/nyregion/19metrocard.html?hp&pagewanted=all

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delackner
I am troubled that the US justice system seems devoid of a basic understanding
of modern technology.

These cards don't in any reasonable sense identify a person's whereabouts.
They are cloneable, easily used by anyone. They are in no way tied to a
particular person.

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ciscoriordan
I am troubled that the this guy's Metrocard is the only reason he's not in a
jail right now.

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light3
but is it really his Metrocard :P

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immad
Kind off gives me an idea to make a special card that one can carry that is
somehow linked to your identity and records all your whereabouts in a way that
can't be faked.

Then if you ever have to prove that you were in a certain place you can give
the card. Obviously it would make it pretty hard if you were lying so no one
would want to carry it :)

(ignoring the various technology restrictions of this scheme)

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robg
Card? Why not an implant!?

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swdesignguy
Credit card transactions would be the every man's evidence of whereabouts.

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hs
i do keep _ALL_ printed transactions, from grocery to ATM (where banks do
photograph the user)

just in case

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tricky
I do this too, but for different reasons. It just seems like interesting
personal data I could analyze some day. Does anyone know a practical way to
grab this data electronically for analysis? I have shoeboxes full of
receipts... I could tell where, when, and what I bought for the past 10 years.
Merge that with photographs and emails and I've got a heck of a personal
journal... problem is, i can't figure out how to enter the data short of
hiring someone.

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factor0
Could you use Amazon's Mechanical Turk?

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tricky
Good idea. i'd just have to have the neighbor kid scan everything in, first.

