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"A transparent token the size of a postage stamp and costing just a penny to make can be used to generate an immensely powerful cryptographic key."

Marie asked for my comments on this.

The fact that the token cannot be copied doesn't mean the ones and zeros read from it cannot be copied, so this actually doesn't make a very good "cryptographic key." All you need to open cryptography is the ones and zeros. Not a card. Furthermore, the articles talk about reading the key from multiple angles, but cryptographic systems only have one password, so this is a capability mismatch again.

In an environment like an ATM machine where you are fairly certain that you are actually reading from a physical card this might be a more secure (albeit expensive) replacement for a magnetic strip. It may also find its way into door locks. However, you won't find such a reader in your computer nor for scanning credit cards, as in such environments there is no way to be sure that the "key" is actually coming from such a card and not from something else.

So in sum, the technology is interesting, but its not all that useful.

My comments on the optical keys

"A presidential advisor encouraged the nation's top computer security professionals and hackers Wednesday to try to break computer programs, but said they might need protection from the legal wrath of software makers."

Some very encouraging words from the Bush administration at this year's Black Hat Briefings.

AP Wire | 07/31/2002 | Bush adviser encourages hacking

In Spring 2001, Virginia Tech professor Naren Ramakrishnan taught an entire course on the topic of recommender systems. Here you can browse the syllabus, review slides from the lectures, and review the reading list.

Course overview: CS 6604 concentrates on algorithms, methodologies, systems, and larger-scope issues (economic, commercial etc.) pertaining to reducing information overload. The unique aspect of this course will be how it integrates ideas from diverse areas: numerical analysis (strange but true), information systems, human-computer interaction, and algorithmics. Over the past three years, a large body of literature on recommender systems, filtering, and personalization technologies has been developed. Even though the field is driven by commercial trends and industrial developments, many of the ideas are nearing a stage of stabilization when their use is becoming common place (textbook material). CS 6604 will help illustrate the interplay between these different areas and demonstrate how ideas from diverse backgrounds can be combined in novel and sophisticated ways.

CS 6604: Recommender Systems (Spring 2001)