On 30 May 2005 09:08:05 GMT, (Andrew
Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
(Huge) writes:

That and the application of 25kV to the SmartMedia contacts.

If they have a proximity loop, the normal flexing from keeping
the thing in a pocket or wallet creates hairline cracks which
instantly kill the loop. I assume they will be of the type
which are designed to destroy themselves if tampering is
suspected, in which case this disables the chip anyway, even
if the SmartMedia contacts are still OK. I've used these at
work where they are both the ID card and the payment card for
all the vending machines and resturant. They last me about
2 years before a hairline crack disables the chip, and the
company has to go back through all the vending machine records
to work out how much money I had left on the card when it died.

Maybe the card suppliers to HM Government haven't spilled the beans on
this 'side effect' yet.

MM