Computer chips get under skin of enthusiasts
By
Jamie McGeever Fri Jan 6, 2006 9:41 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060106/tc_nm/technology_implants_dc
NEW YORK (Reuters)
- Forgetting computer passwords is an everyday source of frustration,
but a solution may literally be at hand -- in the form of
computer chip implants.
With a wave of
his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in
Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs
onto his computer.
Tiny radio frequency
identification (RFID) computer chips inserted into Graafstra's
hands make it all possible.
"I just don't want to be without access
to the things that I need to get access to. In the worst case
scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able
to get in (my house)," Graafstra said in an interview in
New York, where he is promoting the technology. "RFID is
for me."
The computer chips,
which cost about $2, interact with a device installed in computers
and other electronics. The chips are activated when they come
within 3 inches of a so-called reader, which scans the data
on the chips. The "reader" devices are available for
as little as $50.
Information about
where to buy the chips and readers is available online at the
"tagged" forum, (http://tagged.kaos.gen.nz/) where
enthusiasts of the technology chat and share information.
Graafstra said
at least 20 of his tech-savvy pals have RFID implants. "I
can't feel it at all. It doesn't impede me. It doesn't hurt
at all. I almost can't tell it's there," agreed Jennifer
Tomblin, a 23-year-old marketing student and Graafstra's girlfriend.
'ABRACADABRA'
Mikey Sklar, a
28-year-old Brooklyn resident, said, "It does give you
some sort of power of 'Abracadabra,' of making doors open and
passwords enter just by a wave of your hand."
The RFID chip
in Sklar's hand, which is smaller than a grain of rice and can
last up to 100 years, was injected by a surgeon in Los Angeles.
Tattoo artists
and veterinarians also could insert the chips into people, he
said. For years, veterinarians have been injecting similar chips
into pets so the animals can be returned to their owners if
they are lost.
Graafstra was
drawn to RFID tagging to make life easier in this technological
age, but Sklar said he was more intrigued by the technology's
potential in a broader sense.
In the future,
technological advances will allow people to store, transmit
and access encrypted personal information in an increasing number
of wireless ways, Sklar said.
Wary of privacy
issues, Sklar said he is developing a fabric "shield"
to protect such chips from being read by strangers seeking to
steal personal information or identities.
One advantage
of the RFID chip, Graafstra said, is that it cannot get lost
or stolen. And the chip can always be removed from a person's
body.
"It's kind
of a gadget thing, and it's not so impressive to have it on
your key chain as it is to have it in you," Sklar said.
"But it's not for everyone."
Sklar's girlfriend,
Wendy Tremayne, has yet to be convinced. She said she probably
would not inject the computer chip into her body unless she
thought it was a "necessity."
"If it becomes
more convenient, I may," said the 38-year-old artist and
yoga teacher. "(But) I'd rather have an organic life."