Andrea Hoffmann wrote:
> > If my memory serves me correctly, an earlier post on this list said
> that the
> > barcode/coupon collectors let anyone in who was waving a keitai,
> without
> > actually checking the barcode itself?
>
> Well, waving the keitai alone was not enough, you had to show them the
> coupon on the screen at least, but they obviously didn't check the
> actual ID on the coupon (the coupons had no barcode), so people could
> have copied the coupon to other people's i-mode handsets to allow them
> access as well.
Err, the earlier messages were referring to a promotion by
Giga Networks for their i-mode karaoke services. I don't think
they were using Q-Phon's technology, and to quote myself:
> quote: "in real life, entrance verification was handled by pretty girls
> in cowboy hats who looked at the screen of your phone and waved you in
> if it looked good enough -- somehow I doubt they were computing XORs in
> their heads. A few suited guys with clipboards ran interference, but
> they weren't even crossing names off a list or anything..."
So even if they were, they certainly weren't using it right.
At any rate, I signed up for Q-Phon's service, and was just
flipping through the menus. Where, exactly, is the new technology
in this? Honjitsu-no-o-susume is for a BLT set at First Kitchen,
the coupon is a normal i-mode page which says "<coupon>" up top with
a pretty logo and then spells out the conditions. And according
to the usage instructions all I have to do to use the coupon is
show my screen ("kyuupon ha keitai no gamen ni hyouji kyuupon wo
o-mise de miseru dake de waribiki nado no tokuten ga ukerareru
o-toku-na saabisu desu"). No bar codes in sight anywhere.
So what prevents me from cooking up my own page which claims that
the BLT set is really Y480, or from telling y'all that the coupon
is at...
http://i.q-phon.com/index.cgi?key=ubdccciiaubicc&sn=0031&
cid=30000029&c=&a=0406000000
Leave off the part starting "&sn..." to get to the main page.
So are these things at all usable for anything of real value?
<plug>
Hey, at least First Hop has implemented coupon technology with
cryptographic verification capabilities... take a look at
http://www.firsthop.fi/Products/Tokens/ for more.
</plug>
Cheers,
--
Jani PATOKALLIO / jpatokal@iki.fi / +81 90 7722 3557
Sanpo Laboratory, Mechano-Informatics Dept., University of Tokyo
ヤニ・パトカリオ / jani@sanpo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp / 090 7722 3557
東京大学、工学系研究科、機械情報工学科、算法設計研究室
[ Did you check the archives? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/ ]
Received on Thu Feb 8 07:33:05 2001