AppleInsider Staff
Apple Inc. may turn to RFID tags to simplify Wi-Fi networking of its next-generation Mac and consumer electronics devices, a recent patent filing has revealed.
When an Wi-Fi-enabled electronics device containing a synchronized RFID tag — essentially a small hardware patch — comes within range of the router, the RFID transceiver would automatically transfer the necessary configuration info to the RFID tag without prompting the user to perform software setup.
As Apple notes in the filing, the wireless devices would not need to be turned in order for their RFID tags to communicate and synchronize with the RFID transceiver. Instead, authentication information could be exchanged through the use of passive RFID tags or help from a separate, smaller power supply. As soon as the devices turn on, they'd read the authentication info from the RFID tag an instantly connect to the network.
The filing, which was submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark on September 6th, 2005, and published for the first time on Thursday, adds that RFID network arrangements are particularly useful for devices that lack visual displays and input components, such as the Apple remote.
Christine McKee
Andrew O'Hara
Charles Martin
Stephen Silver
William Gallagher
Marko Zivkovic
54 Comments
first post!
but seriously, my first thought was for that AppleTV/gaming console controllers. Does the Apple remote really need to change from IR to wireless networking?
This sounds like a bad idea to me because it opens security hole in which someone could create a malicious RFID tag, slap it under your desk, and re-rout your DNS through their own malicious proxies.
That "configuration information" could be configuration for just about anything. It is bad, because it assumes trustworthy information from the RFID tag without any verification.
Boy, the NSA could slip these RFID tags into just about any device that might get near a computer to perform its snooping--and it's all hidden and out of site from the user.
Hello Big Brother!
LOL, Buy a new Airport base station and start creating copies of peoples passports or changing them for good or evil.
This maybe cheaper than making your own setup, LOL
I wonder how long before it is used that way?
This sounds like a bad idea to me because it opens security hole in which someone could create a malicious RFID tag, slap it under your desk, and re-rout your DNS through their own malicious proxies.
That "configuration information" could be configuration for just about anything. It is bad, because it assumes trustworthy information from the RFID tag without any verification.
Boy, the NSA could slip these RFID tags into just about any device that might get near a computer to perform its snooping--and it's all hidden and out of site from the user.
Hello Big Brother!
They maybe doing it already, did you check your belt and your shoes?
So, these devices don't need to be turned on, because the RFIDs would communicate using a separate power supply. Which means what? That its always on. It just looks off.