John and Doves,

This was sent to me by Henry Visser and I wanted to pass it along.
It doesn't take much imagination to see where this is heading.

InfoCard uses an authentication system, which means that a biometric ID,
plus a unique number ID,  will both correlate and thus verify the user.

Jim Goodrick
 

MicroSoft to Flash Windows ID -- May 27, 2005    "InfoCard"

With InfoCard, the online buying experience would change. When a user buys a book online, for example, the Web store would ping the user's InfoCard application on the user's PC for payment. The user then authorizes payment, which is routed to the applicable financial institution. The bookstore does not need to know the user's credit card number or financial data.

For InfoCard to work well, commerce Web sites will need to adopt the technology, as will other businesses, such as credit card companies and banks, Microsoft said.

But InfoCard's use will not be limited to storing and supplying ID information for making online payments or logging in to Web sites, Microsoft said. In addition, the first version will also support other authentication technologies, such as the x509 certificates used for smart cards, according to Shewchuk

Once you've selected how you will pay, your PC will connect with the bank or credit card issuer and request payment to the ... store.

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