I'm right there with you on that one.
There's times when identification is necessary, and there's times when
it serves no function I regard as legitimate.
The begining of this thread is no longer on my news server so I don't
know if this was what started it, but:
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http://www.silicon.com/management/itpro/0,39024675,39118399,00.htm>
"Wouldn't it be interesting if you could use the SIM card in your phone
in your PC to identify yourself?" Schwartz asked. Many companies would
be interested in such a feature, because identifying a PC user would
make it easier to sell protected content such as digital music, he
argued.
"Anonymity tends to go hand in hand with mischief," he said.
"Authentication tends to eliminate this mischief."
Sun said in 2003 that more than 400 million Java Cards have been issued.
SIM cards in phones are the most common example but Java Card technology
also is used to identify more than 4 million Defense Department
employees and 24 million citizens of Taiwan.
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Too bad they don't post that quote on their Java download page, where
they insist you provide all sorts of personal information before you can
download Java.