Sponsor's Message

In their usual devious way, the politicians got their way through the introduction of a photo-ID drivers licence that, they promised, was definitely not going to be used a universal ID card.

Indeed, a spokesman for the LTSA was seen on TV1's Fair Go programme not so long ago warning the public that the licence should not be considered an ID card. This warning was given after it was demonstrated that obtaining a licence in someone else's name was a trivial task.

Now, just as we were assured by government that location of speed cameras would always be signposted and would only be used in areas where there was a record of accidents, we're now finding out that politicians' promises are worth about as much as that pile of Equiticorp shares you bought in the 1980s.

You see, despite their vehement denials, the government itself is now planning to use a driver's licence details to authenticate people's identity for some online transactions (as reported in this Stuff story).

Given that the government is presently about to spend a fist-full of cash on the implementation of an authentication system for use in conjunction with its e-government programme, I wonder if your driver's licence is perhaps looking like a wonderfully cheap authentication tool?

Now have your say Got something to say about today's column, or want to see what others think?  Visit The Forums While you're here, why not visit the Aardvark Hall of Shame and perhaps make your own nomination.

Of course there's no way that a licence could be the sole method for authenticating someone's ID, after all, some people don't drive.

However, by using "the war against terror" and the need for a secure authentication system for use with e-Government as excuses, it's a pretty safe bet that we'll end up having a universal ID card forced upon us within the next few years.

In fact, I'd wager even money that this little "security" measure will be introduced early in the next term of government.

Ultimately of course, it's up to citizens to decide whether this is acceptable but I fear the traditional Kiwi lethargy, on which politicians regularly rely, will ensure that despite a bit of moaning, no real action is taken by the public to stand up for their rights.

What's Going On?
The IT news industry has been a pretty steady place for the past few years.

You could generally rely on my daily commentary and newslinks, Paul Brislen's regular contributions to IDG's website, Peter Griffin's bylines over at the NZ Herald, and a bunch of other contributors to various publications.

But what's going on over at IDG?

Last Friday, Paul Brislen announced that he was taking his distinctive style to the NZ Herald and this morning the IDG website wasn't talking to the rest of the world until 9 am.

IDG have also lost Anthony Doesburg to green fields.

These defections seem to be the progression of a trend that probably started when Russell Brown departed the company to do his own thing and a rather good spot on National Radio.

I fear that without journalists with a strong individual style, IDG's website and the Computerworld publication might end up being little more than a regular stream of press releases. In fact, just looking at the long list of headlines on this page I think this may have already happened.

If it weren't for the ongoing success of publications like NZ Netguide, I'd be very tempted to say that the day of the printed IT magazine has gone.

What will the future bring?

If you feel that this is a good thing and/or you hold a "geniune affection" for yours truly -- then you are welcome to gift me some money using the buttons provided. In gifting this money you accept that no goods, service or other consideration is offered, provided, accepted or anticipated in return. Just click on the button to gift whatever you can afford. NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally gift more than what you were intending :-)

Contacting Aardvark
I'm always happy to hear from readers, whether they're delivering brickbats, bouquets or news tip-offs. If you'd like to contact me directly, please this form. If you're happy for me to republish your comments then please be sure and select For Publication.

Other media organisations seeking more information or republication rights are also invited to contact me.

Just add a couple of lines of JavaScript to your pages and you can get a free summary of Aardvark's daily commentary -- automatically updated each and every week-day.

Aardvark also makes a summary of this daily column available via XML using the RSS format. More details can be found here.

Contact me if you decide to use either of these feeds and have any problems.

Linking Policy
Want to link to this site? Check out Aardvark's Linking Policy.

Did you tell someone else about Aardvark today? If not then do it now!