Posted on 07/09/2012 10:37:13 AM PDT by a fool in paradise
Wristbands fitted with microchips have been worn by everyone at a UK festival for the first time.
The technology, which designers claim will cut out fake tickets and queues, was used by 15,000 festival-goers at Wakestock, Cardigan Bay, Wales.
Organiser Stuart Galbraith said: "The benefits are huge. This will be the future of festivals."
Critics, however, have said they are "uncomfortable" to wear and go against the spirit of festivals.
The bands look like standard material festival bands except they're fitted with an RFID (radio frequency identification) microchip, the same technology as London's Oyster card public transport swipe cards.
Festival-goers are scanned in and out of areas at the site with either turnstiles or hand-held devices, with organisers able to monitor the data...
Designers claim the advantages to fans are that they can pre-load them with money to pay for food and drink, check into social networks and ensure they have a "cleaner experience".
The microchips can be cancelled if they're lost or stolen.
Stuart Galbraith said the main benefit for him was knowing exactly how many people were on site, but admitted that the technology was "fairly expensive" to have installed...
Some smartphones with the same technology have recently become available on the market...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
"Fans at Wakestock had to scan in and scan out of the festival site"
Watch carefully near the end of the clip, when Joe Biden, a Senator at the time asks Justice John Roberts at a Confirmation Hearing: "Can a miniature tag be implanted into a human body to track his every movement? You will rule on that, mark my words, before your tenure is over." A HREF=
The pie-eyed masses are being conditioned for the permanent embedding of “the chip”.
hey can pre-load them with money to pay for food and drink,
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How easy is it to get your unused money credited back?
Doesn't charging admission itself go against the "spirit" of any [Whatever]stock festival?
I’d say it’s fair to charge a cover, the big rip off comes when you are locked into a festival ground for 3 days and have no option to BRING ANY FOOD OR WATER from home.
Price gouging is a bitch. It’s exploitive.
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