Just in time to host this summer's Olympic Games, the city of Beijing is set to launch a new card program for its subway system. The Beijing subway has used paper tickets for the past 38 years, but starting this week, magnetic stripe cards and smart cards will be used to pay passenger fares.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is introducing a new student ID card with expanded functionality. Affectionately known as the "Wiscard," each student ID will serve a variety of functions, including photo identification, building access control, and debit and meal plan payments.

Today Fargo announced new and improved versions of some of its most popular ID card printer models. They're calling it the E Series line, and it includes the Fargo DTC400e, the Persona C30e, and the Persona M30e. Each of these E Series printers improves upon its predecessor with enhanced versatility, functionality, and network connectivity.

A 500 year flood is currently flowing through Iowa and much of the upper Midwest, wreaking havoc in small towns and large cities alike. As families begin to piece their lives back together, it's inevitable that construction or utility workers will be present at the scene. Iowa's Attorney General, Tom Miller, has issued a press release warning Iowans to always check for ID when utility workers come to call, warning that impostors and identity thieves often prey on unknowing homeowners during emergency situations.

Students and summer youth employees in Washington D.C. will soon receive new SmartTrip One Cards good for travel throughout the entire Metro transit system. Initially, the One Card program was designed to provide District residents with access to certain facilities such as parks and recreation centers, and libraries. Now, with the cards doubling as SmarTrip cards, students will be able to use a single ID to ride the Metro and access their schools and workplaces.

It was supposed to be a seamless transition - students at Clinton County School District in Clinton County, Missouri, would switch from a lunch system that used encoded cards to one that uses biometric information from student fingerprints.

At a conference to discuss school violence, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller told a group of educators around the state the straight truth - violence is curbed through being prepared.

The idea of a smoking card might sound like a strange idea, but in Japan, where a whopping 53 percent of the male population smokes, it seems to make perfect sense. Tobacco makers, retailers, and vending machine operators across Japan now require all buyers to use a special smart card when purchasing cigarettes from machines. The card aims to prevent underage buyers - those under the age of 20 - from acquiring cigarettes.

The use of biometric technology isn't new or novel to many of us - we will provide our fingerprints for access control and identification at least once in our lives. Not all biometrics are as ubiquitous as the fingerprint, however. Another form of biometrics, facial recognition software, used by DMVs in the state of Illinois, has helped the state drastically cut down on one of its most infamous problems - drivers license fraud.