W-b Township 
Sewer Ordinance Unanimously Approved 
The Township Council Voted Unanimously Monday Night To Adopt A Sewer 
Connection And Use Ordinance, Intended To Raise Money For Sewer Construction, 
Including Work Near The Proposed Arena.

Andrea Mcgeary, Nicole Amato And Patty Dougherty Each Scored Two Goals As The 
University Of Scranton Women's Soccer Team Beat Fdu-madison Saturday To Earn 
Its First Win Of The Year.

By PAMELA C. TURFA; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Monday, September 30, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1C 





You probably read about them in connection with this summer's Olympics
games in Atlanta. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Smart cards" -- a plastic card with a computer chip -- were sold to
athletes and spectators who used them to ride public transportation, make
long-distance telephone calls, purchase food from vending machines and
restaurants and pay for hotel bookings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A novelty in this country, their Olympic promotion gave smart cards an
enormous public boost. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a demarcation point," says Arlen Lessin, the man credited with
introducing the smart card to North America, of the Olympics promotion. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lessin says he believes smart cards are on the brink of losing their
novelty status. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Within two or three years, Lessin predicts, you will carry one in your
wallet. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 With the technology the smart card offers, you will be able to access your
bank and conduct financial transactions more complicated than are possible
with an automatic teller machine card. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Your doctor will be able to access your medical history. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Your university will be able to access your student records. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You will be able to access long-distance telephone service. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Or .... &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You will be able to do all of those things -- and more. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lessin is now the Allan P. Kirby Jr. Distinguished Professor for Free
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Wilkes University. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sixteen years ago, he saw a demonstration of a smart card at a French booth
during an international telecommunications conference in Los Angeles. The
French had developed the computer chip in a card concept during a major push
to upgrade the country's technology systems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Smart cards weren't the highlight of the conference, but they caught
Lessin's attention. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Within hours, he was promoting their development by arranging meetings
between officials of the French companies that held the patents and California
bankers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Three years later, he founded SmartCard International, the world's first
non-French smart card company. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And he continues to promote the card as SmartCard International's chairman
and chief executive officer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I was absolutely convinced that it was meaningful," Lessin says of his
introduction to the smart card concept. "I wasn't sure how it was going to
happen, but I was convinced that it would happen and I wanted to be a part of
making it happen." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cards really computers &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Smart cards are as different from the credit cards in your wallet as a
computer chip is different from a magnetic strip. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The chip, with its programmable feature, offers more flexibility and can
hold more information than the magnetic strip. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Smart cards because they have a computer chip are really computers,"
Lessin says. "You can get a smart card to do many things. They can be updated;
they can be reprogrammed." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Internationally, there are about 2 billion smart cards in use. Half of
those are in France, where the technology was developed and promoted almost
two decades ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In this country and in other leading nations around the world, their use is
far more limited. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lessin says he has been discouraged but understands why acceptance has been
slow. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I know the history of change and innovation. ... I know it takes time," he
says, citing development of the television. The first television patent was
issued in 1889, but television wasn't a viable communications medium until the
late 1940s, about 60 years later. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "If it were up to consumers we'd be using them right now," he says. "They'd
love it if they could go out and buy these things," he said, holding up a
smart card with a drawing of an Olympic athlete. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Inexpensive to make &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Smart cards are not expensive to manufacture. The least sophisticated --
like those widely available at the Olympics -- cost about $1 each and have the
least memory. More sophisticated models with lots of memory cost $4 or $5. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Readers" -- machines purchased by vendors to access the information on the
computer chip -- cost a few hundred dollars. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The information on the cards is secure, he says. "Nobody has access to the
information on this card without your (personal identification number)." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One of Lessin's favorite potential uses of the cards is as a substitute for
food stamps. Recipients would simply have their card programmed monthly -- and
grocers would access the information at the checkout line. Such a system would
be less embarrassing for the recipients and could eliminate welfare fraud. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Other potential uses include military identification (with purchasing power
at military bases), agriculture production record-keeping, security, medicine,
insurance sales and travel and related financial services. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We will have substantially less cash used in society than we do today,"
Lessin says of the future. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 1980, when he was introduced to the smart card concept, he fell in love,
he said, in a speech Sept. 4 to the European Smart Card Applications and
Technology Conference and Exhibition in Helsinki, Finland, where he was named
to a Hall of Fame for his promotion of the smart card. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The love affair, he said in that speech, "was probably unjustified in the
short run." But, 16 years later, the future is brighter. "I see love
fulfilled," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Last week, Lessin acknowledged the difficulties in getting acceptance for
the smart card. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Changing people's view of the world is not so simple. Changing people's
habits and ways of doing things is not so simple. But, if it has value, it
nearly invariably happens." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER PHOTOS/LEWIS GEYER 1-Internationally, there are about 2
billion smart cards in use. Half of those are in France, where the technology
was developed and promoted almost two decades ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 2-Now the Allan P. Kirby Jr. Distinguished Professor for Free Enterprise
and Entrepreneurship at Wilkes University, Arlen Lessen is credited with
introducing the smart card to North America. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`smart Cards' Make The Grade Relatively New In This Country, They Got A Big Boost From Use At The Olympics