Speedpass

I'm an avid supporter of Speedpass, the RFID tag used by Exxon/Mobil and Esso gas stations which enables you to pay at the pump without having to fumble with credit and loyalty cards.  So much easier and I'm not sure why it never caught on.

While attending my first tire software conference in Chicago in 2002, I went to a McDonalds and snapped this pic because I was thrilled to see Speedpass in a place other than a gas station.  I had forgotten all about this until today, when I was opening a few random files to make sure the copies I made were working.

Per Wikipedia:

At one point, Speedpass was deployed experimentally in fast-food restaurants and supermarkets in select markets. McDonald's alone deployed Speedpass in over 400 Chicago area restaurants. Additionally, Stop & Shop grocery chain tested Speedpass at their Boston area stores and removed the units in early 2005. The test was deemed a failure and McDonald's removed the scanners from all their restaurants in mid-2004. Speedpass has also been previously available through a Speedpass Car Tag and Speedpass-enabled Timex watch.

I didn't actually use my Speedpass that day because I keep it on my car key ring, which I didn't have with me. Interesting, and neat that I was there during that experiment, though.

Tiger lights up!