Today I ordered a $15 smart card reader / writer. However, Amazon doesn't sell the smart cards to go with it. What card should I buy? I'd learned from a phone call that I should not get a "memory card" (although I'm not sure what they are used for currently); instead I need a "microprocessor card" (comparison here). Why didn't I find SmartCardBasics sooner?! See also "Smart Card Concepts" from Microsoft.
I was interested in the $7-per-piece price from CardLogix, but you need a minimum order of 10 cards. So I was interested in a smart card from Gemalto's online store, read this summary of their cards, settled on the .NET card for $26...and then realized the S&H is $30 'cause they're in France. Ouch. So I called a California-based Gemalto distributor named Envoy Data and spoke with two people there who were very helpful. They agreed to sell me a single card for $23 + $12 S&H. They also suggested that I check out vSEC:CMS from Versetile Security for managing certificates and that I also consider products by "Active Identity".
