The site where you can get information on meal swipes and that information has transferred from ManageMyID to CBORD's GET, along with the laundry machines. I've accordingly updated the Python script for scraping it, and it's accessible in the same location as last time.
It seems like it would be pretty easy to make the ID's. The first thing you would need is a printer that has a CD/DVD printer tray. The Canon PIXMA MG7520, available here on Amazon for $200 would probably do. Then, you need an ID tray, one that will work with the printer, but replace the CD/DVD tray. That specific printer uses a type of tray referred to as 'Tray J'. You can buy an ID tray for Tray J type on this great site, brainstormidsupply.com. You can also buy Inkjet PVC cards there for relatively cheap. Finally, you need a template to print to. Using Photoshop, in Print Settings, you can choose Printable disc under media type, and Disc tray J under Printer Paper Size. Then, use a template for Tray J. I couldn't find one online, so I made one that's downloadable here for novelty purposes.
Some of the things stated in the Dartmouth article I cited in the Dartmouth ID post weren't entirely accurate: it's not a 125kHz RFID tag in it, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a bad thing in that I bought a RFID reader for 125kHz, and not 13.56 MHz, but a good thing in that it's a lot easier to write to a 13.56 MHz tag and thus clone it. NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This is almost certainly not correct, and it's instead a 125kHz card, but with HID encoding, so that a normal 125kHz reader won't do it, you'll need one from HiD.
The app "The Ropes" for Dartmouth displays the swipes remaining and DBA on your account if given your ManageMyID information. I was curious as to how easily that could be replicated in Python, and then in my own app.
I was researching some aspects of RFID technology, when I wondered how the Dartmouth ID cards worked. They clearly have some sort of RFID tech in them, because they open up the doors to the buildings just by holding it near the reader. However, they also have a magnetic strip that's used for DA$H (meal swipes) and DBA. So I googled, and found ONE article from "The Dartmouth" in 2005 that shed some light, an article written during the resistance to putting RFID chips into US passports.
Finally got around to buying some ethernet cables from The Computer Store. Now everything's wired up! The XBox, my computer, and the Raspberry Pi that hasn't been doing anything productive for the last month. The wireless network is still up though, which made it really easy to set up a floormates' printer. i don't see any reason to take it down, so for the mean time it'll remain up.
Got the network set up. The router is jacked into the ethernet port, and then rebroadcasts the network as "Butterfield Secure". This is WPA2 secure, which XBox happily handles. Despite the slight drop from ethernet, this is fine in terms of speed. However, a couple of the games I have for the XBox necessitate random ports to be open. Luckily, after around five minutes of poking around on the internet, I found the necessary ports and opened them. Everything's finally set up!
The first thing I realized when connecting to the secure internet network "Dartmouth Secure" was that it used WPA-Enterprise authentication, meaning that it needed a username and password combination (your school ID and the password you set up to access Banner Student). This isn't a problem for laptops and iPhones. However, it IS a problem for other devices, specifically any XBox one that wants to enjoy a connection speed faster than that of a snail. There's only one available ethernet cable in the room, and while I brought a router, I only have one ethernet cable. Looks like I'll have to set up my own wireless network. Fun!