Singin' the blues (Part II). Product/Link: American Express Blue Synopsis: Super-secure online payments using a Smart Card Reader. Requirements: Win9x/NT, 5MB disk space, 8MB available RAM. Price: USD0 to USD25. Rating: I can't wait to delete it. Comment: Because this review started two months ago, you may wish to review Part I. Tad was issued a new card, one that worked in the reader. But errors kept cropping up until AMEX advised him a change had to be made at their end and a PIN had to be chosen. Repeated attempts using Private PaymentsSM to purchase a Starbucks Card online failed miserably. Thinking the card had for some reason not been activated, another try was made using it as you would any card. That worked. Back to the reader (every time the card was removed from the reader the computer had to be rebooted so the reader would recognize it). Finally, without explanation, and for the last time, a successful buy was made. Private PaymentsSM is a good idea. You're issued a number and expiration date (not that of your card) for each purchase. You literally drag and drop those figures from the Private PaymentsSM window into the spaces where you would normally enter your card number and its actual expiration. The concept: even if someone gets a hold of those numbers it won't do them any good. They're used up. Fortunately, you do not have to have a Smart Card Reader to use Private PaymentsSM, though there is an added level of security if you do. And without a reader you can use any American Express card. Both Mastercard and Visa are working on more secure Internet purchasing technologies. If you have one or more of those you may want to wait rather than applying for an AMEX card which is not as widely accepted. On the other hand, if you're really paranoid, go for Blue and a Smart Card Reader. But not if you're running Windows 98SE. Now, to uninstall the software.