Microsoft has been a friend of the biometric industry for some time, especially more recently with the rollout of their more robust security products and services. Today they announced nine new mice and keyboards, “including the company’s first hardware products with fingerprint recognition technology”. This has encouraged a rather intense debate among professionals, experts and followers of biometrics as to whether Microsoft will contribute to awareness and growth of the technology.
Whether users are shopping online, checking e-mail or tracking frequent flier miles, the Internet delivers countless ways to connect with others and access information; however, it also requires countless passwords. To help reduce password fatigue, Microsoft is introducing three new products that conveniently replace user names and passwords with easy-to-use fingerprint recognition technology. Now, a touch of a finger enables people to quickly and easily log on to the PC, switch between users and access favorite online sites.
The fingerprint reader, designed specifically to be intuitive and reliable, is available in three products: Optical Desktop with Fingerprint Reader, Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer with Fingerprint Reader and the stand- alone Microsoft Fingerprint Reader.
“Keeping track of usernames and passwords is a source of real frustration for people,” said Roger Kay, vice president of client computing at IDC. “Although using a combination of methods, including using a strong password, is recommended for retrieving personal and financial information from the Web, a biometric password manager clearly makes opening ordinary password-protected Web pages more convenient.”
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