enthalpy

Sunday, November 27, 2005


UNT goes high-tech with fingerprint recognition for campus food stores.
University of North Texas students will soon have a new way to pay for their meals on campus and at some places off campus — their fingerprints.

Sodexho, which manages the Union Food Court in the student union, has joined with iMye, a technology company, to install electronic finger-scanning payment devices at 14 food vendors on campus and 11 merchants off campus.
Is this really cool or really scary? A bit of both, I guess. Your fingerprint is much more secure than a magnetic strip on the back of a plastic card, but isn't it a bit unsettling to use your fingertip to get a box of Ding-Dongs? And what's up with this:
Sharma said the accounts are similar to bank accounts. Instead of using cash, credit or checks to pay for their meals, students place their finger on the scanner and type in an identification number to get to their money.
What the hell do you need a PIN for if you're using your finger for identification? PINs are useful for card transactions in the even that someone else tries to use your card. Is there really a concern with someone else trying to use your finger to buy food?



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