The Disappearing Desktop - It's Real This Time

[Geoff Canyon]

On Nov 16, 2005, at 3:09 PM, Judy Perry wrote:

> Funny, we just talked about biometric stuff in class a couple of weeks
> back.
>
> Of course, one problem with things like thumb/face scans is that  
> they can
> be cut off your body (happened to a guy whose MB got carjacked and  
> which
> used biometrics for access).
>
> As for your face, well, there's a doctor somewhere in  Europe I  
> think who
> will shortly (within a few years) attempt a facial transplant.   
> Already
> done it with rats and the like.  I kid you not.

Under the heading of "I kid you not:" I once read on a web site  
discussing biometric identification the following words (roughly).

      Of course, you may be thinking, "What happens if someone cuts  
out my eye?"
      The answer to that is simple: our biometric devices are  
designed to detect
      the pulse in the blood vessels as it scans them. If there is no  
pulse, the
      scan will fail even if the pattern matches.

It makes sense after you get past the ewww part.