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Fun with Fingerprint Readers

Posted by michael on from the black-forest-or-haribo dept.

Two pieces of news that came in today make a fun counterpoint to each other. First, a grocery chain is trying out a biometric checkout system. Bring your groceries, pay with a fingerprint. Unfortunately, a story in Bruce Schneier's monthly newsletter notes that fingerprint scanners can be fooled with a bit of gelatin.

6 of 298 comments (clear)

  1. I Have 50 Karma Points, Need To Burn by Lethyos · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Six of the seven slashdot editors are sitting around the flat one day when Katz rushes in and says, "Guess what guys, I've won a trip to see the Pope!" Everyone gets all excited and chants, "We finally get to ask him, we finally get to ask him."

    The next day, they are standing in front of the Pope, Katz out in front of the other six. All the other six start pushing Katz and
    saying, "Go ahead, Katz, ask him, ask him!"

    The Pope looks at Katz and asks, "Do you have a question to ask me, young man?"

    Katz looks up shyly and says, "Well, yes."

    The Pope tells him to go ahead and ask. Katz asks, "Well, do....do they have nuns in Alaska?"

    The Pope replies, "Well, yes, I'm sure we have nuns in Alaska."

    The others all keep nudging Katz and chanting, "Ask him the rest, Jon, ask him the rest!"

    The Pope asks Katz if there's more to his question, and Jon continues, "Well, uh, do they have, uh, black nuns in Alaska?"

    To which the Pope replies, "Well, my son, I think there must be a few black nuns in Alaska, yes."

    Still not satisfied, the others keep saying, "Ask him the last part, Katz, ask him the last part!"

    The Pope asks Katz, "Is there still more to your question?"

    To which Katz replies, "Well, uh, yeah.....are there, uh, are there any midget black nuns in Alaska?"

    The startled Pope replies, "Well, no, my son, I really don't think there are any midget black nuns in Alaska."

    At this, John Katz turns all kinds of colors, and the others start laughing, and yelling, "Katz screwed a penguin, Katz screwed a penguin!"

    --
    Why bother.
    1. Re:I Have 50 Karma Points, Need To Burn by Computer! · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      That's good for an easy -5. Nice job, I can respect a rebel like that. The more posts replying to yours, the more mod points wasted in order to supress it. AND at +1! Hooray!

      --
      If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
    2. Re:I Have 50 Karma Points, Need To Burn by WinkyN · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Too bad the joke is truly illogical since penguins don't live in Alaska.

      Sorry, but I just had to point that out to everyone.

    3. Re:I Have 50 Karma Points, Need To Burn by Computer! · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Sorry, loser, the parent post is still at 1.

      --
      If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
    4. Re:I Have 50 Karma Points, Need To Burn by Computer! · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Finish what?

      True, there's another post from some woman that got modded down to -1 FOR NO APPARENT REASON. Weird.

      --
      If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
    5. Re:I Have 50 Karma Points, Need To Burn by kcornia · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Said woman was modded down because he/she is a troll.

      In the related thread from a few weeks ago, her credentials listed Los Alamos National Laboratory as being in Los Alamos, Nevada.

      Why my post mentioning this was modded down as offtopic I have no idea. Bringing someone's credentials, or lack of them, to a discussion where the person is purporting to be an authority of some sort, seems on topic to me.

      But what the hell do I know...