There’s been a considerable amount of excitement about the biometric capabilities of the impending Windows 10 operating system, most notably revolving around Windows Hello, a multimodal user authentication system that adheres to FIDO security standards. The system takes a big step forward in making biometric authentication standard on consumer electronics with its support of fingerprint readers and facial recognition technology.
There’s a catch, though. Windows Hello’s facial recognition system relies on infrared cameras, which enable more sophisticated security but are less widely available. Microsoft has been keen to garner as many hardware (and software) partners as possible in launching Windows 10, but at the moment there are only ten computers that include the compatible Intel RealSense 3D camera. Those machines are: Acer Aspire V 17 Nitro, Asus N551JQ, Asus ROG G771JM, Asus X751LD, Dell Inspiron 15 5548, Dell Inspiron 23 7000, HP Envy 15t Touch RealSense Laptop, Lenovo B5030, Lenovo ThinkPad E550, and Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 15.
Consumers who don’t have one of those machines also have the option of buying a standalone RealSense camera at about $100, but it seems more likely that in most cases users will just opt to wait until more compatible devices ship later this year. And while there would ideally be many more compatible devices available at the launch of Windows 10, it’s undeniable that in so fully integrating biometric security into a desktop OS, Microsoft is paving new ground in user security.
Source: The Verge
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