Last Night
Well, as the gift giving season is now only about three weeks away, this is also a time for reflection and taking part in special ceremonies at your local church. For most of my life, I was a Hindu. I never really practiced it, but I had did have a deep belief in God and a place we all go to when we perish. But after I met my Anita, we started going to a Methodist church, located in Bensenville, IL, about 20 miles from her home (yea, a bit of a hike, but well worth it). We continued to keep going, and in fact back in the spring time, we were both baptized by the church and into the Methodist ways of doing things.
We couldn’t have been happier. The church is great, and the fellowship after the service is just awesome. In fact, on July 21st, 2012, we are going to get married in this very same church. Well, to continue to our religious beliefs, we continue to attend church services during the holidays even in non Methodist churches. Such was the case last night. Last night we attended a Christmas service at the United Church of Christ located in Elmhurst, IL. It was truly a remarkable moment, with all of the praises and the worship which took place. After that, we trekked over to her Mom’s house, and in she walked in, with about 6 bags of gifts for all of the family. It was truly worth seeing all those items!!! So, in lieu of this, today, I came across a news wire which relates to this. How it relates, you may ask?
Well, you have to wait for the ending of this posting. Here we go: “Fingerprint Cards' (FPC) new swipe sensor, is currently being integrated in a mobile platform by one the world-leading manufacturers of mobile phones, also known as a “Tier 1 manufacturer . . . The integration of a fingerprint sensor into a mobile phone creates a product through which convenience is optimally combined with high security. Potential applications include secure mobile payments, the protection of personal information, PIN-code substitution, increased flexibility for screen locks and other application areas in which the user’s identity has to be ascertained . . . The FPC1080A, the world’s smallest and most power-efficient fingerprint sensor developed for mobile applications, uses FPC’s patented scanning technology and delivers world-leading 3D image quality, with 508 dpi resolution. In addition to the intelligent image management, the sensor features integrated hardware support for navigation, thus enabling the sensor to be used for the control of user interfaces.” (SOURCE: http://www.findbiometrics.com/industry-news/i/9413/).
My Take
As you read through the above quote, really, there is nothing new about it. Yea, a Smartphone manufacturer partnering up with a Biometrics Vendor to provide a fingerprint recognition solution so that the phone is authenticated to the right person. And of course, with using a Biometric system, the end user has a whole host of applications they can choose from, ranging from looking at financial stuff to making payments on the phone, do even doing online buying. A bit of difference here should be noted, and that is, this agreement as described up above also covers any associated software development which goes along with it. So it is not just the fingerprint hardware which is being provided, but also any software apps which need to be developed and deployed with it.
But none the less, if anything, it is much greater security which will be provided, thus replacing the traditional password and PIN number. OK, so now you may be wondering what is the connection between this and all of the religious talk about Christmas? Well, think about it long and hard. Wouldn’t a Smartphone with all of these Biometrics make a great gift, and even a stocking stuffer??? I mean the cost of Smartphones have come down extremely much (when I bought my new Verizon phone, it was only literally $1àbut the catch was I had to lock into a 2 year contract). I’m not saying you buy the actual plan for the person you are giving it to, let them fork up that part of it. But at least give a Smartphone as a gift. It will truly mean a lot, and will probably have much more value and use than perhaps anything else given (except of course any chocolate!!!).
The technology is small enough, and there are so many choices out there, why not simplify the pains and horrors of x-mas shopping, and just get Smartphones??? Of course, you just don’t want to wait till the last minute, as this will not only be the time for the sweetest deals, but also the longest lines and biggest customer mayhem ever (maybe even worse than Black Friday).
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