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Sounds like a gimmick. The fingerprint sensor is useful on an iPhone. I don't see any use on a Mac, where you aren't unlocking it that often and have a full keyboard that you can quickly type your password on.
 
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Picking up my phone to unlock my mac doesn't make anything easier. Adding a sensor to the keyboard will.

This.
Unlocking the Mac with Apple Watch makes sense since it is on your wrist all the time, but with continuity I like to leave my phone in the jacket or the bag and answer to my phone calls via the Mac or the iPad.
If I need to have the iPhone with me what's the point in having continuity?
 
Is there any reason why a Touch ID sensor can't be built into the trackpad of a MacBook?
Not sure if this has been answered already but...

Doesn't Touch ID require the metal ring around the button to work properly?
You wouldn't be able to do that on the trackpad.
 
I use MacID every day and love it most of the time. 5% of the time it doesnt work great but it works enough that I'm still using it which says a lot :eek:
 
Not sure if this has been answered already but...

Doesn't Touch ID require the metal ring around the button to work properly?
You wouldn't be able to do that on the trackpad.

The ring detects the finger and activates the fingerprint sensor.
Without the ring the sensor would need to be activated in another way, maybe by the OS.
It would be possibile of course, but it is really convenient to put your finger on the home button and have your phone instantly unlocked.
 
The ring detects the finger and activates the fingerprint sensor.
Without the ring the sensor would need to be activated in another way, maybe by the OS.
It would be possibile of course, but it is really convenient to put your finger on the home button and have your phone instantly unlocked.
Yes I agree.

I think it's a good work around for users now and hopefully they'll bring it to the hardware in the future so everybody has the option to use it.
 
Well it's quite complicated and not a good workflow to pick up the phone from somewhere in your room to unlock your mac. Would be better if they could integrate touch ID into the trackpad of MacBooks and into the Magic Mouse / Trackpad for iMacs. Would make a lot more sense and is way easier to use.
 
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Wow, count me out. Hope its an option I can thoroughly disable. The difference here is between your fingerprint which a court can compel you submit, or a password that they can't. Plus who knows the orchestration of this option, i.e. can it be enabled after its locked with a password/key already? Those are details we don't have yet. It may be inconvenient, but at least I know its locked.
If the fingerprint sensor was the whole trackpad somehow, you could press it in one location to unlock it and another location to disable it (or just add two fingerprint enabled keys)
 
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If they don't find a way to build a Touch ID sensor into the trackpad, I will gladly pass.
I don't want additional sensor hardware or any kind of sensor keys - that will only ruin the look of my MacBook.
And honestly, typing eight letters on a keyboard to unlock my MacBook has never been that much of an hassle for me anyway.
 
how should this be more convenient? if i need to unlock my laptop, it means i'm in front of my laptop, the keyboard is just there..
i call BS on this news, it can't possibly be this dumb, it reminds more of one of those "inutilities" samsung would develop.
Maybe the source got it wrong and in reality they are building a touchID on the laptops themselves, that's the only thing that would make sense.
 
TouchID is biometric security, and a very sophisticated system at that.

Thanks - I shall sleep soundly tonight knowing that my iPad is safe because "biometric security" and not worry my little head about how it works*. I do kinda get that you can't just take a photo of the fingerprint and hold it up to the sensor like in the movies.

Meanwhile, I'm happy using it as a convenient alternative to a 4-digit PIN (which is all most of the stuff on my iDevice warrants) but I'd draw the line at enabling it in 1Password (my 1Password password is a lot stronger than my PIN).

And as far as I know, I haven't yet heard of someone's iPhone being compromised from a lifted fingerprint, so your concerns are nothing more than speculation.

OK, so I did what I should have done to start with and googled:

http://www.cnet.com/news/touch-id-hack-verified-as-legit/
http://www.zdnet.com/article/samsun...-unlocked-with-an-inkjet-printed-fingerprint/

The first one is iPhone, the second is Samsung (but I assume they'd claim that they're using sophisticated "biometric technology" too). I suspect that the main barrier to this being practical is the small number of failures needed before iOS starts insisting on the passcode.

Still pretty secure, since I'm sure I can wipe my phone remotely before you can make a duplicate fingerprint.

That makes a lot of assumptions about the circumstances under which you might lose your phone: i.e. that you instantly know its gone and are in a position to take immediate action. I.e. you're pretty much assuming that you've been mugged but not injured and ignored every other scenario.

(*I'm assuming a ring of capacitive sensors that detect the ridges on your finger, which is why an image wouldn't work, but the right type of ink or a 3D impression in slightly conductive material might)
 
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You gotta love that little finger swipe action. I wonder what IBM are doing with your fingerprint gif?
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Not a great idea if you've ever recorded your voice in public and/or posted a picture of yourself on public media.

What is the difference unlocking your mac with an iphone or directly from your mac?? You always need to have your phone by your side. what a nuisance.

You assume that apple does not use your info for third parties. Everything going on between apple and fbi could just well be a scenery. Know that the fbi eventually was able to hack into the iphone.
How did they do that. Seems like the iphone is not as watertight as we might have thought it was.

Also, fyi, thinkpad is owned by Lenovo and not IBM
 
This isn't "dumb as hell". It effectively gives you pseudo-two factor authentication, because to get into the Mac, you need the phone, AND the fingerprint.

I'd like the option to require both the phone and a password to get into the machine.

Maybe even require the Apple Watch too, make it really secure.
 
This feature is already available on the iTunes App Store. The app is called MacID. Your Mac locks automatically when your iPhone moves away from your Mac. You can unlock the Mac with TouchID or your Apple watch.
 
ok close proximity meaning Bluetooth, I gather mainly because of the Apple watch, but i would have choose Wi-fi, because Mac laptop is connected to the network anyway..... I wouldn't wanna turn on Bluetooth on a Mac just to use iPhone to unlock a Mac.

So this connectivity is purly more just for the watch.... Still good.

I gather Bluetooth would mean *all* Mac's which would probably be more important. Although it would be better suited for a laptop only.

As usual something integrated into the system is always gonna superseded an app... because more users will use what is there...

Everyone on iOS uses Flashlight because its part of the OS.... How many people download an app just to use flashlight ? Probably no many. but we all did that before, since it was an only option..

How times have changed.

Maybe even require the Apple Watch too, make it really secure.

Somehow, i cannot see myself typing on a tiny display entering a password. Although maybe that will take off. Who knows.. our "personal device" could one day just move to the Apple watch instead with cloud storage instead of an iPhone we must carry around in our pockets to make calls from..

Since the next Apple watch is already rumored for GPS and making calls anyway.... i could see that happening.

All of us will be a version of Dick Tracey ...... How would u like *them* apples.
 
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On MacBook Pros, you could just put it near the power button, and change the power button to something else. On desktop computers, just place it directly into the power button, it's round anyway so there won't be any design complications. On MacBooks it might be a problem though, I'll admit.

Bring back the circular power button set into the Aluminum of the case, like the classic MacBook Pro, for all models. Put it right there.
 
ok close proximity meaning Bluetooth, I gather mainly because of the Apple watch, but i would have choose Wi-fi, because Mac laptop is connected to the network anyway..... I wouldn't wanna turn on Bluetooth on a Mac just to use iPhone to unlock a Mac.

So this connectivity is purly more just for the watch.... Still good.

I gather Bluetooth would mean *all* Mac's which would probably be more important. Although it would be better suited for a laptop only.

As usual something integrated into the system is always gonna superseded an app... because more users will use what is there...

Everyone on iOS uses Flashlight because its part of the OS.... How many people download an app just to use flashlight ? Probably no many. but we all did that before, since it was an only option..

How times have changed.



Somehow, i cannot see myself typing on a tiny display entering a password. Although maybe that will take off. Who knows.. our "personal device" could one day just move to the Apple watch instead with cloud storage instead of an iPhone we must carry around in our pockets to make calls from..

Since the next Apple watch is already rumored for GPS and making calls anyway.... i could see that happening.

All of us will be a version of Dick Tracey ...... How would u like *them* apples.

Most people use a phone not only to make calls. Reading, writing, photo editing, social media, everything on the spot. So I don't see iphone becoming obsolete, because we have an apple watch and cloud service.
(many smartwatch brands have already integrated gps and calling in their devieces). Why is apple so way behind.
 
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