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AuthenTec Said to Cut Off Non-Apple Fingerprint Sensor Customers in 2013
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my lenovo notebook has a fingerprint scanner and the scanner works fine. but as always the software implementation is so cumbersome that the set up is a pain and half the time the system would not unlock although the fingerprints match up and everything would freeze.
if they integrate this right away into the system and make it easy then it wouldbe nice to have fingerprint scanners (assuming they are subsurface and safe). but the windows implementation just sucked and using normal login's was easier.
if they integrate this right away into the system and make it easy then it wouldbe nice to have fingerprint scanners (assuming they are subsurface and safe). but the windows implementation just sucked and using normal login's was easier.
Annnnnd the Goliath that is Apple gobbles up another company again to "incorporate" their innovation with total disregard of the consequences of what it will do to the world.
They are winning again but Monopoly isn't just a game
Go preach to Google and all their Acqui-Hires of small App developers never to be heard from again, eh? Oh, forgot about that?
Apple and Google are not purchasing the companies. They are hiring the engineers that come with them. It's called Acqui-Hire. It's here, it ain't goin no place, so deal with it.
I'm sick of all this puberty based whining about big Bad Apple. All the others do it as well. It's just "cooler" to take swipes at the big kid on the block.
If Apple, Google, Microsoft, and 100's of others do not have outstanding "Onboarding" Programs these people will simply leave and form another start up with their ideas that did not go with the purchase.
If you want to succeed in business this is how you operate. It is not 1962.
If you are not happy in your line of work you can, further your education, find a new job, or join the Peace Corps and plant Soybeans in Zambia.
Exactly what I was going to say. It's not like Apple can just buy a company and immediately incorporate the tech into a new device. These things take TIME (which in today's society is being increasingly valued and de-valued at the same time).
LiquidMetal will most likely be what a future iPhone (and for that matter all other Apple products) are made of. But at this point in time the demand and sheer volume it would take is more than the firm has ever had to produce. TIME.
Those three mapping companies were bought in 2009....3 years ago. How long has Google been consistently working on their maps? A decade+? Again, TIME and exposure to Apple's vast user base will help Apple's maps develop (and since I believe they have a better foundation than Google did, the maturity rate will be exponentially faster).
This purchase (of Authentec) is probably going to be the same deal. While it would be amazing for Apple to incorporate the tech into the iPhone 5S (with the 'S' standing for security as one poster put it) I doubt it will be ready by then. I'm think the iPhone 6 (or next major update) will usher in HUGE innovations in mobile payment systems with this technology at its core.
I'd like to see them incorporate it into the home button. Hit the button with your thumb, it senses the fingerprint, unlocks the device. Accidental clicks in your pocket wouldnt unlock it then. bam.
Annnnnd the Goliath that is Apple gobbles up another company again to "incorporate" their innovation with total disregard of the consequences of what it will do to the world.
They are winning again but Monopoly isn't just a game
Many of these acquired companies' innovations may never have seen mass production without a large corporation such as Apple to give them the platform and tools necessary.
Do you think PA Semiconductor would have ever come up with a brand new ARM core by themselves? Currently the fastest on the market?
How about each of those three mapping companies Apple purchased? On their own, would they each have amounted to much? No. There's more to it than Apple simply buying and inserting another company's ideas into its existing products. Apple has a vision of how these technologies work together and I'd argue they do as much work on implementing (and even designing/re-designing) those company's technologies as the companies do coming up with them.
I believe Authentec's vast IP and patent holdings are one of the main reasons Apple is purchasing them and also one of the reasons Authentec's soon-to-be former customers aren't very happy about it.
Well, if your not going to encrypt your saved data this is going to happen.
The problem is the Protector Suite Software acquired by AuthenTec. The software has the security flaw, not the scanning technology.
This will not bee an issue on OSX or iOS 7.
Annnnnd the Goliath that is Apple gobbles up another company again to "incorporate" their innovation with total disregard of the consequences of what it will do to the world.
They are winning again but Monopoly isn't just a game
I'm guessing you don't own any Apple stock?
As long as the user is allowed to fall back on pin numbers, the phone would not be any more secure than it is now. If a thief knows how to get past the pin code, he just has to say "I have a cut on my finger" and get to the pin code stage that he already knows how to get past. It may be more convenient, but not more secure.
There are many methods and technologies that can be used to capture livescan fingerprints. So it's not as simple as one entity holding the patent on the capability.
Additionally, the real technology is in the algorithms used to create templates and match those templates. There are also algorithms used to encrypt templates to make them secure.
I think a fingerprint scanner in the home button along with a "keychain" feature like on the Mac would be awesome. Store all your passwords and if you want to skip typing them in, scan your fingerprint and it autofills. That way if your finger print can't scan for whatever reason, typing the password is the fallback. Would also be a good way to unlock the phone. If the phone gets lost, locking it from "Find My iPhone" and requiring a fingerprint to unlock would be cool too.
First, I doubt the company makes parts at all. It probably outsources them. But ya, dumping all your large customers isn't a typical business decision.
By definition, anti-competitive swipes only apply to the big kid on the block.
What if I have a cut on my thumb/finger(s)? Will I be locked out?
I had this on my Sony laptop. Could add several fingerprints and option to use passcode
Different Experience
I have a Sony Vaio work laptop with a fingerprint scanner. I use it many times a day. Both for authentication on a Windows domain, for unlocking from sleep, for logging into websites, etc. It works great.. Been using it for about 3 years now.
I have a Sony Vaio work laptop with a fingerprint scanner. I use it many times a day. Both for authentication on a Windows domain, for unlocking from sleep, for logging into websites, etc. It works great.. Been using it for about 3 years now.
If history s any indicator... The future is not so bright. Remember the hype surrounding Apple acquiring Liquid Metal IP right? So far this has only produced SIM ejector. Then there were Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies. Result? Apple Maps
And obviously HP and Samsung have nothing to worry about. Here is a list of companies producing fingerprint sensors:
Alps Electric
Atmel
Atrua
AU Optronics
Authentec
BMF
Casio
Casio + Alps
Cecrop, KSI, Sannaedle
Dakty (formerly Delsy)
Digital Persona
EgisTec (formerly LighTuning)
ElecVision
Ethentica
Fidelica
Fingerprint Cards
FlashScan3D
Fujitsu
Hitachi
Idex
IMEN
Infineon (Siemens)
LighTuning (now Egistec)
LiteOn
Melfas
Mitsumi
NEC
NTT
NanoIdent
Silicon Display Technology
Seiko Epson
Sharp
Sonavation
Sony
Symwave
TesTech / Integrated Biometrics
TST touchless
Ultrascan
Upek
Validity
Veridicom
Problem is the patents. It could also cost tons of money in early terminating the agreements not something Apple would care about. But what could happen is the patents could be declared FRAND and required so Apple could not lock everyone else out.
The Authentec style of finger scanner could be in the top rim of the iPhone.
A more practical approach would be a reverse patent troll, who buys the key patents and offers it for a fixed low fee. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Apple were to seed such a firm with $1B for the rational purpose of making key technologies more accessable for all users. Besides it would be profitable!
Rocketman
Patents are declared FRAND by the patent holders themselves in exchange for being made part of a standard.
A more practical approach would be a reverse patent troll, who buys the key patents and offers it for a fixed low fee. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Apple were to seed such a firm with $1B for the rational purpose of making key technologies more accessable for all users. Besides it would be profitable!
Rocketman
Patents aren't just randomly declared FRAND. Apple would have to enter into an agreement as part of the development of a standard to license their patents related to the standard on FRAND terms.