Hitachi builds 3mm-thick vein scanner in its Transylvanian lair

Hitachi has always been hot for vein authentication modules, and its latest iteration takes the whole tech down to just three millimeters in thickness. Given that the current generation requires 23.5mm (nearly an inch) of space to operate in, it's easy to see why your netbook doesn't have one, but Hitachi hopes that's all about to change. Using a CMOS sensor to take almost instant readings, the vein scanner is deadly accurate -- there's only a one in a million chance of it authorizing the wrong person. Volume production is expected within two years, meaning that by 2011 you'll finally have a reliable way to keep your parents out of your "Misc" data folders.

[Kamokazi Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:24AM]

I used to name my 'misc' folders as highschool and later college class names. Now that I'm on my own, I just label the darn thing 'Porn'. It's a tidy 345GB after all these years..../sniff

[cashclientel Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:40AM]

Thanks for that.

[dudebro Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:48AM]

not exactally something to be proud of.

[rezaudio Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:56AM]

ha ha that's brilliant! I used to name mine NROP - very imaginative!?

Of course now no one needs to have anything stored anywhere as there are loads of websites that supply anything and everything.

BTW - I'm not say that's a good thing!

[Dan Fruzzetti Posted Aug 28th 2009 6:24PM]

I think that should read "odds against false positives are a million to one" or something. The statement currently reads that it's very, very likely to read false positives for almost anyone, with only 300 people or so in the US who would NOT read a false positive against your credentials.

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Aug 29th 2009 1:10PM]

@ dan
Ha! I didn't even notice that. Good call . . ."the chances of it authorizing the wrong person are one in a million" would've also worked.

Also, that movie "Shadow of the Vampire" (which is supposedly about filming "Nosferatu," from which that photo was taken) is messed up, but in a good way. My favorite line: "I feed like an old man pees - sometimes all at once, sometimes drop by drop."

[proxifuel Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:28AM]

Rare picture of Steve Jobs in the year 2313.

[bahoo Posted Aug 28th 2009 9:17AM]

That's actually his 3rd clone. Turns out Apple never realized just how much your genes deteriorate after each cloning.

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 28th 2009 9:37AM]

Introducing the new Macbook SuperPro...the best thing is, it's for free. All you need to do is donate some blood for a noble cause.

[JJjjjjjjjjjj Posted Aug 28th 2009 3:35PM]

Billy? Is that you?

[Guybrush Threepwood Posted Aug 28th 2009 8:43AM]

eep. scary shit. the takeover is coming.

[oturn Posted Aug 28th 2009 9:39AM]

Damn that's funny....I moved my Misc folder not 2 minutes before reading this. Yeah, I'm wondering why I keep it around too. Nostalgia?

[primetime4 Posted Aug 28th 2009 9:52AM]

Isn't this coming out for the Wii?

[madgamer2000 Posted Aug 28th 2009 11:21AM]

What's odd to think about is, if one in a million people have the same vein print (to this reader anyway), then with over 5 billion people in the world, there are at least 5,000 other people out there that could log into your computer with this - without any hacking.

[cashclientel Posted Aug 28th 2009 11:56AM]

or 6 billion?

[(Unverified) Posted Aug 28th 2009 12:32PM]

Almost 7 billion!

[montusama Posted Aug 28th 2009 12:33PM]

Two years? I'd try to move up production quicker and make it out at the end of the year, but I guess I'm just unrealistic.

[Average White Boy Posted Aug 29th 2009 1:18PM]

It's all in vein.

[Rimshot Posted Aug 29th 2009 6:08PM]

I have been to Transylvania last week, and you know what I found? Vampires? No. Germans. Lots and lots of Germans.