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And ThinkPads used to have a fingerprint sensor, many years ago. It's not that the technology itself is very cutting edge, or even claimed to be. (Of course,

by aes 13y ago

And ThinkPads used to have a fingerprint sensor, many years ago. It's not that the technology itself is very cutting edge, or even claimed to be. (Of course, marketing claims anything to be cutting-edge. Apple's marketing doubly so.) In the light of recent knowledge, it makes me wonder whether IBM had NSA backdoors, too.

footpath 13y ago
Select ThinkPad models still do have integrated fingerprint sensors. Windows 8.1 offers improved native biometrics as well, whereas the previous Windows versions require third-party drivers for compatibility.
- r00fus 13y ago
  Execution matters. My previous work computer was a Thinkpad (2011 model) with a fingerprint swipe-scanner, but it was flaky, wasn't baked into the OS, and didn't have any killer apps that supported it. If, for example, Lenovo released something like 1Password but tied into the FP scanner for auth, that would've been really good… but that would require work to ensure it was secure and that particular sensor's flakiness would've killed the execution anyway. I'm guessing it was there for military/secured installations where some bespoke software would interface with the scanner for a customer-specific purpose.
  - porlw 13y ago
    My Thinkpad has one. Works great with Ubuntu, integrated into PAM so works with sudo and unlocking my keystore.
  - ntenenz 13y ago
    FYI, LastPass works with the Lenovo fingerprint scanners. I have even gotten it to work under linux.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
learningram 13y ago
I have an Atrix and a Finger print sensor for my Thinkpad...