Colin Parte

By ColinParte

Futuristic

I know I lead a fairly boring life, but I love technology, and this really blows me away.
In the newer Tesco stores in the Republic of Ireland, instead of the traditional clock-card timekeeping machines, there are fingerprint scanners. Yes. You read that correctly.
Forgive the boyish excitement, but to me, this is the sort of thing I would have seen aboard the USS Enterprise when watching the original Star Trek TV series in the early 1970s. But here it is now.
Personally I still find the marriage between biology and technology really futuristic. Don't get me wrong; I've had blood tests over the years, and a retina scan on my latest visit to the US. I've even had my fingerprints taken; less said about that, the better! (Although, for the really curious, click here for the story)
I suppose what is remarkable to me is when this incredible technology becomes a mundane aspect of everyday life. Most of the two hundred and fifty people who use the scanner to clock in and out in this store every week probably see it as just another part of the furniture.
Downside:
No more getting your friendly co-worker to clock you back in on time when you?re late back from lunch unless he has your bloody severed index finger in his pocket.
Upside:
There's no better alibi than a time-stamped record of your fingerprint on file!

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