05 January, 2007

Good news on ID cards?

From VNUNET:

Plans to use iris biometrics for the government’s national identity card scheme have been shelved because of cost and technical uncertainties.

I.e. they won't scan your eyes, but will still take your finger prints (even though some people don't actually have fingerprints due to genetic conditions and the prints also match up with Koala bears!). What about the plans for face scans (which only work if you're white and young)?

Also Not Saussure has stumbled across an article by Bruce Sneider which shows that the Yanks are no longer wanting facial and fingerprint scans, as the technology is too expensive and won't work! One of the reasons our Dear Leader is in favour of ID cards (see here for an article he wrote in the Telegraph, which I fisked) is due to US pressure, so now what will he do?