Re: Re: ibutton door access control

[Nigel Orr <Nigel.Orr@xxxxxxx>]

At 10:05 01/04/00 GMT, you wrote:
>Lets agree to call it a draw then shall we?...  :-)

Nah, I've had my week's holiday, and it's time to catch up!  It's been an
interesting discussion...

>Biometric - even simpler from the end user perspective,  NO power
>consumption at all (for the portable token that is),

Same for ibutton, and it needs less power for the reader than a camera or
fingerprint reader.  If a visitor to my house can't manage to press a
button into a receptacle, then I don't think they'd manage to look at a
camera or get their finger in a slot either... so you'd need to add 'back
of head recognition'...

>battery operation?? - excuse me, but batteries are PANTS and any system

But it is possible to run it for extended periods on batteries- obviously
your PC-based biometric system will have a UPS to run it for 1/2 hour when
the power goes off- what happens if you arrive home after 31 minutes?  Low
power and the ability to run for a long time off batteries is a big plus
point.

>which relies on them as the primary power source is therefore prone to

But agreed, definitely not as the primary power source (you'd need a little
PP3 holder by the door too :-) )

>still bet that in 2 years time they'll run out just at the most
inopportune
>moment, causing inconvenience and embarrasment!

I've come across that recently, in one of these 'only flush the urinals
when someone's moved in the room' gadgets- batteries are supposed to last 5
years, so by the time they run out, no-one remembers that they were
supposed to change them... the consequences are not pleasant...

>Biometric - easy to include & exclude people, also cheap by
comparison,

If I want a visitor to my ibuttoned house, I send them a key in the post.
When it gets there, I enable it.  What do you do?  Get them to send a
freshly packed frozen finger?  Passport photo?  Cassette of their voice?
Doesn't sound like much fun...

>similar). And like I said earlier, biometrics is where it's going to
happen
>in the future,

Undoubtedly.  And when it is a real usable technology, I'll doubtless be in
the queue.  For now, I'll stick to the well understood stuff...

>- 'cos their cash machines are going to use it! Also, I would not be at
all

Again, I've got nothing against it, but for me it's not there yet.

>And anyway? what's so bad about using a PC? (serious answers only
please) -

High power consumption, complex.  Yes, you could use PC/104 or similar, but
if you need something like that, why not use a PIC or similar.  PCs are
good for user interfaces, but to a man with only a hammer, every problem
looks like a nail ;-)

>plenty of them are perfectly reliable. (and anyway, only a fool would
design
>a system around a computer without designing-in a failsafe or a backup
>operation).

True, but that's more complexity, and unless it's put together by someone
with half a grasp of reliability engineering, they might as well not
bother.  If it's going to be a price-led market, do you really think that
it will involve high quality reliability engineering?  I'll wait and see!

>What, currently, are you using to program an ibutton-based system?

One could use a PC if required, it can coexist on the microLAN quite
happily.  Or an embedded system of some kind.  It definitely makes sense to
have a PC or similar as a front end for setup and programming, but not for
daily use.

>Like you said, I think this one could run and run, 'cos everyones got
their
>foot firmly planted in whatever camp they're in, and they ain't budgin'
!!

IMHO, while it stays civil, it's a very interesting discussion.  But if I
get a few emails saying 'We've had enough, please shut up', I will... for a
while...

BTW, on the subject of live fingers, IR pulse oximetry is apparently
relatively straightforward, and I'm sure I've seen a fingerprint reader
which incorporates it to check for a pulse.

BTW2, once you've got the fingerprint reader installed, how long do you
think it will be till the local vandals fill it with superglue?  Just a
funny thought... I'd rather leave my ibutton stuck to the reader than my
finger...

Nigel


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