FingerPrint readers

[Makita]

Anyone know of any good ones? Our head of IT got me one to test out when I got a new box and I am , quite frankly, kind of disappointed by it. Perhaps I need to find the 'Manual' somewhere on the Computer, however, I have not yet found what I want in Help.
What I (apparently) have is a Fingerprint reader that lets me into the computer, thats it. Swipe @ Boot and log-in to the domain. EDIT: YUP, that is all it does (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=311-6065)
I thought these would also manage passwords so I could swipe on any password-screen and click through.
Maybe I need to dig more on-line as well, but wouldn't mind having one that worked better/did what I wanted. It is kinda snazzy.

Basically looking for a 'Better' Solution. Any experiences out there?

[Michael]

I have the MS one and it sucks. I am convinced that there are no good ones out there.

[Marc]

We have the Microsoft one as well and it works quite well for our purposes (so as to prevent the kids from logging into each other's accounts).

[Snowman]

The big problem is when the security guys get hold of these and make you change your fingerprints every 30 days.

[WinBear]

Where's John McKee when you need him?

I remember he had one on his home PC 2 or 3 years ago.

[prefect42]

We use the U.are.U readers from DigitalPersona. I have had very good luck with it, it will remember passwords for your pc and websites password boxes. I haven't tried it on standalone applications though so I don't know if it works for them.

I believe they also have a full AD integration package now so that your fingerprints will work on any pc with a reader throughout your AD.

[Marc]

We use the U.are.U readers from DigitalPersona.
I wonder if the Microsoft ones are the same. At a minimum, the Microsoft ones use the same software from DigitalPersona.

[Gai-jin]

I had the U.are.U years ago, when xp first came out. I was very happy with it. I still have it in a drawer, I just don't really have a need for it anymore.

It did include password management software.

And I remember reading that DigitalPersona was doing the fingerprint readers for Microsoft, I believe their standalone one is just a rebranded U.are.U reader.

[LlamaLarry]

I have an APC reader on Thing 2's computer that was set up to allow all of the kids access only to their accounts (this was when my sister's family was living with me post Katrina). Seems to work just fine and the Softex Omni Pass software does what we needed it to do.

[testify4]

Our Stinkpads (T40+) were coming with these built in, by where you put your right palm.

Only problem was, if you installed the driver, it dinked up something with our LEAP authentication for our "security through obscurity" wireless setup.

I tried one out for a couple days before installing the wireless, and it did work well. I recall it worked everytime, and I did have non-registered users try it and get denied. I don't know who makes the actual hardware, but I thought it was cooler than keying in passwords all day long. And, once you logged on to the laptop, you had access to everything on the domain and our SSO software would let you in to our ERP.

[mercurial]

Our newwer ThinkPads all come with them (mine doesn't have it) but apparently you have to download the driver since it isn't installed by default. It will work to let you log into the laptop but I'm not sure what it's good for after that on our network.

[Combat Medic]

I have a couple of these, but at over $10,000 each they are probably overkill for your needs.
http://www.crossmatch.com/products/images/product_Guardian.jpg

[LDavis]

We use the U.are.U readers for the software we sell. The purpose we use them for is for patients to sign in for their appointments when they see a Doctor. I've been very impressed by them and by Digital Persona.
The one negative - Digital Persona has told us that they don't expect Vista compatible drivers until summer 2007.

[Combat Medic]

The only problem with U.are.U is that they don't meet international standards. Their fingerprints are 512dpi instead of the standard 500. That doesn't sound like much but it means a lot when you are try to match against millions. Also, it has an ugly artifact in the middle of the print.

http://www.combatmedic.net/share/files/uareu.jpg