Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Identix (IDNX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: R. Jaynes who wrote (19271)	11/27/2000 3:27:15 PM
From: David	Respond to of 26039

Rick, from what I can tell by the eTrue website description, this seems to be a very limited, Internet-based desktop-only "logon" system, and not at this point a transaction securing system. Of course, IDX hasn't implemented anything itself yet. eTrue says that "Once a person has registered with eTrue he can logon from any location that has an eTrue client software installed." However, I don't see how that is possible if the client machine doesn't already have the eTrue biometric hardware installed as well. And the Veridicom product, "its award winning finger reader" that eTrue references, appears to be the $189 retail price "5th Sense" peripheral, good for adding another device to your desk, together with the free video camera eTrue will perch on your computer. That's a fairly large footprint solution that is both relatively expensive for eTrue to implement and limited to the desktop marketplace. You also need to fold in Veridicom's $20 annual maintenance charges to end users in there somewhere. When I looked at eTrue's comparison of the various biometrics, its bias toward its own product over its partner's biometric was clear. Facial recognition was described as the "easiest to use with the most universal appeal" with the only drawback being it can't distinguish between [identical] twins. I can think of a number of other drawbacks. Meanwhile, eTrue considers fingerprints as having the drawbacks that "Some countries outside the US do not allow the use of fingerprints or some cultures do not like to use fingerprints." It also has the unstated drawback of having a lower profit margin for eTrue, since they have to resell the Veridicom product. I think eTrue is trying to score points for being a "first mover," even if they have moved with an unattractive package. Identix, on the other hand, is aiming from the start at a universally available transactional security system with major partners. I assume that's eTrue's ultimate goal, as well, but they aren't anywhere near that now.