Here's a better way to pay for stuff. By just touching your fingertip to this Pay by Touch biometric system, you can pay for anything in the ten Chicago Shell stations that are now testing the tech. So this means there's no need to reach for that credit card or even your wallet; all you have to do is touch a certain spot on the pump or in the store, and your online credit or debit card account pays for your gas. Add this tech to Shell's multimedia pumps currently deployed in 300 gas stations across the U.S., showing NBC programming (and advertising) as well as news, weather and sports (also with ads) from Fuel Media International, and people might start hanging out at the high-tech gas pumps for the afternoon. But so far, uptake is slow.

Shell's not advertising this pilot program yet, so not many people are using the finger scanners thus far. Sunflower Market is another Chicago store testing out the Pay by Touch system. The company has installed the finger-scanning kiosks in its grocery store, and store manager Debbie Britton says only 2% of the customers have signed up. She says people are wary of the new technology. "I think it scares people. They're more confused about the whole system. Some of them say, 'Well, now the FBI can find me.'"

Fraidy cats. We're thinking people should rest easy with this tech, because unless criminals cut off your finger and take it to the biometric device, this system seems more secure than the current credit card system. We've been waiting for this stuff for years. It's similar to that MobilPass we used at gas stations for a long time, lubricating the entire payment routine with its RFID device stuck to the car's rear window. That's how we like our payment and toilets: touchless. [This Oki Japan has developed software that brings iris recognition security to existing cellphones. Before now, biometric security has meant either hugely expensive military systems or cheap, novelty peripherals. This new development is part of a growing number of practical and affordable solutions. The software can be used to add another layer of security on any device that has a camera of at least 1 megapixel and is claimed to only give one false positive for every 100,000 scans. [What's the point of a pen that can take your signature when you sign? Imagine your credit card being stolen, but if the person who's signing gets their fingerprint taken when they sign, you'll have a record of who the thief was. A stupid example for sure, but there are other, more important uses for the device. Some that take advantage of its authentication features:

Chain of custody documentation, Child care and custody records, Patient consent and HIPAA compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley signoff for corporate SEC filings, US Customs Entry and Biometric Passport Authentication

Not really a big deal for everyday use, but for high security situations like handing off a Metal Gear, you want to make sure the guy you're giving it to really is who he is, and not just Snake in a mask. – Jason Chen

Yeah, this lock has a fingerprint-reading scanner tucked underneath, but we're not sold on the idea that it'd deter a burglar from breaking into someone's apartment. Nevertheless, the $249 lock can register up to 50 different digits and can be used on pretty much any door. It also comes with two back up keys. We'll stick to our For only $199, you can outfit your front door with a biometric fingerprint-recognizing lock that will remember up to 100 prints and is constructed out of stainless steel and PCB sealed with epoxy. In addition to the fingerprints, you can also get in via PIN number or mechanical key, which we guess is a fail-safe if you get amnesia and have your fingers chopped off. No worry of power outage either, there's a battery point where you touch a 9V battery to juice it up temporarily.

We'd love to outfit one of these in our apartment doors so we won't have to do the one-arm shuffle when holding a metric assload of groceries. – Jason Chen

This microdrive/compact flash reader has biometric fingerprint protection so your tasteful self-nudes will never be leaked out to the public—without your permission. The V117 lets you stick in your CF card and access it like a normal reader. Using the PC software, you encrypt all data stored on the card so that it can only be decrypted and accessed if the reader gets the right fingerprint.

Even though others take the MD/CF out, they still cannot read the files that have been encrypted because of our advance "Hardware-like" and software encryption/decryption technology.

Not entirely bulletproof and only "hardware-like", but it should be good enough to keep your photos and other data out of your prying roommate's hands. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Greengine via Red Ferret]