A Computer That Recognizes You

I went by Lenovo’s booth to check out their new laptops, and it turned out that their laptops checked me out instead. That’s because the laptops use your face, in addition to your password, as a security measure. As soon as you approach, the webcam takes your picture. Then face-recognition software called VeriFace compares your pic to photos of authorized users. If they match, you can log into the computer. If they don’t match, it’s a double whammy: Not only can you not log in, but the PC saves your pic, so the real owner can see who’s been snooping around her laptop. The tech showed up on a couple of Lenovo’s business-y ThinkPad laptops last year, but is about to make a much bigger showing now that Lenovo’s releasing its first consumer laptops for the U.S.—Lauren Aaronson

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