Crrrreeeeeeeeeeeppppppyyyyy....

sweet mamajama... um, for me the embedded video player must be like, oh, 4000 pixels wide (winXP, IE)

Worst application of Biometric technology to date. I mean come on, there is no more obvious and less invasive solution to tracking what people eat at lunch?

lolvideosize

@mfaerber:
Yeah... it's for the new 20:1 aspect ratio monitors...

LOL!

If they started doing this at my school, I'd be screwed...
Since instead of using my lunch money, I don't eat and just keep it to save up for various gadgets (currently saving for an eee)...

@aec007:
Clearly its for this... [gizmodo.com]

Ugh, leave the kids alone.

It's OK to eat crap as long as you exercise properly. And face it, monitoring the food of the kids is the PARENTS' JOB.

At least it's a private* school. I'd hate to think they are using tax dollars on stuff like this.

I'm assuming that this Catholic school is private.

Ok, this is taking things too far. Like the author says, you can bet and believe they're going to use the prints for any vandalism etc.

Sure, the cafeteria has to provide food that will sell, but just don't make fries such an appealing alternative to the main dish(es).

Also limiting vending machines and access to them helps, a lot.

@blinklink11:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA !!

this is a great use of technology and should be implemented everywhere from restaurants to maybe even your own kitchen. Then this information should be sent to insurance companies and they can adjust your rates according to what you eat.

Well I would first of all never agree to them having my fingerprint in a database and second I wouldn't eat the crap food there anyways.

@K-SO: Same here lol!!

So they offer crappy food, then give parents some hyper-technological mechanism to try to get them not to eat it? Why not just offer non-crappy food, and use the money for more in-class brainwashing?

this isn't much different from what they have now (at least for my kids). We set up an account online using their student number, add money to it and they buy their lunch just by giving their student number. Then we can go online and see everything they buy. We can also put limits on what they get, such as 1 desert or no candy. All this does is remove the student number and replace it with a finger scanner. Try putting this in an elementary school and see how long until all the sticky fingers make it stop reading. I like how it is now better.

This reminds me of when Nathan Barley takes claire to the bar where you order by putting your finger into the table and it analyzes the mineral content ordering FOR YOU.

[www.youtube.com]

Reminds me of "The Island"

"Parents are then given the information in hopes that they will use it to help children make better choices."

Meaning "Parents will now be able to beat their children when they find out they traded their bagged lunch for a pack of Ho-Hos."

@mfaerber: looks fine on my comp. (mac tiger, safari)

Would it be cheaper to just remove the candy machines, and not sell crap at the school?

i'd just pour some pyrex over the tips of my fingers and burn my fingerprints off

No unlimited juice for you!

Yeah, my school (Highcrest Middle School,IL) did that for about 2 weeks in the begginging of the year, It was a disaster. First tons of us had to stay after school to be scanned because it did not work, then at lunch the systems were down almost every day, then the way we put money into our accounts (which was the only good thing about it) we would pay online, which worked quite good. Now we just use our student ID's and it works absolutly great.

It's interesting how they didn't interview any students with dissenting views... I wonder what company provides the technology and whether or not they have any relations with the news program or the station.

I really don't think this is that big of a deal. I didn't read the link but from what giz says its a tool FOR PARENTS to help control what their kids eat. I see no problem with that. The finger print reader makes it easier to implement. No remembering a pin number, just a simple swipe of the finger. Sounds quick and easy.

@ry_ry: It'll be a cat/mouse between students and faculty. Kids will start using latex gloves for any "extracurricular" activities. Then the school will start embedding RFID into kids. :-)

"I'm sorry Dave, I can't let you have that Twinky."

I'm the Network Manager for a school district, and we already use software like this--have been doing so for years, as have most other districts. We're not using biometrics yet, but we track what kids eat by their ID number.

One of the great things about the system is that it will alert lunchroom employees at the check-out line if a kid is trying to buy food that contains something he's allergic to.

Biometric scanners like these truly don't have any forensic value. They don't store a fingerprint; they store an encrypted numeric representation of a fingerprint. To be of forensic value, one would have to be able to crack the encryption and convert the number to a print. Not feasible.

i went to a catholic school. from K through 7th grade. ironically i had more trouble with food when I went to public school... i mean, somebody took my lunch number and started using it to buy their lunch. wouldnt happen with biometrics.......

interestingly enough, some lunch lady that went to my church and knew who i was saw a kid using my number and saved my parents a lot of money.

I realize they are minors, but is it ever too early to start teaching responsibility for ones self and ones own actions? Forcing the child to hide what they eat (or not eat) has lead us to both extremes of anorexia and obesity at epidemic levels. Working with children to make wise decisions is better for the child than living in a police state and when children are given a say in the matter they take ownership of the decision, producing much better life long results.

I can just see ONE kid selling candy bars out of his car in the parking lot. Which, according to Nutbastard, you need to see him weigh out on his IPhone Scale to make sure he isnt ripping you off. Hurry Dude, I need my chocolate fix!

Good, let's stifle childrens freedoms some more. Why don't we give them no choices at all. That way they can't ever make mistakes and learn from the consequences of their own actions. This way they can blame everyone else when they get fat, do poorly in school, get arrested, etc.

Umm. Wouldn't it just be easier if parents pack lunch for their kids?

It would be easier if the Federal government put financial rewards for schools that don't serve soda, ice cream, cookies, and chips. They do it to make money, and most public schools are stretched thin with their budgets. If the Feds offered to compensate them for the junk food profits all would be good.
Give a kid money and they can buy cookies for lunch or a Salisbury steak, guess which they buy? Schools don't put Coke or Pepsi machines in because they want to, they do it because Coke and Pepsi make them a great deal on the profits. Compensate them for it and the problem goes away. Just a matter of getting a president who really wants to pay for doing the right thing.