Digital technology | microchipped hands

Digital technology | microchipped hands: "WHEN Amal Graafstra wants to check email, he signs on to his computer with a flick of the wrist. Inside the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, a microchip the size of a grain of rice verifies his identity through an electronic reader and unlocks the PC.

The IT expert can unlock his car or start his motorcycle the same way. But the ''killer app'' comes into play when he returns from work, perhaps with groceries in each hand. ''As soon as I stand by the door, I can just nudge my hand against the reader panel, which is right by the doorknob, and it unlocks,'' he says. No fumbling or juggling, no aiming a key in the dark. He simply walks in."