A FINGERPRINT-READING BIOMETRIC SAFE? I tend to be skeptical of these things, but the customer reviews are positive.

UPDATE: A reader emails:

I just bought one of these safes, originally intending to install it where it could be quickly accessed as a self defense firearm storage. It’s a neat safe, but they added some really loud beeps when it is working – which means I will probably add another safe unless I can silence this thing.

The fingerprint reading is simple to program and setup, although I haven’t had it long enough to see its deficiencies. You might want to suggest readers program multiple fingers just in case.

I hate un-silenceable beeps in gadgets. And reader Steve Spangler writes:

I have often wondered how something like that deals with people with jobs like mine.

My figerprints can be either sanded away, or cut by sheet metal edges, or blistered, depending on the particular project or my personal klutziness.

I think I will stick with my dial locked safe for now.

Ouch.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Various readers note that the beeping is a security feature, too — just not for a quick-access gun safe, which this really isn’t. And Charlie Martin suggests that fingerprint-reading is a bad idea, since it gives someone an incentive to cut off your finger. I think these safes are more for discouraging casual pilferage than serious theft, though.