OSNews

"and I think that technique would be overkill for getting most home user's data"

Ok, you're right, it's more trouble than it's worth when extracting someone's files from a windows PC is usually as easy as using a Windows or Linux liveCD. That is of couse under the assumption that the partition on the drive isn't encrypted (I don't know if Windows will do that, but Linux will). Then you have to ask yourself what kind of information siblings would want from each other's accounts on the same computer that badly. For home use it's probably viable.

I would consider the finger print scanners myself for my desktop because (1) it's in my room, so it's in a fairly safe place, and (2) no one in my house would go to that much trouble to get my files, the only person with the knowhow to even consider circumventing a finger print scanner in my room would be my dad, and I know of nothing he would he have to gain from that.

Finger print scanners for home use are probably safe enough, and for small companies that don't suffer from industrial espionage it's probably not a problem either. Only people with especially sensitive and saught after data would need to worry about finger print scanners, and the wide acceptance of that technology as being ready is scarry for that reason. When fingerprint scanners become used on customers by stores, companies, employers, banks and the government then I'd worry about ID theft, thieves are resourcefull after all, and finger print scanning needs a lot more development before it's safe for those uses imo.