As part of the company's ongoing efforts to promote new features in Windows 8, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) this week spilled the details of a new authentication system called "picture password." The system essentially involves users selecting a picture and using it as the template to create a series of gestures in place of a traditional alphanumeric password for user authentication. You can read the details of how it works here.

The arguments in favor of using picture password are compelling; unlike biometric solutions, there is no additional hardware cost inherent in implementing picture passwords. Moreover, the system is perfect for use on a tablet device, which Windows 8 is optimized for. And unlike other systems of authentication that involve connecting the dots or scribbling random lines on the screen, the selected picture serves as a very vivid reminder of exactly where to position the various gestures.

Moreover, Zach Pace, a manager at Microsoft's You Centered Experience team, produced a couple of tables to compare the complexity of alphanumeric passwords and picture passwords. According to the numbers provided by Pace, an easy-to-remember three-gesture picture password offers a few times more complexity than a 6-character password created using the a-z characters.

This represents an astounding improvement, especially when one considers how most smartphones or tablets implement a simple passcode of just 4 to 5 numbers.

Not everyone agrees that picture password is as secure as it claims to be however. Kenneth Weiss, the inventor of RSA's SecurID token, has publicly compared the new feature to a Fisher-Price toy and not a serious choice for secure computer access. Another detractor also pointed out how a picture password is far more susceptible to "shoulder surfing" than an alphanumeric password.

Then again, there is no denying that a picture password offers a somewhat "fun" element to the very mundane task of remembering yet another password. And when you get down to it, a picture password does appear to be a rather elegant and smart solution for use on tablet devices, while offering better security than, say, facial recognition.

Do you see picture passwords making their way into various tablet platforms next year? I would love to hear your opinion. - Paul Mah  (Twitter @paulmah)

This will be the last edition of FierceCIO:TechWatch for this year. I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued support in the form of your readership and the feedback that I've received. Happy holidays, and see you again in 2012.