Computers Can Spot Your Face in the Crowd

It looks like 2009 could be the year when facial recognition technology will start to take off. The idea is quite simple – use the computer to match the faces in a photo against a database of known faces to find specific photos. Like many innovations, there are multiple the potential applications for this technology ranging from consumer uses to police/military uses. While this technology could be used to help catch you – hopefully the police are not looking for our readers and we’ll focus on the fun applications coming your way.

Read the full article here.

Facebook Does Not Respect Its Customers

Recently, Facebook changed its homepage. From a personal perspective, I don’t like the change. From a business perspective, I applaud Facebook for embarking on change.

At the same, time I continue to be appalled at how Facebook makes changes.

For a company whose product is all about helping people to communicate, it appears they don’t know how, or simply don’t want, to communicate with their customers.

Click here to read the whole article and comments at Internet Evolution

IBM-Sun Would Reshape Internet’s Future

Last week, amidst the bombardment of grave economic forecasts, came the news that IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) and Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: JAVA) are discussing a possible merger. While both vendors are well known for their hardware, each of these companies also has a substantial software business. Perhaps more important than that is the role that each plays in Internet technology,and how a combined entity might compete against that other Internet titan, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT). More on that in a minute.

While a combined IBM-Sun would be a hardware-server giant, and that could be the area that creates an antitrust issue, the Internet impact could be even bigger. Consider these key elements of Internet technology: Java, Open Source, and LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python) and how much control and influence the IBM-Sun business would have.

Visit Internet Evolution to read the whole scoop.

The mathematics of technology

In the spirit of Hari Seldon, I recently replied to this Internet Evolution blog post looking at how to describe changes in technology with mathematical formulas.

• record player > cassette player
• cassette player > track player
• CD player > cassette player
• CD player > record player
• MP3 player > CD player

• cell phone > car phone
• cell phone >pager
• cell phone 2008 = cell phone 2007 + PDA

• (cell phone 2008 + MP3 player) = smart phone (android, iPhone etc.)

• over-the-air black and white TV > over-the-air radio
• over-the-air color TV > over-the-air black and white TV
• cable TV > over-the-air color TV
• (cable TV + internet) will soon = tele-internet

• (tele-internet + smart phone) = one electronic device that does it all

These formulas are mostly lagging – looking at historic events.  Isaac Asimov in the Foundation Series books created the idea of psychohistory, which was a form of math that could predict the future in probabilistic terms.  Maybe someday….

Small Business Ready to Embrace Web 2.0

Last week at SXSW, BatchBook software announced its concept of a “small business Web.” It’s relatively simple — a way for small businesses to have greater access to, and ease of use with, their data by integrating several SaaS (software as a service) applications. BatchBook is a CRM software designed specifically for small businesses. Using Web 2.0 technology, they have assembled a Web of services such that you can sync your BatchBook contacts with your Gmail contacts; track your outstanding Freshbooks client invoices from within your BatchBook CRM system; and even do something with all those business cards you pick up at a conference by sending them into Shoeboxed and having them made available to you to use in your CRM system and in Gmail.

Check out the full article at Internet Evolution.