Improved Facial Recognition on Google+

By Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Technology News
July 25, 2011

Google acquired facial recognition software specialist Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition (PittPatt) Co., which was born from research at Carnegie Mellon University.

Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition (PittPatt), which makes facial recognition software that identifies users from images and video, was launched in 2004 by Henry Schneiderman, who performed his research both as a student and faculty member of the Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute.
Facial recognition software can be an extremely sensitive topic, as Facebook learned in June when its social network users learned the company was using facial recognition to improve its photos product.

The PittPatt team explained in a note on its Website that it would use its computer vision technology and talent in applications that range from simple photo organization to complex video and mobile applications at Google.

"At Google, computer vision technology is already at the core of many existing products (such as Image Search, YouTube, Picasa, and Goggles), so it's a natural fit to join Google and bring the benefits of our research and technology to a wider audience," the PittPatt team wrote.
Thus, a Google spokesperson declined to say in what capacity the company would use PittPatt's software or talent to bolster specific Web services.

Google spokesperson told Nautilus Technology News: "The Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition team has developed pioneering technology in the area of pattern recognition and computer vision," and "We think their research and technology can benefit our users in many ways, and we look forward to working with them."

Moore Criticism & Protest Escalate Over Google+ Accounts Deletions

Above image depicts a presonal page from Google Plus.

By Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Technology News
July 25, 2011

We noticed an issue that had been boiling for several weeks and bubbled over this weekend, as Google apparently accelerated deletions of Google+ accounts because of the site's requirement that members use their real names.

Google+ members started complaining about this situation about a week after Google launched the Social Networking site in late June. And over the past three weeks, various Google executives have addressed the issue.
On July 11, Google+ Community Manager Natalie Villalobos tackled the complaints in the site's official discussion forum, reiterating the policy and clarifying the procedure for appealing a deletion.
Still, gripes have continued appearing on the official Google+ discussion board and in other forums like Twitter and personal blogs. The outcry reached a crescendo this weekend when Google zapped the accounts of some high-profile users.
The complaints fall into two categories. There is one group of Google+ users who claim they're using their real names but apparently got their accounts deleted because they have a non-traditional names or their names contain foreign-language characters or letters.
Then there is another camp of people who want to use pseudonyms because they do not want to reveal their real-names for different reasons.
The controversy echoes a concurrent one with public figures and companies that have set up Google+ business profiles, which currently are forbidden and which Google is also deleting. Google hopes to permit business profiles at the next months.
Google maintains that Google+'s content-sharing features and privacy settings are better and easier to use than Facebook's, and that this will prompt a massive defection of Facebook users.
Facebook remains by far the most popular social networking site in the world, with 750 million members and counting. In the next months you could use their new Messenger or Video-Calling powered by Skype which will enable you to send video messages.

NIS, Dallas: New Tablet distribution will Grow

By: Marco A. Ayllon
Nautilus Science and Technology News
February 5, 2011

We estimating that Tablet shipments will grow by a factor of 12 by 2015, according to a report released late Thursday by NIS Dallas.
PC tablets plus Media Tablets, are expected to grow from 17.4 million units in 2010 to 242.3 million in 2015, the report said.

The article states that following the launch of the iPad, a wave of "Honeycomb"-powered Android devices will propel tablets forward, but that consumers expecting Windows tablets will have to wait. Over 80 tablets were reportedly shown at CES; Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook characterized the Android tablets shown there as "vapor".

"The significant growth of the tablet market from 2010 to 2015 will be driven by three successive waves of growth," said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at IHS. "The first wave, which is hitting in 2010 and 2011, was created by the arrival of the iPad and the ensuing tsunami of demand for the device.

The second wave, arriving in 2011 and 2012, will be propelled by a deluge of iPad competitors, particularly Android-based models. The third wave, which will turn up in 2013, will consist of a flood of models based on the Windows operating system that will expand the reach of tablets into traditional computer markets."

NIS broke down the tablet market into media tablets, like the iPad, which are designed to consume media by any operating system. Those tablets, expected to grow from 17.4 million last year to 202 million units and up in 2015, are expected to dwarf those that will run a PC-like operating system, which the research house equated with Windows. Those PC tablets will grow to 39.3 million units in 2015, up from 2.3 million units in 2010, the report said.

Although the iPad virtually launched the current generation of tablets, NIS predicted that it would lose its majority position by 2013, when Android tablets were more established and Windows tablets are expected to emerge. Alexander also said that tablet makers using the Android OS are pushing features that Apple has yet to include, including 4G.

"At least three of the major Android tablets released at the Consumer Electronics Show in January featured built-in support for a 4G wireless communications technology: long-term evolution (LTE)," said Francis Sideco, principal analyst, wireless communications at IHS. "With iPad only supporting 3G for now, it will be interesting to see the outcome of the battle pitting the allure of technology—i.e. LTE—against the appeal of usability—i.e. the iPad's benchmark user friendliness."

Mr. Alexander also said that there's a possibility that Apple could release a MacOS tablet as well. "The year 2013 will mark a critical juncture, as the tablet market turns into a battleground between media tablets using mobile operating systems, and PC-type tablets employing the Windows operating system," Alexander said. "Add to this mix the competition from ever-improving smart phones, and the mobile device market will get very interesting."

ked web browsing on Chromium

RockMelt is a new Social Web Browser hopping to get more users:

Nautilus Science and Technology News
By: Marco A. Ayllon
November 7, 2010

Tonight RocketMelt formally launched a self-titled web browser that it hopes will make social browsing common. Interested on a idea of frequent sharing much like a group, the browser's always-on connection to Facebook both makes it possible to share any page through a single button but also to follow others. The app always lists a chosen list of friends on a sidebar and supplies a quick glance at status updates, detailed feeds and Facebook chat for when both contacts are online at the same time.
Web hits and feeds are also faster, as a second sidebar provides access to favorite sites with a Safari-style notification when new content has come in. Search is simplified with search results that auto-populate and the option of live previews of the results before switching over. It can follow and refine search behavior over time to become more relevant, although the company stressed that it doesn't push the information online.

The Co. used a plataform and closely on Google's open-source Chromium engine and should compete with the most recent web browsers in speed and accuracy.

RockMelt is currently in a testing phase but is accepting invitation requests through a Facebook connection for both Mac and Windows users. It hasn't given an estimate for when the finished browser should be available.

Amazon Kindle UK Pre-Orders ‘Sold Out’ Until Sept 4th

Nautilus Science & Technology News

By: Marco A. Ayllon
August 3, 2010


It looks like Amazon are going to have a monster hit on their hands with their new Kindle wireless reading device, as it seems that the first batch of UK pre-orders has already sold out due to overwhelming customer demand.


Amazon initially promised an August 27th delivery for anyone pre-ordering the compact, cut-price (£109/£149- U$129-179) eReader, but customers visiting the Kindle homepage are now seeing this message:

Temporarily sold out. Order now to reserve your place in the queue


Due to strong customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out. Order now to reserve your place in the queue. Orders are prioritised on a first-come, first-served basis. Orders placed today are expected to dispatch on or before September 4.

Outselling Hardback Books


Amazon boasts that the earlier Kindles have been the most-wished-for, most-gifted products on Amazon, with the eReaders receiving the most 5-star reviews and becoming the No.1 bestselling item for two years running.

The US Kindle store currently offers more than 630,000 titles, and the company recently announced that over the past three months, the number of e-books being sold on Amazon.com had raced significantly ahead of hardback sales.

Speaking to USA Today, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos predicted that the company will, “surpass paperback sales sometime in the next nine to 12 months. Sometime after that, we’ll surpass the combination of paperback and hardcover.”

Early Review

Nautilus Information Systems bagged an early review model, and praised the eReader’s overall design, speedier navigation and build quality, delivering a very positive verdict:

The Amazon Kindle 3 made an unusually quick, and positive, impression. The new Kindle’s solid build quality, improved design, integrated store, and cross-platform transportability (books are usable on any Kindle reader app, including iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and PC) all add up to a winner poised to top the pack.

We Want!


We’re certainly convinced, and have placed an order – so expect a review as soon as we can get our hands on it!

Microsoft Patches 'Critical' Crack in Windows Operating System

Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft

Nautilus Science & Technology News
By: Marco A. Ayllon
August 3, 2010


Microsoft released an emergency patch for a "critical" crack in Windows operating system software that could let hackers take control of computers over the internet.

"The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if the icon of a specially crafted shortcut is displayed," the US technology giant said in a security bulletin ranked 'Critical.' "An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user."

Computer users commonly use shortcuts in the form of on-screen icons they can click to instantly awaken favoured applications.

The Windows flaw lets hackers booby-trap such icons with malicious software that could let them control machines from afar.

Microsoft routinely releases software patches the second Tuesday of each month but resorts to making patches available "out of band" when it deems situations dangerous.

"Several families of malware have been attempting to attack this vulnerability," Microsoft Trustworthy Computing response manager Christopher Budd wrote in a blog post.

"We firmly believe that releasing the update out of band is the best thing to do to help protect our customers."

Some attacks have reportedly been directed at power plants and other vital infrastructure. People using computers running on any version of Windows software were urged to apply the update immediately.

Google Fixes Image Search to Eliminate Clutter, Will Improve Search Results

Nautilus Science & Technology News

By: Marco A. Ayllon
July 20, 2010


Google's image search service will be getting a revamp this week, aimed at making the search function easier to use, and to provide more relevant results. The redesign is essentially the service's first major makeover since Google Images went live in 2001.


At that time, only 250 million images had been catalogued by the Mountain View, Calif. search company. Now over 10 billion images are indexed. With such an increase in volume, obviously the search functionality will need to improve, as does the way the site displays ever larger results.

"We hope [the changes] not only make it easier to search for images, but also contribute to a better aesthetic experience," product manager Nate Smith said. "We see images as a major source of inspiration, a way of connecting the world--and their growth is showing no signs of slowing down."

Such is the focus of the changes. The image page will take on a decidedly Bing-like look, where text in the results are eliminated, and image results are spaced more tightly together. Also "infinite scroll" has been introduced: more results would load as the user scrolls down, up to 1,000 images per page.

Interactivity is also increased. Hovering over an image will give the user a larger preview, along with information on that specific image and possible similar ones. Clicking on it takes the user to a preview of the image overlaid on a cached version of the page that it came from.

At an event at Google's Mountain View campus Tuesday, officials said other features will be on their way, such as timeline-based searching of images. It also said that only 10 percent of users would be able to see the changes starting today: it expects a full launch by the end of the week.

With the new Google Images comes a new advertising format, which for the time being would appear exclusively on the Images section. The new option would allow advertisers to place a thumbnail image beside their ad text.

It is not clear whether the search giant has plans to expand this format elsewhere.