face

According to a recent leak in the parts distribution chain, the iPhone 5 may not have the rumored front-facing LED flash as previously expected.

The photo shows what is purported to be the iPhone 5 camera module next to the camera module from the current iPhone 4. The two parts look extremely similar, though the iPhone 5 module seems to be lacking a front-facing LED flash unit, a feature thought to be a given for the new model.

Reports surrounding the camera for the iPhone 5 have stated that Apple will be using an 8-megapixel Sony unit, upping its current … Read more

FaceGen Modeller is a powerful and surprisingly easy-to-use program that lets users create 3D faces either from scratch or based on photos. Whether you're a beginner or a professional when it comes to using this kind of technology, FaceGen Modeller can help you create impressive, realistic results.

The program's interface is plain and easy to navigate, with its major features arranged in tabs. You can have the program generate a random face and then customize it as desired, or upload one or more photos of an actual face to use as a starting point. You can select faces … Read more

One thing we hate is a program that installs and replaces things on our computer without our permission. It's just plain rude. While FaceSmooch does indeed supply animated emoticons you can use in Facebook chat, its shady tactics prevent us from recommending it.

FaceSmooch overtakes your browser by adding a toolbar and replacing your default homepage without your permission. The homepage resembles the Google homepage, but with a suspicious-looking animated ad at the bottom. The toolbar includes a search field and buttons for YouTube, the weather, a radio, and games. But you can't actually access any of the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Facebook's online privacy woes are well-known. But here's an offline one: its massive database of profile photos can be used to identify you as you're walking down the street.

A Carnegie Mellon University researcher today described how he assembled a database of about 25,000 photographs taken from students' Facebook profiles. Then he set up a desk in one of the campus buildings and asked willing volunteers to peer into Webcams.

The results: facial recognition software put a name to the face of 31 percent of the students after, on average, less than three seconds of … Read more

Swapping between the front- and rear-facing cameras on Apple's latest-generation iOS devices during a FaceTime call is currently a manual process, requiring users to tap an onscreen button. But that could become a thing of the past with a system Apple hopes to patent.

Patently Apple has unearthed a patent application Apple filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January of last year titled "automatic video stream selection." In short, it's a system for automatically swapping between the two captured video streams depending on what's happening in front of each lens. … Read more

One of Apple's latest iPhone commercials is capitalizing on the recent surge of interest in video calling.

One of its two new "If you don't have an iPhone" commercials focuses on the smartphone's FaceTime video-calling feature. The ad, which popped up on YouTube yesterday, shows how the feature lets people video-chat with anyone else with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

The timing of the ad might just be impeccable, considering video calling has been in the headlines lately.

Last week, Facebook announced a deal with Skype that brings video calling to the social network's … Read more

Some cool new gadgets aren't sold in stores. The D*Face Spray Paint Skateboard Interface took a year to create and won't be found on the shelves of your local skate shop.

Let's break down the D*Face Spray Paint Skateboard Interface. D*Face is a London-based street artist. Spray paint and skateboards are self-evident. The interface part refers to a remote control system that can trigger paints cans attached to the underside of skateboards.

This technology could easily be used for less-than-noble purposes, but D*Face created and harnessed the devices in the name of art. The canvas was a skateboarding pool in Southern California. The pool had previously been a site for a D*Face project that covered it with piles of painted skulls.

According to a behind-the-scenes look in Concrete Disciples skateboarding magazine, the chosen spray paint was a very fast-drying enamel. The cans are strapped under the deck with Velcro and are controlled by wireless remote.… Read more

It is our opinion that one of the biggest reasons that MySpace lost its popularity was the fact that it let users customize their profiles, turning the pages into unreadable, barely functional Web design disasters. We are thus wary of anything that threatens to disrupt the relatively functional design of Facebook. Fortunately, FaceFetti for Chrome is the best of both worlds; it lets users add customizations to their Facebook pages, but they're not disruptive and they're only visible to that particular user.

Like most Chrome extensions, FaceFetti installs easily. It appears on Facebook as an additional menu to … Read more

Sometimes seeing is believing. The FaceNiff Android app, released earlier this month, allows anyone to snoop on traffic on Wi-Fi networks and even hijack Facebook accounts. Sounds bad, but this video demo drives the message home by showing just how easy it is to do:

The app, which works on Android phones that have been rooted, offers "one-touch hacking," says Kevin Mahaffey, founder and chief technology officer at mobile security firm Lookout. The technique isn't new--it's akin to a mobile version of the Firesheep Firefox extension released last year--but it makes it super easy and mobile.… Read more