viewdle

Pay $7 to promote your Facebook status?

Thursday's CNET Update never forgets a face:

Today's tech news roundup begins with a look at Facebook. The network is testing a feature that lets you pay to get your posts seen by more friends. Facebook first began testing this concept in May and it's already in 20 other countries. But it's rolling out to some U.S. users now, and the idea is to pay to show off big news or get more attention to an event. Facebook hasn't set an official price for this, but CNET staffers with the feature are asked to … Read more

Viewdle could lead to multi-user profiles for Android tablets

When I read the news this morning that Motorola had acquired facial and gesture recognition company Viewdle, the first thing that crossed my mind was, "Here comes multi-user profiles for Android."

Why? Because it's the next logical step for the platform, and one that could help differentiate it from Apple. That, and it's something for which I'm really hoping. Assuming I read the tea leaves properly, future versions of Android will introduce the capability to unlock a device with your face that leads to individual profile settings. … Read more

Google confirms it's buying facial recognition firm Viewdle

The rumors have been confirmed, Google's Motorola Mobility is indeed acquiring the facial recognition technology company Viewdle.

"Motorola Mobility today announced that it has acquired Viewdle, a leading imaging & gesture recognition company," a Motorola spokesperson told CNET today. "Motorola and Viewdle have an existing commercial agreement and have been collaborating for some time. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed."

CNET reported on Monday that Google was about to close a deal to buy Viewdle, which is a Ukrainian maker of facial recognition technology that automatically tags photos. Apparently the acquisition had been in … Read more

Google buying face recognition firm Viewdle

Google is close to completing its deal to buy Viewdle, a Ukrainian maker of facial recognition technology that automatically tags photos, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The acquisition, which has been in the works for more than a year, is expected to close this week, the person said.

Representatives from Google and Viewdle declined to comment.

The move makes sense for Google because Viewdle's technology provides a way for users of Google+, Android, Picasa, and other services on a range of devices to easily (even, automatically) tag photos of friends. Viewdle's SocialCamera app automatically tags … Read more

Viewdle makes those horrid in-text links useful with celebrity mugs

You know my stance on bad e-cards, and in the same vein comes my dislike for in-text ad links that you find on some blogs. I'm not talking about Snap's little Web site previews with its Snap Shots service, which people either love or hate, but the IntelliTXT stuff--the kind where you accidently moved your mouse near one and it opens up an ad that doesn't go away for several seconds. Ryan Block from Engadget had a good missive on the matter back in August of last year, and I have to agree with the guy that it ruins the reader experience.

With that said, I'm really digging Viewdle's new Name Widget service, which will cross check any names you mention in a blog post and serve up a tiny little video morsel of the person's face when you hold your cursor over his or her name. The video clips in question come from larger pieces of video that have been run through a facial recognition database and cropped down to fit in an area the size of your thumb. Anyone can add to their blog posts or Web site free of charge with a few lines of JavaScript.

The best part is, to actually trigger the video you need to hold your mouse over the link for a good 3 seconds before the video starts playing, so your reading experience won't be too bothered if you make the occasional brush. If you end up actually clicking the name link, Viewdle will kick you over to Reuters, which has a bunch of links to videos where the person appears. Each link jumps you right to that spot. However, Viewdle doesn't require you to link back to its Reuters page, which means you can jump the link wherever you please.

The service works with a variety of popular blogging tools like TypePad, Blogger, and WordPress. However, LiveJournal, Facebook, and MySpace users are out of luck since these sites don't allow JavaScript from outside sites.

You can give it a spin on the names I've added after the break.