Thursday, May 31, 2007

Microsoft Surface hands-on

If you're any kind of nerd you probably already caught Microsoft's Surface at this point. We don't have a lot to add with our little photo gallery, but damned if this wasn't one of the coolest technology demoes we've seen in long while -- bugs and all. Oh, and for those wondering, all the trickiness in getting the Surface demo tables to identify the objects resting on it wasn't due to NFC or RFID (yet, anyway); the Surface demo unit instead uses a visual code identifier on the bottom of each object, and behaves accordingly. We want.

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Palm's Ed Colligan: Foleo is the Wii of portable computing

We've seen Jeff Hawkins' -- the synaptic guns behind the Palm Pilot, Handspring, and Treo -- take on the ill-received Foleo. Now we've got the thoughts from his boss, Ed Colligan, CEO of Palm, Inc. As you'd expect, Ed totes the party line with the "mobile companion" spin. He even compares it to the PS3 vs. Wii battle, citing "technology overload" as the mysterious (and massively oversimplified) force that will drive people to Palm's new platform. Ed also told us that Palm will be providing the tools to developers after which he expects, "very quickly, there'll be thousands of applications" for the Linux-based Foleo. Hey Colligan man! We get it, but we still don't think it's a good idea. Though if only for nostalgia sake, we'd love to be wrong. See the video after the break.

Continue reading Palm's Ed Colligan: Foleo is the Wii of portable computing

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Computers Outperform Humans at Recognizing Faces

"According to the recent Face Recognition Grand Challenge, The match up of face-recognition algorithms showed that machine recognition of human individuals has improved tenfold since 2002 and a hundredfold since 1995. 'Among other advantages, 3-D facial recognition identifies individuals by exploiting distinctive features of a human face's surface--for instance, the curves of the eye sockets, nose, and chin, which are where tissue and bone are most apparent and which don't change over time. Furthermore, Phillips says, "changes in illumination have adversely affected face-recognition performance from still images. But the shape of a face isn't affected by changes in illumination." Hence, 3-D face recognition might even be used in near-dark conditions.'"

(Source: Slashdot)

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Microsoft's new "Surface Computing" tables

PopularMechanics has video and details of Microsoft's new "Surface Computing" tables.


The included video includes an interview with Jeff Han, well known for his multitouch demos. Microsoft's solution appears to have significant improvements with wireless interfaction with physical objects.

Gattis took out a digital camera and placed it on the Surface. Instantly, digital pictures spilled out onto the tabletop. As Gattis touched and dragged each picture, it followed his fingers around the screen. Using two fingers, he pulled the corners of a photo and stretched it to a new size. Then, Gattis put a cellphone on the surface and dragged several photos to it — just like that, the pictures uploaded to the phone. It was like a magic trick. He was dragging and dropping virtual content to physical objects. I'm not often surprised by new technology, but I can honestly say I'd never seen anything like it.

The initial plans for the device are commercial ($5,000-$10,000) tables not intended for home users. "People will see it in public spaces like bars and restaurants and want to expand it into other environments."

Apple has incorporated Multi-Touch into the iPhone, which is expected to be launched at the end of June.

Update: Microsoft's official site for "Surface" is now available.

Update 2: Another Video from CNet.

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Friday, May 25, 2007

Fear Of Identity Theft Discourages Consumers From Banking Online

Proactive security measures increase online banking confidence and use, study says By By Deena M. Amato-McCoy Bank Systems & Technology May 08, 2007 For fear of becomming the next victim of identity theft, 150 million U.S. consumers don't bank online, according to experts. But the banking industry could improve profitability by as much as $8.3 billion per year if banks build consumers' confidence in online security, according to the TriCipher Consumer Online Banking Study, conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research (Pleasanton, Calif.) for TriCipher, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based authentication solutions provider.

The study, which was based on online survey responses from 3,349 U.S. adult consumers, reports that 31 million customers would feel safe enough to begin banking online and another 39 million online users would increase their online banking activity if their banks offered free identity protection software. Further, while only 6 percent of survey respondents have been victims of identity theft or fraud, 41 percent -- which translates to more than 88 million U.S. online banking customers -- would change banks or reduce their online service usage if their individual institution was compromised by a data breach, the study says, making identity protection a significant competitive differentiator.

In addition to consumer demand, regulatory mandates and an increasingly hostile landscape are spurring banks' growing attention to online security, according to John DeSantis, CEO, president and executive chairman, TriCipher. As a result, "Institutions are enforcing stronger protection solutions," he says.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo ($482 billion in assets), for example, uses a multilayered, proactive Internet security strategy, according to Michele Scott, VP, Wells Fargo Online. "This approach relies on in-house expertise and the market's best-of-breed solutions," she explains. "We view education, comprehensive risk management and technology as the keys for fighting fraud," Scott continues, noting that the bank's Web site features a Fraud Information Center (www.wellsfargo.com/privacy_security/fraud) that teaches consumers how to recognize tactics used to steal personal information and necessary steps to help protect their accounts. The bank also offers account-activity e-mail alerts.

A Free Ride

Consumers are willing to take extra steps to protect their identities, but they do not want to pay extra for these services. "Many view this as a service they should get automatically," explains Stephen Knighten, statistical analyst, Javelin. "They are willing to take extra steps, but not at an expense."

According to the study, 62 percent of online banking users would download and use identity protection software if their banks provided it for free. Consumers are interested in second-factor solutions, including biometrics (33 percent), one-time password tokens (20 percent) and peripheral device recognition solutions (15 percent). "The key to these solutions' success," says Knighten, "is that they must be convenient."

Wells Fargo keeps "security measures as simple and convenient as possible for our customers," says the bank's Scott. "Much of the new security technology that we introduced last year is transparent to the customer. We take on the responsibility of protecting customer accounts rather than placing the burden on our consumers."

While banks must foot the bill for these security measures, they can recover their investments by cross-selling to the lucrative online banking segment, notes TriCipher's DeSantis. "Banks can target them with profitable lines of credit, mortgages and similar products," he says. "The key is to reinforce trust and loyalty of account holders. ... Unless you have their confidence, they will start to stray."

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