'Minority Report' Software Coming Soon

An employee demonstrates the use of a data glove to navigate a map on a computer screen at Los Angeles-based software company Oblong Industries' offices in Washington in June 2012. The software behind the film "Minority Report" -- where Tom Cruise speeds through video on a large screen using only hand gestures -- is making its way into the real world.

'Minority Report' Software Hits The Real World -- France24/AFP

he software behind the film "Minority Report" -- where Tom Cruise speeds through video on a large screen using only hand gestures -- is making its way into the real world.

The interface developed by scientist John Underkoffler has been commercialized by the Los Angeles firm Oblong Industries as a way to sift through massive amounts of video and other data.

And yes, the software can be used by law enforcement and intelligence services. But no, it is not the "pre-crime" detection program illustrated in the 2002 Steven Spielberg sci-fi film.

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My Comment: Just thinking of the game applications that are now possible is enough to make me salivate.

Face-Recognition System Can Sort Through 36 Million Faces Per Second

Video: Face-Recognition System Can Sort Through 36 Million Faces Per Second -- Popular Science

Japanese surveillance software can locate you, wherever you are.

Diginfo brings us news of this Hitachi Kokusai system that can monitor video feeds from around the world in real time, scanning for a particular face. When it finds what it's looking for, it closes in to provide footage of what the person has been doing previously and what he or she is doing next.

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My Comment: In short .... you can run .... but if a camera catches your face .... you cannot hide.

Creating Mobile Apps With A Point And A Click

Break From Code An app made using the PhoneGap development tool Brian Klutch

From Popular Science:

Creating mobile applications for Android and the iPhone isn’t just for code-writing geeks anymore.

Even with the huge number of mobile apps already available, cellphone screens are always awaiting new ideas from innovative developers. If you have your own idea for the perfect app, whether for a wide audience or just your own use, you’re in luck—you no longer need to be a deft programmer to produce it. There are now a number of app-generating tools on the Web that will enable you to bring your concept to life by clicking instead of coding. You may have even downloaded some of the resulting mobile apps already, like Inside Trader, a strategy game built with a tool called PhoneGap, or the Spinal Tap iPhone app, made at MobileRoadie.com. The best app-building option will depend on your price range, the platform you prefer (iPhone, BlackBerry or Android) and the functions you want. Some will even navigate the processing of submitting the app for you. Here’s a guide to help you choose the right tool.

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Looking Beyond The Open Source Battle

Mitch Kapor. Photograph: Kim Kulish/Corbis

From The Guardian:

Software pioneer Mitch Kapor thinks Microsoft's war against open source is over – and that it must be seen in its historical context.

For years, the battle between the open source movement and Microsoft bordered on religious warfare. The two sides fired increasingly aggressive shots at one another – from the software goliath's boss, Steve Ballmer, calling open source "a cancer", to the man behind Linux, Linus Torvalds, suggesting that he might "destroy Microsoft" without even trying.

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Report: 41 Percent of Personal Computing Software Is Pirated

From Threat Level/Wired Science:

The Business Software Alliance is taking the offensive, sending out millions of takedown notices the first six months of the year in a bid to combat piracy.

Reason: if the BSA is to believed, about 41 percent of all software on personal computers is pirated – socking the industry with some $53 billion in losses. That’s the size of the proposed 2010 budget for the state of Illinois.

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