Slashdot report on Skype-ready phones from Motorola. These are devices that are designed to operate over the Internet, thereby making phonecall virtually free.

…one could use Skype for outgoing calls near wi-fi hotspots (essentially free) but default on GSM for outgoing calls in areas that lack coverage…

This takes us a step closer to communication that is purely-Internet based.

Pictures are much stronger than words, so here is a presentation of the spherical Longhorn (the next release of Windows) interface versus a Linux equivalent. These desktop environments provide an illusion that the user is ‘surrounded’ by the workspace. Click the images to enlarge.

On the left: Screen-shot of Metisse for FVWM

On the right: Screen-shot from a Microsoft meeting/demo in Chicago

A test that I found on Dvorak Uncensored scores multiple-choice questions and determines your level of geekiness. Have a go at the Nerd test. I got 89 myself.

Bill Gates arrested in his younger days (photo in public domain)

Appearance Models (AM) and Active Appearance Models (AAM) are well-established techniques, which can be used to model objects, synthesise images and interpreting images. You can see visual examples (videos) of Appearance Models, Active Appearance Models, and their use in Tracking at the Web site of their primary inventor, Dr. Tim Cootes. His site also offers excellent software for non-commercial use (see screen-shot below).

The Cell processor is shown on the right (image from AP via the BBC). Chips of similar scale can hold gigabytes of storage space.

Will the entire human knowledge fit in a matchbox one day?

One of the notable pioneers of modern computing and mathematics died in February 8th 48 years ago. I found writings relating to his death quite mystifying:

… his mind, the amulet on which he had always been able to rely, was becoming less dependable. Then came complete psychological breakdown; panic, screams of uncontrollable terror every night. His friend Edward Teller said, “I think that von Neumann suffered more when his mind would no longer function, than I have ever seen any human being suffer.”

Von Neumann’s sense of invulnerability, or simply the desire to live, was struggling with unalterable facts. He seemed to have a great fear of death until the last… No achievements and no amount of influence could save him now, as they always had in the past. Johnny von Neumann, who knew how to live so fully, did not know how to die.

If anyone is interested in research that I do (model-based image analysis and image registration), there is a 2-page abstract in print (PDF format, 1.8 MB). My work is described in pages 16-17.