Facial-recognition startup grabbed by Facebook

INTERNATIONAL / 18 November 2016, 3:00pm
AFP

Jav Student

File picture: Luong Thai Linh


San Francisco - Facebook on Wednesday said that it has bought facial-recognition startup FacioMetrics, potentially using the technology for photo or video effects to better challenge rival Snapchat.

Jav Attackers

“How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow people to express themselves in fun and creative ways,” a Facebook spokesperson said in an email reply to an AFP inquiry.

“We’re excited to welcome the FacioMetrics team who will help bring more fun effects to photos and videos and build even more engaging sharing experiences on Facebook.”

Silicon Valley-based Facebook did not disclose financial terms of the deal to buy FacioMetrics, which was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

FacioMetrics was founded in 2015 and specialises in using artificial intelligence to give facial image analysis capabilities to applications that run on smartphones.

The technology has potential in a host of applications, including those focused on animation, measuring audience reactions, and virtual or augmented realities, FacioMetrics founder and chief executive Fernando De la Torre said in a release.

“We're taking a big step forward by joining the team at Facebook, where we'll be able to advance our work at an incredible scale, reaching people from across the globe,” De la Torre said.

Using FacioMetrics to let users of Facebook, or subsidiaries such as Instagram, have fun with photos or video could be a counter-move to those kinds of features offered in “filters” at vanishing message service Snapchat.
Jav CARIBBEANCOM
Parent company Snap estimates it has more than 100 million users globally of the service for sending videos, images and text messages which vanish after being viewed. Some reports say it generates 10 billion video views per day.

Since trying unsuccessfully to buy Southern California-based Snapchat several years ago, Facebook has turned to cloning popular features.

AOL trims jobs ahead of Yahoo buy

INTERNATIONAL / 18 November 2016, 5:00pm
AFP

Jav Torture

File picture: Andrew Kelly


San Francisco - Verizon-owned internet firm AOL said on Thursday it is trimming jobs as part of a restructuring plan making priorities of mobile, video and data.

AOL did not disclose the number of layoffs planned, but a source close to the matter estimated 500 positions would be involved, man of them administrative functions such as finance, marketing and human resources.

Jav Heydouga

The move comes as Verizon warily moves forward with a deal to buy the core operation of internet pioneer Yahoo with the intent of using the US telecommunication network as a platform for online properties and services.

About 1 500 people have been added to AOL as a result of deals done by the company during the past year, chief executive Tim Armstrong said in an internal memo regarding the restructuring.

“As we have settled into those changes, there are a number of areas that require consolidation to improve operations and limit the amount of hand-offs in our business processes,” Armstrong said.

“This will impact a small percentage of the global workforce.”

AOL operates a number of online properties including the Huffington Post and TechCrunch news sites, and is known for its ad-tech services for web clients.

The source close to the matter told AFP that the cuts were not directly related to the pending acquisition of Yahoo by Verizon in a deal valued at $4.8 billion.

Verizon said when the deal was inked earlier this year that it planned to combine Yahoo and AOL with an aim of each building on the strengths of the other.
Jav Attackers
The acquisition was expected to close next year, but the recent revelation that Yahoo was hit by a massive hack before the deal was made has fuelled speculation that Verizon may try to cut the purchase price or even cancel the contract.

As Verizon executives were moving ahead pending the outcome of an investigation into the hack, and have warned that what they learn could change how the matter proceeds.

“We are not going to jump off a cliff blindly, but strategically the deal still does make sense to us,” Verizon executive vice-president Marni Walden said at a technology conference in California.