DAILY CHALLENGE THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2011
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Facebook facial recognition technology sparks renewed concerns recognition technology to speed up the process of labeling friends and acquaintances that appear in photos posted on Facebook. The company’s rollout of the technology has raised eyebrows in some circles. Internet security consultant firm Sophos published a post on its company blog on Tuesday saying that many Facebook users are reporting that the site has enabled the facial recognition option in the last few days without giving users any notice. “Yet again, it feels like Facebook is eroding the online privacy of its users by stealth,” wrote
Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos. Facebook, which announced in December that it planned to introduce the service in the United States, acknowledged on Tuesday that the feature was in fact now more widely available. When asked about the Sophos blog post, Facebook said in an emailed statement that “we should have been more clear with people during the roll-out process when this became available to them.” The statement noted that the photo-tagging suggestions are only made when new photos
are added to Facebook, that only friends are suggested and that users can disable the feature in their privacy settings. The company did not respond to requests for further comment. While other photo software and online services such as Google Inc’s Picasa and Apple Inc’s iPhoto use facial recognition technology, the use of the technology on an Internet social network like Facebook, which counts more than 500 million users, could raise thorny privacy issues. Marc Rotenberg, President of the nonprofit privacy advocacy
group Electronic Privacy Information Center, noted that Apple’s iPhoto software gave users control over facial recognition technology by letting them elect whether or not to use the technology with their personal photo collections. Facebook’s technology, by contrast, operates independently, analyzing faces across a broad swathe of newly uploaded photos. Rotenberg said such a system raised questions about which personally identifiable information, such as email addresses, would become associated with the photos in Facebook’s database. And he criti-
cized Facebook’s decision to automatically enable the facial-recognition technology for Facebook users. “I’m not sure that’s the setting that people would want to choose. A better option would be to let people opt-in,” he said. Last year the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint about Facebook’s privacy practices with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which Rotenberg said was still pending. He noted that he planned to take a close look at Facebook’s new announcement involving facial recognition technology.
Web companies test Internet’s readiness for future
slow connections or attempts timing out. Less than 1 percent of Internet traffic uses IPv6, but Internet registries, which manage the registration of domain names, say more computers are trying to connect on the new protocol. Danny McPherson, chief security officer of network infrastructure company Verisign, expects interest to grow quickly as new IPv4 addresses run out. Asia-Pacific Internet registry APNIC is expected to be the first to exhaust its supply. McPherson expects momentum to pick up as network equipment providers such as Cisco and Juniper finally see a market opportunity. “It’s more broken than people realize,” he said. “People need to realize and move on.”
By ALEXEI ORESKOVIC SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook has quietly expanded the availability of technology to automatically identify people in photos, renewing concerns about the privacy practices of the world’s top social networking service. The feature, which Facebook automatically enabled for Facebook users, has been expanded from the United States to “most countries”, Facebook said on its official blog on Tuesday. Its “Tag Suggestions” feature uses facial
By GEORGINA PRODHAN LONDON — Web companies including Google, Facebook and Akamai are joining forces on Wednesday to test the Internet’s readiness for a future in which billions more people and devices will be connected. The pool of Internet addresses used for most traffic today is near exhaustion, but adopting IPv6 — a new Internet protocol with 4 billion times as many addresses — has been slow despite the fact
that it is more than a decade old. Publishers and Internet service providers have been waiting for the other to make the first move, and workarounds including translation services and address-sharing have become common. But the prospect of large numbers of modern IPv6 networks coming online — especially in the developing world where systems based on the previous protocol, IPv4, are not widespread — is beginning to push organisations into action. “What’s at stake is
the future scalability and utility of the Internet,” says Matthew Ford, technology program manager of the Internet Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to the open development of the Internet, which is organizing World IPv6 Day. “IPv6 is fundamentally about allowing the Internet to scale to meet the expectations and demands of a global population of 7 billion, coupled with increased expectations of how many devices are expected to be able to connect to the Internet,” he says.
IPv4’s specifications were drawn up in 1981, when the population of the world was 4.5 billion and the personal computer age was just dawning with the launch of the IBM PC. It allowed for 4.3 billion IP addresses. Today, more than 2 billion people are online, many with multiple computers and smartphones. By 2020, 50 billion devices may be connected as smart meters, connected TVs and remote health management proliferate. For 24 hours on Wednesday, websites
McDonald’s May U.S. sales hurt by high gas prices McDonald’s Corp. reported a lower-thanexpected sales increase at established stores in the United States in May as high gas prices and unemployment crimped its business. The world’s biggest hamburger chain, whose shares fell 1.8 percent in premarket trading, said sales at U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months rose 2.4 percent. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a 2.8 percent rise. U.S. sales account for 35 percent of the chain’s business. “The unemployment report on Friday showed the economy is growing more slowly,” said
Matthew DiFrisco, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets. “We’re looking at a May number that was influenced by higher gasoline prices.” Globally, same-store sales rose 3.1 percent. McDonald’s said same-restaurant sales in Europe, where the chain gets about 40 percent of its total sales, also fell
short of estimates. They were up 2.3 percent, below the 4.2 percent expected by Wall Street. Comparable sales were up 4.3 percent in its Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) unit, beating the 3.4 percent estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. McDonald’s said the gains were led by a strong perfor-
mance in China. McDonald’s last month said it raised U.S. prices by 1 percent in March and that more price increases were in the works. It said prices in Europe were up by the same amount and that it planned to raise prices in China. The company has said it expects food costs to rise by 4 percent to 4.5 percent in the United States and Europe this year. The company’s Dollar Menu and other “value” offerings have resonated with consumers around the world who are coping with elevated unemployment rates and rising costs for groceries and fuel.
with more than 1 billion combined visits a day will join distribution companies to enable IPv6 on their main services. Yahoo, Limelight Networks and Verisign are some of those taking part. It will be the first global test of IPv6 “in the wild.” Previous tests in Germany and Norway showed positive results. It is estimated that only one in 2,000 users will experience problems, but the aim is to identify unexpected problems and to raise awareness of the issue. The collaboration of many top global Internet players is likely to prevent any single one being blamed for problems that may include
Contractors will be required to comply with EEO, D/M/WBE and other federal and state procurement laws, regulations and Executive Orders.
MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT (NYCT)
RFQ #: 5482, Due Date: 7/6/11 Title: Repair, Replacement and Testing of Petroleum Tanks and Associated Piping at Various Authority Locations RFQ #: 8196, Due Date: 7/15/11 Title: C-80259 - Station House and Structural Rehabilitation - 8 Locations, Staten Island Railroad, Borough of Staten Island RFQ #: 6592, Due Date: 7/22/11 Title: Solid Casting Polymer Type: RFI BIDS: Opening Date: 6/28/11, #7745, Fluke meter; #8017, Carton; #8022, Monitor; #8040, Brake block; #8041, Mirror assy; #8047, Mirror assy; # 8077, Circuit bds. Opening Date: 6/29/11, #7625, Bearing; #7751, Card battery equalizer; #7755, Switch; #7772, PCB assy; #7846, Oil; #7747, Terminal, #7748, Brush, carbon. Opening Date: 6/30/11, #4303, Intelliview software; #7753, Pin; #7797, Brush, carbon; #7798, Contact; #7975, Strap connection; #8236, Battery; #8238, Display. Opening Date: 7/1/11, #6956, Pallet; #8257, Valve; wiring, baseplate; #8267, Pump. More detailed information & the MTA-NYCT contact for the above solicitations can be found on our website at www.mta.info/nyct/procure/nyctproc.htm
MTA BRIDGES AND TUNNELS (B&T)
Sealed Bids for the below solicitations must be received by B & T at the Bid Suite, 3 Stone Street, NY, NY 10004. Sealed Bids will be publicly opened at the above address on the dates/times indicated. Bid #: 11-MNT-2885 – Maintenance and Repair of Aerial Lift Equipment Located at Various Authority Facilities Bid Due Date: 6/30/11 at 3:00 PM. The project description can be found at www.mta.info/bandt/procure/rfppage.html
MTA METRO-NORTH RAILROAD (MNR)
MNR will receive sealed bids for the following. Bids must be submitted on inquiry forms provided by MNR by the specified date and time. Bid documents are available at the Procurement & Material Management Department, 347 Madison Ave, NY, NY 10017, 212-340-3223. INQUIRY #, DESCRIPTION, (DUE DATE, TIME, CONTACT): INQ#: 3086, Reconstruction of the Harlem River Lift Bridge South Fender System (7/12/11, 2 PM, Brian Bell, Tel: 212-340-2414 email - bell @ mnr.org).