Todd Bishop, GeekWire
Todd Bishop is GeekWire's co-founder and editor, a longtime technology journalist who covers subjects including cloud tech, e-commerce, virtual reality, devices, apps and tech giants such as Amazon.com, Apple, Microsoft and Google. Follow him @toddbishop, email todd@geekwire.com, or call (206) 294-6255.
This New Facial Recognition Extension IDs Celebrities in Videos — and It’s Actually Pretty Useful
Jun 03 2020
RealNetworks is releasing a browser extension that automatically identifies celebrities and other public figures in YouTube and Netflix videos, using the same facial recognition technology that the company originally developed for use with live surveillance video at schools, casinos and airports."StarSearch by Real" doubles as a video navigation tool, pinpointing the places the celebs appear in the videos, and letting users quickly jump to those spots.
<p>No, it's not going to revolutionize the web, <a href="https://25yearsofstreaming.com/" target="_blank">like the company did 25 years ago</a> with its early streaming media technology. But I've been trying out a preview, and it's a surprisingly handy little tool, albeit in a pretty narrow set of circumstances.</p><p>So far, I'm primarily using it to skip directly to the portion of a news segment that features the person I'm interested in hearing from.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MDM5Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzg0NDg5NH0.DYW-syBmwZpUSMBGPjmqy6ivgX6sQo07p0sFDSIcD5I/image.png?width=980" id="b634a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e701ed88172510c9879795182f038021" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Realnetworks" />
</p><p>StarSearch is available starting today as a Chrome extension for Windows and Mac, and as a feature of the new RealPlayer 20/20 software for Windows PCs.<br/></p><p>It's not available via set-top devices or smartphones. But the way RealNetworks CEO and founder Rob Glaser sees it, when it comes to video, the PC is back.</p><p>"A super interesting thing has happened in the last three months, which is the PC has yet again moved to the center of video in the context of the pandemic," Glaser said on a recent video call where he and other RealNetworks showed the new products. "It's really been a Renaissance period for PCs."</p><p>Although the Chrome extension is limited to Netflix and YouTube at launch, the company says it will expand to more video apps and streaming services over time.<br/></p><p>"We figured those were the two best places to start, but we're going to branch out support to pretty much any major video source on the web," Glaser said.</p><p>The release comes at a time of heightened concern over facial recognition technologies due to issues of privacy and bias. This consumer application, focused on celebrities, isn't likely to raise those kinds of alarm bells, but it's an example of how pervasive facial recognition is becoming in many technology products.</p><p>It's the first time RealNetworks has brought AI into one of its consumer products. It's also the first expansion of the company's SAFR facial recognition technology beyond its core market in live video surveillance. The company <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2018/realnetworks-debuts-facial-recognition-software-k-12-schools-raising-ethical-questions/" target="_blank">launched SAFR two years ago</a>, initially for schools, before expanding to public health and public safety.</p><p>StarSearch is a free extension. It brings up thumbnail celebrity bios that link to a RealPlayer "Discover" site that includes ads, but the main benefit to RealNetworks would be if StarSearch were to spur more RealPlayer downloads. RealPlayer these days is used largely for downloading, organizing and playing videos. RealPlayer 20/20 is a Windows app that comes in both free and premium versions, starting at $24.99.</p><p>In the StarSearch browser extension, the facial recognition is limited to celebrities and other notable people, but people can use it in RealPlayer 20/20 to tag and find family members and friends in their own videos.</p><p><a href="http://www.danrayburn.com/" target="_blank">Dan Rayburn</a>, a streaming media analyst and consultant who got a preview of the technology, said he could envision StarSearch ultimately expanding beyond celebrities, even identifying inanimate objects such as a company name, a type of car, or a sports team in a video.</p><p>"Over time, it's going to become more and more personalized, where you have more options and you can pick what you want that tag to really be," Rayburn said.</p><p>RealNetworks says StarSearch differs from other offerings, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/adlp/xray" target="_blank">such as Amazon X-Ray on Prime Video</a>, by using AI to identify people on the fly, rather than manually indexing videos in advance.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM3MDM5NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDg5MzU1MH0.InlNa3Ds_5-IJENkHezWC5KP0RNQ6Hmd5kCy6-qWaAk/image.png?width=980" id="139a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cbac8ea49fe0faeb585ab50a17681882" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Realnetworks" />
</p><p>Glaser, who worked at Microsoft before starting RealNetworks, said the interaction between the SAFR and StarSearch teams reminds him of how Microsoft Windows became better back in the day because Microsoft's internal Excel and Word teams were building on the platform and pushing Windows to improve.<br/></p><p>"Having a team of people that are really relying on SAFR, putting it through the paces, pushing it, has actually made SAFR better," he said. "So hopefully we'll get some synergies like that out of this too."</p><p>Asked if RealNetworks secured the StarSearch trademark from the company that holds the rights <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Search" target="_blank">to the old Ed McMahon talent search show</a>, Glaser noted that it's specifically called "StarSearch by Real."</p><p>RealNetworks' Consumer Media division, which includes RealPlayer, generated $3.5 million in revenue in the first quarter, about 8% of the company's overall revenue. RealNetworks <a href="https://investor.realnetworks.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/RealNetworks-Announces-First-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank">posted a net loss of $4.6 million</a>, with $19 million in cash on hand as of the end of the quarter, after <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/realnetworks-ceo-rob-glaser-putting-10m-money-back-company/" target="_blank">Glaser invested $10 million in the company in February</a>. The company <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/publicly-traded-seattle-tech-stalwart-realnetworks-receives-2-87m-federal-relief-loan/" target="_blank">received a $2.87 million loan</a> through the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program in April.</p><p><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/realnetworks-browser-extension-uses-facial-recognition-id-celebrities-videos-actually-pretty-useful/" target="_blank"><em>This story first appeared on GeekWire.</em></a></p>
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Bill Gates is leaving Microsoft's board, 45 years after co-founding the company with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Gates also announced that he is stepping down from the board of Berkshire Hathaway, led by his friend and philanthropic partner Warren Buffett.
<p>Gates, 64, wrote <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/focusing-my-time-bill-gates" target="_blank">in a post on LinkedIn</a> that he is leaving the boards "to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change. The leadership at the Berkshire companies and Microsoft has never been stronger, so the time is right to take this step."</p><p>However, he hasn't severed his ties with Microsoft completely. <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2020/03/13/microsoft-announces-change-to-its-board-of-directors/" target="_blank">The company says</a> Gates will continue to serve as a technology adviser to CEO Satya Nadella and other Microsoft leaders.</p><p>Microsoft "will continue to benefit from Bill's ongoing technical passion and advice to drive our products and services forward," Nadella said in a statement, crediting Gates for founding the company "with a belief in the democratizing force of software and a passion to solve society's most pressing challenges."</p><p>Shares of Microsoft are <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/stockdetails/nas-msft/fi-a1xzim" target="_blank">down 3 percent</a> in after-hours trading, following the announcement.<br/></p><p>Gates is still closely associated with the company in the mind of the public, but in reality he has been gradually unwinding his connections to Microsoft as he has shifted his focus to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his Gates Ventures private office.</p><p>"With respect to Microsoft, stepping down from the board in no way means stepping away from the company," he wrote in his post. "Microsoft will always be an important part of my life's work and I will continue to be engaged with Satya and the technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company's ambitious goals. I feel more optimistic than ever about the progress the company is making and how it can continue to benefit the world."</p><p>Today's announcement comes 20 years after Gates stepped down as Microsoft CEO, after a bruising antitrust battle with U.S. regulators battered his reputation and left the company struggling to compete with a new generation of technology giants. Gates continued working at the company until 2008, when he left his day-to-day duties as chief software architect.</p><p>He remained Microsoft chairman until 2014 and had been on the board since then.</p><p>In the meantime, both Microsoft and Gates have experienced a renaissance. The company has risen back into the ranks of the world's most valuable companies. Gates has emerged as an outspoken leader in global health and science, sounding the alarm over the potential for a devastating pandemic and helping to fund potential solutions many years <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-warns-coronavirus-impact-dramatic-globally/" target="_blank">before the current spread of the novel coronavirus and the disease COVID-19</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-steps-microsofts-board-historic-milestone-45-years-founding/" target="_blank"><em>This story was originally reported on GeekWire.</em></a></p>
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Gates Foundation Explores Ways to Boost COVID-19 Detection, Reportedly Including At-Home Tests
Mar 09 2020
A report says the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is preparing to fund at-home testing kits for the novel coronavirus in Seattle.
However, the Gates Foundation cautions that the plans aren't final.
The kits, to be available in the "coming weeks," would quickly identify hot spots where the disease is spreading, according to The Seattle Times. The newspaper quotes Scott Dowell, leader of coronavirus response at the Gates Foundation, as saying it the initiative "has enormous potential to turn the tide of the epidemic."
<p>Dowell cautions in the story, however, that there are many details to work out, and a launch date hasn't been set.</p><p>In a statement to GeekWire, the Gates Foundation said, "<em>The Seattle Times</em> article today addressed the potential to adapt the Seattle Flu Study to support local public health agencies in the greater Seattle area in detecting COVID-19. Our team has and will continue to actively explore ways that we can contribute to local response through the application of the study. While we're working quickly with our partners to determine what's possible, details of this support have not yet been finalized."</p><p>The <a href="https://seattleflu.org/faq" target="_blank">Seattle Flu Study</a> is a two-year old research initiative, based at the University of Washington and funded with $20 million from Bill Gates' private office. Partners in the initiative are the Brotman Baty Institute, UW Medicine, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Children's.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">COVID-19 could be a once-in-a-century pandemic, but the good news is that there are steps we can take now to slow its impact and help us respond more effectively when the next epidemic arrives. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> <a href="https://t.co/7alFsXL27h">https://t.co/7alFsXL27h</a><br/>— Bill Gates (@BillGates) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1233449330348085249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>The Gates Foundation has committed $100 million to the global response to COVID-19, and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/uw-medicine-ramps-new-coronavirus-lab-test-mass-distribution/#:~:text=Also%20today%2C%20the%20Bill%20%26%20Melinda,capacity%20to%20detect%20the%20virus." target="_blank">last week announced another $5 million</a> "to help public health agencies in the greater Seattle region enhance their capacity to detect novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in King County, Snohomish County and other surrounding communities."<br/></p><p>The Microsoft co-founder has been warning for years about the risk of an unchecked epidemic that could result in upwards of 10 million deaths. He says this could be that once-in-a-century pandemic." As it turns out, the U.S. epicenter is his hometown of Seattle.</p><p>The Washington State Department of Health's <a href="https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus" target="_blank">daily update</a> on Sunday listed 83 confirmed cases and 17 deaths for King County from COVID-19.</p><p>According to the Seattle Times report, people using the home kits would swab their noses, send back samples, and get a response in one to two days. They would fill out online forms about where and with whom they've been. Health officials will use that information to get a better sense for where coronavirus is spreading. The program would initially conduct 400 tests a day.</p><p>The idea of at-home COVID-19 testing kits was also floated this weekend by researcher and entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg, <a href="https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-national-medal-of-technology-20160519-story.html" target="_blank">a pioneer in next-generation DNA sequencing.</a> He acknowledged "all the issues with regulatory approvals I'll face in many countries," and <a href="https://twitter.com/JMRothberg/status/1236651597498851328" target="_blank">tagged the Gates Foundation as part of his thread on the topic</a>.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Thinking about a low cost easy to manufacture home test kit for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Coronavirus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Coronavirus</a>. Outline: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nasal_swab?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nasal_swab</a> (Q-tip) w/ freeze dried reagents for isothermal <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DNA</a> amplification with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> primers. Colorimetric readout by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iOS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iOS</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Android?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Android</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/App?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#App</a> w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/geolocation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#geolocation</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HIPPA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HIPPA</a> compliant reporting. <a href="https://t.co/P4PojWmC8o">pic.twitter.com/P4PojWmC8o</a><br/>— Jonathan Rothberg 🧬🦋 (@JMRothberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/JMRothberg/status/1236289160253767681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/gates-foundation-explores-ways-boost-covid-19-detection-reportedly-including-home-tests/" target="_blank">This story originally appeared in GeekWire. </a></p>
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