[NBLUG/talk] Searching for near-identical photos?

[Lincoln Peters]

On Monday 07 November 2005 07:36 pm, Bill Kendrick wrote:
> Well, hard or not, KDE gives me an option when I right-click an image:
> "Search for Similar Images..."

That KDE feature uses the aforementioned GNUift as its backend (GNUift uses a 
client/server framework).  I've seen it before, but I've never been able to 
make it work.

> > This is the same kinda thing as teaching a computer to catch a baseball,
> > or catching it yourself.
>
> Well, it _is_ the 21st century.  My computer can talk, check my spelling
> and grammar, connect me to thousands of people all over the world, etc.
> etc. :^)

Then again, look at the computational power IBM had to bring to bear in order 
to defeat Gary Kasparov at a Chess tournament.  Or the physics involved in 
such seemingly-simple things as walking on two feet or typing on a keyboard.

As Aaron suggested, 50 years of computer science isn't enough to make it 
possible for a computer do these tasks that seem to simple to us, let alone 
some of the amazing things described in the science fiction of 50 years ago 
(although I think that Arthur C. Clarke managed to nail Windows XP on the 
head in _2001: A Space Odyssey_; is it just me or is the malfunctioning "Hal" 
reminiscent of the BSOD?).

-- 
Lincoln Peters
<sampln at sbcglobal.net>

Q:	Why did the chicken cross the road?
A:	To see his friend Gregory peck.

Q:	Why did the chicken cross the playground?
A:	To get to the other slide.

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