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Opera Launches Facial Gesture Capability

cstrep writes "Eight years ago, Opera introduced Mouse Gestures as a way to speed up your interaction with the browser, and focus on what's important: Content. In 2005, Voice Navigation was introduced, and more recently we've worked with Nintendo to create a browser that takes full advantage of the 'Wiimote' and later, the touchscreen in the DSi. Today Opera introduces Face Gestures, a revolutionary technology designed to make interacting with Opera easier on computers with cameras. Face Gestures lets you perform frequent browsing operations with natural and easy to make face gestures. By using an internal technology dubbed 'Face Observation Opera Language,' we are able to recognize pre-determined facial expressions and match them to commands on the Opera browser."

199 comments

  1. Goatse? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Will it automatically close the tab when you screw up your face in disgust?

    April fool?

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    1. Re:Goatse? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yes. In addition, if your eyes pop out of their sockets and you start to drool, it automatically finds more porn like the stuff you're looking at.

    2. Re:Goatse? by Alereon · · Score: 1

      It will automatically rickroll you with the hope that the memes cancel eachother out!

    3. Re:Goatse? by powerlord · · Score: 1

      Can you chose which version you get? (I always liked the Obama Rickroll mashup, certainly effective for driving other thoughts from your head)

      --
      This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
    4. Re:Goatse? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Adult Web sites: Users visiting Web sites that contain adult content sometimes make unconscious facial expressions. If Opera keeps opening Speed Dial and Zooming In and Out, please be aware that this not a bug. It may be useful to disable Face Gestures for a better experience. Also remember that wiping your cache is recommend after visiting untrusted websites.

    5. Re:Goatse? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But what if I wanted to see those goatse pictures?

    6. Re:Goatse? by elfprince13 · · Score: 1

      Hopefully that gesture would be recognized for all pages. A better feature would be to have image recognition and just block Goatse :p

    7. Re:Goatse? by Tharsman · · Score: 1

      Definitively April's Fool. Out of curiosity I went to the site to download it and the link said that I already had it... I'm running Safari! :P

    8. Re:Goatse? by PFactor · · Score: 1

      I would pay for a browser that does this.

      --
      Don't believe anything I say. I crash test crack pipes for a living.
    9. Re:Goatse? by Jake+Griffin · · Score: 1

      "Face Observation Opera Language"... F.O.O.L... hmm... :) I honestly don't think this technology is too far off however. I worked on a senior project in college where we made a security system with the entire interface being your eyes. We had infrared cameras track eye movement and if the user of the system looked at a particular location for a period of time, it would zoom a camera at that point. If they looked toward a border of the screen, it would pan in that direction. It was VERY intuitive to use and we got a lot of positive feedback when doing user testing. It was a very fun project.

      --
      SIG FAULT: Post index out of bounds.
    10. Re:Goatse? by Lyrael · · Score: 1

      Then I assume your face wouldn't screw up in disgust, hence not closing the page. Very simple, really.

    11. Re:Goatse? by bhtooefr · · Score: 1

      It used to be $29 for Opera, IIRC...

    12. Re:Goatse? by rts008 · · Score: 1

      If Opera keeps opening Speed Dial and Zooming In and Out, please be aware that this not a bug. It may be useful to disable Face Gestures for a better experience.

      That's why I switched to firefox, and surf pr0n sites with the Penis Enhanced Gestures extension. PEG it, man!
      Besides, it's disturbing to find yourself in an intense surfing experience and suddenly find yourself face to face with Grandma 'cause you inadvertently opened your IM app.

      Also remember that wiping your cache is recommend after visiting untrusted websites.

      That ain't all you have to wipe!

      Okay, okay...I'm going!

      --
      Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
    13. Re:Goatse? by master5o1 · · Score: 1

      I'm wondering about the touchscreen in the DS/DSi...What happens when you start stroking the goatse, or anything else for that matter.

      --
      signature is pants
  2. Awesome by Spazztastic · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Now you no longer have to scramble to X out of whatever awful shock site you have been sent to! It will automatically recognize the grotesque look on your face and close it!

    --
    Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    1. Re:Awesome by 2.7182 · · Score: 1

      For slashdot readers such sites do not exist.

    2. Re:Awesome by HypotenuseMan · · Score: 1

      Well, so you hope. They could decide to be mean and send you to more shock sites.

      --
      Doing the things a hypotenuse can.
    3. Re:Awesome by rnaiguy · · Score: 1

      It would actually be kinda cool if it would minimize your browser whenever you looked/walked away, and restore it when you look back.

    4. Re:Awesome by orclevegam · · Score: 1

      If everything was responding correctly I suppose, but if your system is lagging and your like me and normally have something like 30 tabs open that could be a bit annoying. Besides this is a april fools prank.

      --
      Curiosity was framed, Ignorance killed the cat.
    5. Re:Awesome by Retric · · Score: 1

      They exist slashdot readers have fnord learned to block them out. Think of it like a well tuned spam filter fnord for the mind.

  3. Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by erroneus · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ...may as well not read slashdot today. Am I the only one who truly dislikes April 1st and all the crap that people do "to celebrate"?

    1. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Spazztastic · · Score: 4, Funny

      ...may as well not read slashdot today. Am I the only one who truly dislikes April 1st and all the crap that people do "to celebrate"?

      Translation: Get off my lawn.

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    2. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by N1AK · · Score: 1

      No, loads of other people also get inexplicably wound up with joke news being posted for one day out of every 365.24. Personally I can't say I'd miss April fools if it went, there is such a bad shit vs funny ratio in 'fools' but fortunately a sense of perspective stops me really giving a damn, YMMV.

    3. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by pzs · · Score: 0

      Aside from stupid newspaper articles, I also hate the practical jokes of April fools.

      Maybe I have no sense of humour, but playing pranks or practical jokes on somebody strikes me as far more sadistic than funny. Oh look! I've completely humiliated my friend by making them look like a complete moron! How hilarious!

      No lawns available today.

    4. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Spatial · · Score: 1

      You think it's any more reliable any other day? Barely...

    5. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So instead of engaging in such timewasting activities, you're posting on Slashdot? pr0

    6. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by hal2814 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My personal rule for practical jokes is that they are fun provided nobody involved would mind being the victim. Based on what I'm reading, you're too thin skinned to enjoy them so I'd neither play one on you nor expect one from you. But there are plenty of people on this earth who don't associate a small joke at someone else's expense as abject humiliation or a sign that the victim is a moron. I've been on both ends of practical jokes. To me, being the occasional victim is worth the enjoyment others get from them. And pulling one off is worth the effort given the victim is a good sport about it.

    7. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut up, grandpa. Go tie a new onion on your belt.

    8. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by elrous0 · · Score: 0, Troll

      At least it only comes once a year. I just hope they don't expand it into a whole month, like they did with Negro History Week. By the end of the month people will have to resort to just farting in each other's faces.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    9. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      I would rather be caught masturbating than using Opera with face gestures.

    10. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by maxume · · Score: 1

      It isn't just Slashdot, it is Internet Jackass Day (with apologies to Andy Baio: http://waxy.org/2004/04/internet_jackas/ ).

      I think the editors here probably won't ever sink to the depths that was OMG Ponies! ever again, as that lasted 24 hours longer than was funny (and probably had a noticeable impact on traffic).

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    11. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Yvan256 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Good news everyone! That's one of the gestures! - Professor Farnsworth

    12. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Kryis · · Score: 2, Funny

      If it is recognising facial gestures, you probably will get caught

    13. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Invicta{HOG} · · Score: 1

      I personally look forward to Slashdot's April Fools jokes each year. There's often some quite funny self-deprecating humor they report on...

    14. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by shish · · Score: 1

      ...may as well not read slashdot today

      So... don't? It's not like one day of not-slacking will hurt *that* much :P

      --
      I mod down anyone who says "I will be modded down for this", regardless of the rest of their comment
    15. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      posting for achievement!

    16. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      For the idiot who marked me troll, I guess someone doesn't know his Black History Month history. It really did start out as "Negro History Week." I guess not everyone cares enough about black history enough to know that wasn't a joke. Fucking racists.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    17. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by s_mencer · · Score: 1

      I think you meant to log in with your other screen name: "BuzzKillington" before you made this post.

    18. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by scc · · Score: 1

      well put

    19. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by LordEd · · Score: 1

      Can't say if you're the only one, but i think 'OMG Ponies!' will still be remembered for a while. I prefer having a number of fake articles today.

      If thinkgeekdidn't have a list of fake products for today, i'd be very disappointed.

    20. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by GigaHurtsMyRobot · · Score: 1

      Are you the only one without a sense of humor? Maybe...

    21. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Clipless · · Score: 1

      But everything I read on the internet has to be true

    22. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by Captain+Spam · · Score: 1

      I was going to go with "STOP THAT LAUGHING! One of these days you're going to wind up DEAD! Just like your idiot hyena cousins!!" But you did it in fewer words and didn't require a movie reference.

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    23. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by ReverendLoki · · Score: 1

      On the bright side, your browser will now be able to recognize when you are .. "finished", and close those pages for you (well, after bookmarking, according to how you set your preferences).

      This will turn out to be a great idea, until the first virus hits it designed to recognize certain facial gestures, and automatically upload the images to flickr.

      For some reason, this isn't a good day to pick up any actual news...

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    24. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by russotto · · Score: 1

      Every day is Internet Jackass Day.

    25. Re:Oh yeah, it's April 1st... by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      My personal rule for practical jokes is that they are fun provided nobody involved would mind being the victim.

      Well, maybe if nobody would mind a week later... once they don't want to kill you any longer. ;)

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
  4. Yeah, yeah by SciBrad · · Score: 1

    So it begins; wonder how long before fake stories on other news sites start up?

    1. Re:Yeah, yeah by Lord+Lode · · Score: 1

      I've only seen remarkably few such sites so far...

  5. I love facial gestures by Em+Emalb · · Score: 1

    Except for the part where the browser "went potty" all over me.

    Stupid teletubbies site. Who knew big purple "things" dancing = orgasm to Opera?

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
    1. Re:I love facial gestures by PitaBred · · Score: 1

      Will it close if you fart in it's general direction?

  6. I was wondering when it would start.... by ptbarnett · · Score: 1

    For a short while, I thought maybe Slashdot would forego the usual orgy of April Fool's jokes this year.

    1. Re:I was wondering when it would start.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      you mean like last year?

    2. Re:I was wondering when it would start.... by raitchison · · Score: 1

      I still miss the OMG Ponies! layout.

    3. Re:I was wondering when it would start.... by cyxxon · · Score: 1

      Yeah, especially now that even the original story does not show the OMG PONIES style anymore. Someone at Slashdot should rebuild that one just for giggles and link it to the original post. As in, I wanted to see it again just now to remind me how awesum etc it was, and found the story, but well, it didn't make sense. "We changed our layout to attract more females", and it just looks like always... meh.

    4. Re:I was wondering when it would start.... by clone53421 · · Score: 1

      I, sadly, wasn't here to experience that. Was it anything like CmdrTaco's user profile? Ugh...

      --
      Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
    5. Re:I was wondering when it would start.... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      I missed it as well, and only because it fell on a Sunday that year. I don't have enough time to read slashdot at home; I only have the down time at work to do it waiting for code to compile. (Office sword fighting is for when everyone's machines are locked up due to problems with the remote mounted user directories.)

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  7. And so it begins... by Teese · · Score: 1
    "How will it end?"

    "In fire"

    --
    "I'm a Genius!"*


    *Not an actual Genius
    1. Re:And so it begins... by GR|MLOCK · · Score: 1

      or ice...

    2. Re:And so it begins... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You do not understand.

      I have always been here.

  8. FOOL by BaatZ · · Score: 5, Informative

    Face Observation Opera Language == FOOL. quite obvious but a pitty, i'd like this feature !

    1. Re:FOOL by 91degrees · · Score: 1

      Yes. Too obvious. We're looking for April Fools as it is.

      I suspect it won't be long before someone does try to implement a working version. Might even work. The proposed gestures do seem reasonably intuitive.

    2. Re:FOOL by Em+Emalb · · Score: 1

      You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha...*falls over dead*

      --
      Sent from your iPad.
    3. Re:FOOL by wild_quinine · · Score: 1

      Face Observation Opera Language == FOOL. quite obvious but a pitty, i'd like this feature !

      I wouldn't have a problem with these April Fool's jokes if they were actually funny/unpredictable. But they keep dragging out the same tired old shit... it's like a Nintendo conference.

    4. Re:FOOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From the manual:
      Face Gestures is compatible with most types of facial hair and haircuts. But if your face is covered with more than 25% of facial hair, recognition errors may occur. Please note that handlebars and goatees are compatible independently but if combined recognition will decrease. At the moment soul-patches crashes the browser and it refuses to relaunch, we are looking into this problem. Bushmen beards and emo haircuts are not supported.

    5. Re:FOOL by imamac · · Score: 1

      Great movie...

    6. Re:FOOL by IBBoard · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it was a rather obvious one. Also, you'd be a bit screwed if you had an uncontrollable facial twitch! /me wonders how many other people post for the sake of racking up the "April Fool" achievement

    7. Re:FOOL by Scutter · · Score: 1

      Most of the time, I can't even get mouse gestures to work reliably. Can't even imagine trying to get this to work.

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    8. Re:FOOL by sobachatina · · Score: 1

      wonders how many other people post for the sake of racking up the "April Fool" achievement

      I would guess quite a few. :)

    9. Re:FOOL by fiordhraoi · · Score: 1

      Definitely a bit on the unsubtle side today.

    10. Re:FOOL by luke2063 · · Score: 1

      /me wonders how many other people post for the sake of racking up the "April Fool" achievement

      One more here...

    11. Re:FOOL by RobertLTux · · Score: 1

      well lets see of the readers of slashdot subtract the ones now dealing with the conficker worm or the ones that just decided to stay off the net on this day and the ones that have an account but don't post

      oh several thousands

      face not a good input device keys hurt to much

      --
      Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
    12. Re:FOOL by Wizard+Drongo · · Score: 1

      It *could* actually work. We're already seeing natural gestures in touch. If you rig up a camera to watch the facial movements of a user, you could specify various movements to do things. Blink - close tab. Blink twice - close window. Wink with left eye - new tab kinda thing.

      --
      The truth shall always be free: Boris Floricic is Tron.
    13. Re:FOOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot must have some pretty fucking stupid submitters and admins. I can't believe that they actually fell for this and posted it.

    14. Re:FOOL by Mr+Abstracto · · Score: 1

      ...and another.

    15. Re:FOOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they keep dragging out the same tired old shit... it's like a Nintendo conference.

      How dare you?!

    16. Re:FOOL by electricbern · · Score: 1

      Actually the functionality is being implemented so the April Fools joke is that you don't believe it because you think it is an April Fools but it the end it is true and the joke is on YOU! Or not.

      --
      alias possession='chmod 666 satan && ls /dev > il && tail daemon.log'
    17. Re:FOOL by DCstewieG · · Score: 1

      I picture a school report being done in the future on facial gesturing citing this as one of the early applications. Whoops!

    18. Re:FOOL by hurfy · · Score: 1

      I am sure we are all above that kind of behavior, aren't we?

    19. Re:FOOL by Chlorine+Trifluoride · · Score: 1

      How many /. readers even have Conficker?

    20. Re:FOOL by Jake+Griffin · · Score: 1

      I don't know about Conficker, but I took a Hepatitis test the other day and passed with flying colors! I got an A, two B's and a C! (Sorry, stole that one from Will Ferrell)

      --
      SIG FAULT: Post index out of bounds.
    21. Re:FOOL by Zotdogg · · Score: 1

      Sweet - April Fool's Achievement! Does anybody know which thread I can go to go get the full set of Epic Poster achievements?

    22. Re:FOOL by WhiteDragon · · Score: 1

      /me wonders how many other people post for the sake of racking up the "April Fool" achievement

      Hmmm, slashdotters wouldn't be *that* shallow would we?

      --
      Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
  9. The japanese version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will have a bukkake recognition feature.

  10. pron mode by hansamurai · · Score: 1

    When you start staring longingly at the screen while beginning to sweat a little, it knows what to do.

    1. Re:pron mode by Spazztastic · · Score: 1

      When you start staring longingly at the screen while beginning to sweat a little, it knows what to do.

      Sound an alarm so your mother can run downstairs into your room to yell at you?

      --
      Posts not to be taken literally. Almost everything is sarcasm.
    2. Re:pron mode by xenolion · · Score: 2, Insightful

      nice

    3. Re:pron mode by GogglesPisano · · Score: 2, Funny

      Would that be called the "O Face" gesture?

  11. Could actually be useful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know some handicapped people would actually find this pretty useful...

    1. Re:Could actually be useful by maccallr · · Score: 1

      You know some handicapped people would actually find this pretty useful...

      Not just for the handicapped...

      A fairly easy facial expression to recognise would be the "leaning forward and screwing up the eyes"... the browser could automatically zoom in and/or enlarge the font size.

  12. Re:The japanese version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OH?
    Nih hong tie hai mai burrakke-shi. Nishiritonomoto. kekekekekeke

  13. Opera is controlling my face by gurutc · · Score: 1

    This article is making me smile.

    --
    Moderation in All Things... Especially Moderation - gurutc
  14. You know, if this weren't a joke.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It might almost be a good idea...

  15. Oprah? by PrickleyPete · · Score: 1

    Did anyone else read this as "Oprah Launches Facial Gesture Capability"?

    1. Re:Oprah? by Leafheart · · Score: 1

      Did anyone else read this as "Oprah Launches Facial Gesture Capability"?

      Please no, I beg of you. I don't want to see Oprah's "happiness" face. *shrugs*

      --
      --- "When you gotta do something wrong. You gotta do it right. (Fighter)"
  16. Great. Just great. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    As if I didn't already look like a complete moron at first sight. Now I will look like a *grimacing* complete moron.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  17. Fail, but still funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Out of all this fail, there rises two rather funny quotes from the site:

    "At the moment soul-patches crashes the browser and it would refuse to relaunch, we are looking into this problem. Bushmen beards and emo haircuts are not supported.

    and

    Adult Web sites: Users visiting Web sites that contain adult content sometimes make unconscious facial expressions. If Opera keeps opening Speed Dial and Zooming In and Out, please be aware that this not a bug. It may be useful to disable Face Gestures for a better experience. Also remember that wiping your cache is recommend after visiting untrusted websites.

  18. I Hate April 1st by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When will the hurting stop? Check /. on April 1st is such a waste of time.

    1. Re:I Hate April 1st by cbackas · · Score: 1

      As opposed to the bountiful productivity that's normally to be found here?

    2. Re:I Hate April 1st by jnetsurfer · · Score: 1

      Oh come on! Where's your sense of humor? A nice bit of levity goes a long way.

  19. Dear lord! I hope my mother was wrong about... by Chyeld · · Score: 4, Funny

    So... that whole thing about "don't make faces dear, someday it'll freeze like that" makes me a bit worried. What happens when I pull a muscle and all the sudden Opera takes it as my "O" face and keeps popping up porn sites?

    PS. Anyone else notice the Achievements section in their profile now? ^_^

    1. Re:Dear lord! I hope my mother was wrong about... by Verteiron · · Score: 1

      I'm posting just to GET the April Fool's achievement.

      --
      End of lesson. You may press the button.
  20. Not Opera original by halber_mensch · · Score: 4, Funny

    This technology was originally patented by Atypical Peripheral Recognition Intelligence Laboratories as "Facial Orientation Observation Language".

    --
    perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
    1. Re:Not Opera original by EricWright · · Score: 1

      Atypical Peripherals? I thought most everyone had a face... ;-)

      Many of us frequently plant it in our desks with excessive force, particularly on the first of April.

    2. Re:Not Opera original by jeffshoaf · · Score: 1

      It's an off-shoot of "Facial Auto Recognition Technology"...

      --
      Putting the "anal" back into "analyst"...
  21. A suggestion by BuzzLY · · Score: 1

    If you are going to post an April Fool's joke, it's probably best not to use "aprilfool" as one of the keywords.

    I'm just sayin'...

    1. Re:A suggestion by Cube+Steak · · Score: 1

      You do realize that the tags are added by readers not the editor, right?

    2. Re:A suggestion by BuzzLY · · Score: 1

      Of course... I'm just saying that adding the aprilfool tag spoils the joke. Unfortunately, many Slashdotters are killjoys, so it shouldn't surprise me.

    3. Re:A suggestion by Cube+Steak · · Score: 1

      There was a joke in this? It was pretty lame.

    4. Re:A suggestion by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what April Fools wants you to think!

    5. Re:A suggestion by jnetsurfer · · Score: 1

      Posting something to /. on 4/1 spoils the joke :-)

  22. Re:The japanese version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go back to japanese 101 imo.

  23. May be april fools, but... by Lord+Bitman · · Score: 1, Insightful

    It's no less stupid than "mouse gestures"

    --
    -- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
    1. Re:May be april fools, but... by MistrBlank · · Score: 1

      I know it's a joke too, but someone will actually implement this because it just gave them the idea...

      I wouldn't be surprised if someone had already started working on it with a webcamera.

    2. Re:May be april fools, but... by TurboNed · · Score: 1

      Actually, to take it a step further, it might be less stupid than mouse gestures. Sure, the implementation's not trivial, but once it works *snicker* it would be easier than fiddling with your mouse to get stuff done.

    3. Re:May be april fools, but... by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 1

      I kinda like mouse gestures. I don't know, does that make me weird? Maybe I played too much Black and White?

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    4. Re:May be april fools, but... by swarsron · · Score: 1

      mouse gestures are great. I mainly use the keyboard to control my applications but even with vimperator mousegestures make sense since it's often the fastest way to do something when you have you hand on the mouse already

    5. Re:May be april fools, but... by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      I love mouse gestures. It's a -lot- quicker than finding the keyboard buttons or a little button on the screen somewhere. I use them a lot.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    6. Re:May be april fools, but... by AioKits · · Score: 1

      Yeah, plus TRAINING the damned mouse to make the correct facial gestures for something as simple as joy and disgust takes a long time. By the time you've got enough emotions trained into the mouse for the software to correctly guess his likes and dislikes he is either too old or the Cue CAT gets him.

      --
      "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
    7. Re:May be april fools, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you kidding? Mouse gestures are perfect. Just try the flip forward and flip backward and you won't be able to live without them.

    8. Re:May be april fools, but... by Lord+Bitman · · Score: 1

      I've tried it by accident, disabled it immediately. How is something which interprets vague motions such as "diagonal towards the upper left corner" or "arc from right to left" or "decreasing spiral towards a target" as entire commands a good thing? If I move the mouse, it's probably because I wanted to have the mouse be somewhere. I don't want to need to think about "I'd better move the mouse like this, otherwise it will think I want to do something else", follow a maze to each target, etc. Moving the mouse to click on something is already slow enough, why make it even slower by adding a lot of traps?

      Yes, this is a real report of actual problems which happen when I actually sit down in front of a computer which uses mouse gestures, this is not just "FUD" which I came up with due to not liking new things. I have absolutely NEVER used a system which has mouse gestures enabled without accidentally triggering one. Yes, I have left them on for a week to see if I got used to them, or liked using them. In all cases, they were always either too complicated to be useful (moving in two complete circles is slower than clicking a button of ANY size), or too simple to avoid triggering accidentally (a quarter-circle arc? really? The most common motion ever made with a mouse?). Not to mention the stupidity of having the cursor itself move essentially randomly, meaning you need to go find it again afterwards, as opposed to knowing "it's on the 'back button'" after you have gone back.. more and more and more.

      Of course, it's not like ravenous philosophy isn't in there too. My windows are always set to "focus follows click", not "focus follows pointer", because a mouse pointer is used to point at things, not to cause things to happen. The same general gripe exists for both: Flicking the cursor out of the way to read what's underneath should absolutely NEVER cause anything meaningful to happen. Just get the thing out of the way so I can keep working, that's all.

      In other news: GRAAaaaAAAAaAaAaAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!

      --
      -- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
  24. in other news... by owlnation · · Score: 1

    ...Firefox announced that the latest upgrade has multi-threading capability, the awesome bar has been removed, all the memory leaks fixed, and that all new features will be bundled as add-ons rather than built-in, so that users have a choice whether or not to keep them installed.

    What? It's just as likely as face recognition! I believe it is also codenamed: FirePony.

  25. WTF!?!? by M-RES · · Score: 1

    OMG. LOL.

    Hey, this is great, my machine just typed that by observing my facial gestures! I didn't realise Safari already had this built in

    Oh, but aren't 'facial gestures' normally called 'expressions'? ;P

    Imagine the fun you could have if this was real - having a default action that recognised some of the more well known 'first goatse' expressions. It could learn them from the flickr group

  26. Raiders of the Lost Ark by Mateo_LeFou · · Score: 1

    My face is melted off, you insensitive clod!

    --
    My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
    1. Re:Raiders of the Lost Ark by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My face is melted off, you insensitive clod!

      Serves you right you Nazi bastard!

  27. April Fools Day by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

    What about The Onion? Are they supposed to post real news all day or something?

    Won't somebody think of The Onion!

  28. Move along, nothing to see here... by FlatWhatson · · Score: 1

    I'm just doing this for the achievement!

    --
    BLAM!
    1. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by HappyHead · · Score: 1

      Why would you do something like that?

    2. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by St0nY · · Score: 1

      this is not the achievement you are looking for!

    3. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      So this is the article to reply to for the achievement? I haven't found it yet.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    4. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by Omega+Xi · · Score: 1

      Because you're a lurker with no other real reason to post? ^^:

      --
      Simplicity lies within chaos
    5. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by silfreed · · Score: 1

      +1

    6. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by Enki+X · · Score: 1

      I dunno... Just in case... http://sovietrussia.org/f/src/tetoris.swf

      --
      On second thought, let's not go to the internet. 'Tis a silly place.
    7. Re:Move along, nothing to see here... by lothos · · Score: 1

      Same here.

      On a semi-related note, did anyone notice the Google Brainsearch today?

  29. If it were real by computerman413 · · Score: 1

    If it were real, it would be pretty stupid. Why would anybody want to keep their face in a given position to use their browser? Not to mention outside distractions causing reactions that would throw off the browser. All in all, Google's CADIE is the cooler joke.

  30. +5 In The Mood! by Mateo_LeFou · · Score: 3, Funny

    I know that when I come to /. on April 1, what I'm looking for is an even-handed, discerning discussion of the ethics of comedy, with due attention to qualifications and ramifications.

    --
    My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
    1. Re:+5 In The Mood! by ebh · · Score: 2, Interesting

      OK, discuss the ethical ramifications of this one:

      I am up for a promotion at work. My cheap-bastard boss's boss is holding it up because he thinks he'll get a gold star for saving the money, and probably won't let it go through until he has my resignation letter in hand. I don't want it to come to that.

      I'm a sysadmin and I rarely wear anything but blue jeans to work. My April Fool's joke is that I told them I was taking this morning off to "take care of some personal business". I'm going to show up at lunchtime in a dress shirt and suit pants, letting them believe that my "personal business" was an interview. They'll see through it quickly, but I want that half-second of panic to stick.

      Discuss.

    2. Re:+5 In The Mood! by The+Yuckinator · · Score: 1

      50/50
      1) They will be terrified that you want to leave and will capitulate to your demands.
      2) No promotion, but you will get a new mandatory dress code.

    3. Re:+5 In The Mood! by hal2814 · · Score: 1

      3) They'll act nonchalant about it but after a couple of weeks you'll be assigned to train a new guy to "help you out" with your day to day tasks. A couple of weeks after that, they'll hand you a nice pink slip of paper and thank you for your contributions to the company but inform you that your services are no longer required.

    4. Re:+5 In The Mood! by The+Yuckinator · · Score: 1

      but then it would be 33.3 / 33.3 / 33.4 ;)

  31. Damn my botox. by SuperBry · · Score: 1

    Now everypage is refusing to load.

  32. Ha by Stormcrow309 · · Score: 1

    I could actually see this.

    --

    In God we trust, all others require data.

  33. sorry... by sh00z · · Score: 1

    Just posting to get my "April fool" achievement.

    1. Re:sorry... by psychokitten · · Score: 1
      You should be ashamed for doing that - in fact anyone who'd reply to you for the same reason should be ashamed too!

      Not that I'd do anything like that, of course...

  34. writing with your nose by MoreDruid · · Score: 1

    is really slow, this tech needs to evolve a bit snort post!

    --
    The best weapon of a dictatorship is secrecy, but the best weapon of a democracy should be the weapon of openness.
  35. 24 hours of shenanigans by HardCase · · Score: 1

    Oh boy, here we go...

  36. Gold Digger by manlygeek · · Score: 1

    So what do you supposed it does when you pick your nose.... Oh, yeah, that's right, it browses microsoft.com!

    --
    Be More, Be Manly, The Manly Geek Ubergeek Extraordinaire Blogger: www.manlygeek.com/blog Podcaster: podcast.man
  37. Wow by jshackles · · Score: 1

    Even though it's a joke - a geek can dream, right?

  38. What about surprise and/or disgust? by rafa · · Score: 1

    So, what does the browser do when the user recoils in horror after clicking a goatse link? Zoom? Laugh? Redirect to tubgirl?

    --
    [Science] is one of the very few things that raises human life a little above farce and gives it the grace of tragedy.
  39. Gotta ask but... by Aklarr · · Score: 0

    Wouldn't the browser get confused if you had a really angry look on your face, or if you were drooling over the porn you watch of some blonde blue eyed woman with artificial breasts? :p

  40. Perl in signature? by Myria · · Score: 1

    I don't have Perl installed on this Windows machine. What does your signature do? (Assuming "eval" is replaced with "print")

    --
    "Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
    1. Re:Perl in signature? by LordKronos · · Score: 1

      It takes the string of hex characters and converts them to ASCII via the pack command, then executes the ASCII characters as perl code. Using any hex to ascii converter found on google (by the way, I'm surprised google built in converter doesn't know how to convert hex to ascii), the converted text is:

      print pack(q{H*}'q{467265654253440a});

      If you then run THAT command (as eval does), it then prints out:

      FreeBSD

  41. April Fools by Dodder · · Score: 1

    I like the name of the technology, 'Face Observation Opera Language'. Cause that's what you'd look like using it.

  42. O-face? by jimwormold · · Score: 1

    I wonder what the default action might be if I made my O-face as in... "If things go well I might be showing her my O-face"

  43. Spurious by ajlitt · · Score: 1

    I hope this has a low-pass filter, otherwise people with a facial tic might wind up somewhere unexpected.

  44. What if by +Addict-09+ · · Score: 1

    Too bad this is a joke, I would love it if while reading a web page I stare at a link for more than 3 seconds the browser follows that link. Obviously needs to be thought out but hey we can create the security hole now, and patch later.

    I better go file patent!

    TGM

    1. Re:What if by nexex · · Score: 1

      Yea, I could see it taking a lot of learning to control.

      --
      Winter 2010: With Glowing Hearts
  45. Meh by Uncle+Rummy · · Score: 1

    I have nothing relevant to say. I'm just whoring for the April Fool achievement.

    1. Re:Meh by Mystra_x64 · · Score: 1

      Hmm... same here.

      --
      Quick way to get 30% Funny 70% Troll: defend Opera browser on /.
    2. Re:Meh by ComaVN · · Score: 1

      What's that now?

      --
      Be wary of any facts that confirm your opinion.
    3. Re:Meh by Uncle+Rummy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This thing. (See The April Fool - 2nd from the bottom of the list.)

      I'm confused now, though. A lot of people seem to think the achievement is for posting in the story about achievements rather than this one.

    4. Re:Meh by Thiez · · Score: 1

      Yay achievements.

    5. Re:Meh by The_mad_linguist · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure if it even exists. I've seen several people post there and not get the achievement...

      Is the April Fool's achievement itself an April Fool's day joke?

    6. Re:Meh by bigstrat2003 · · Score: 1

      wat

      --
      "16MB (fuck off, MiB fascists)" - The Mighty Buzzard
    7. Re:Meh by Single+GNU+Theory · · Score: 1

      Yep, I thought that too. Now I'm posting in this one to try to get the achievement.

      I feel so... used.

      --
      Little Debian: America's #1 Snack Distro!
  46. Beta by thredder · · Score: 1

    This is just the first version, wait until the Advanced Professional Really Interesting Like Facial Observation Opera Language..... coming to a browser near you probably in exactly a year's time.

  47. HAHA by arkham6 · · Score: 1

    So funny. Really? Ok, not really. :)

  48. I thought.. by bickerdyke · · Score: 1

    ... the Achievements were the April Fools joke... :-)

    --
    bickerdyke
  49. What if? by pvera · · Score: 1

    I give it the finger? Or I make the universal sign for a programmer pulling his hair while trying to troubleshoot yet one more CSS layout issue?

    --
    Pedro
    ----
    The Insomniac Coder
  50. Hopefully this is optional by OMGcAPSLOCK · · Score: 1

    Because I know of at least one person in the Theoretical Physics department at Cambridge University who will be stuck reading scope.org.uk in perpetuity if it isn't.....

  51. My related halbakery Idea. by kamathln · · Score: 1
  52. upload your own custom facegestures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://my.opera.com/community/photos/?tag=facegestures

  53. video by GavrocheLeGnou · · Score: 0

    really nice tutorial video

  54. hand gestures too? by Sharkus · · Score: 1

    One wonders if they'll have hand gestures in the next revision. The "Find Porn" one could simply be the use of the "wanker" hand gesture, which is most appropriate. :D

  55. Video Conference by e_chiappone · · Score: 1

    I'm sure they thought it was a great idea when they changed the calendar system, but did the have any idea the far reaching consequences it would have? Such as strange stories about F.O.O.L. features. The fools, what have they done?!

  56. What if you're a buttface? by daemonenwind · · Score: 1

    What if you're a buttface?

    Will Opera just poop out on you?

  57. That's nothing! by Daetrin · · Score: 1

    Google just announced the ability to see the web in 3D using Chrome! :)

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
  58. arg by alphatel · · Score: 1

    what about my "act like a pirate face"?

    --
    When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
  59. This would actually be really cool. by HanClinto · · Score: 1

    I wonder how hard it would be to do something like this with Flash

  60. Just to get the achievement by ericrost · · Score: 1

    For the "new" slashdot way :p

  61. I love how many replies to these posts are real! by dknight · · Score: 1

    Granted, some of the stories are sufficiently plausible that it is hard to tell, but things like this? just obvious. And then people giving serious replies to them. Oh how I love thee /.

  62. FOOL then? by Turiko · · Score: 1

    as if the summary wasn't clear enough this technology already exists: it's called a wii

  63. don't like Opera? by ca111a · · Score: 1

    just wait for the Firefox plug-in

  64. I'm not just a fool in april. by thousandinone · · Score: 1

    In Soviet Russia, a beowulf cluster of these imagines YOU!!

  65. good idea for page feedback by tonyreadsnews · · Score: 1

    While this is obviously april fools, something like this could introduce some useful feedback to page creators. Confusion, anger and frustration could help them fix those stories broken across 6 pages with a million ads.

  66. Another variants of face gestures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=facegestures&m=text

  67. Great for the office, dealing with lazy employees! by Nakor+BlueRider · · Score: 1

    If the user is falling asleep, load up the hamster dance at full volume!

  68. fecal gesture capability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm holding out for fecal gesture capability.

  69. Hold down the F8 key by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 1

    I thought the download page was nearly as funny as the facial expressions the guy was making.

  70. The Wii? by Midgarn · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised they didn't go for the PS2 Eye cam for this.

  71. They should offer a confirmation window by its_schwim · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've got facial tics and keep ending up at sites I don't want to visit. For instance, it's taken me over an hour to post this comment because it keeps whisking me off to Richard Simmon's fan site. I've bought "Sweating to the Oldies" and a pink wife beater in hopes that it wouldn't make me visit again, but I now find myself as a lifetime member. Some kind of confirmation would be welcome.

  72. I'd have to quit using my DS on the toilet by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 1

    I'm sure I wouldn't get a good reaction out of my "grunting" face.

  73. Re:The japanese version by HeliosTrick · · Score: 1

    It'll see the reaction. The reaction all over your face.

  74. F.O.O.L.? by HeliosTrick · · Score: 1

    So you're saying that you really are a F.O.O.L. if you use this version of Opera? No thanks, I'll stick with the older version. :)

  75. porn browsing by Ionized · · Score: 1

    i can think of several interesting gestures for use on porn sites. heh.

  76. Flickr by TigerTails · · Score: 1

    There's quiet a few pics of the gestures on Flickr if it hasn't already been posted.. search for "facegestures" I think

  77. Do you mean The Nod? by SL+Baur · · Score: 1

    I honestly don't think this technology is too far off however.

    I'd recommend demanding a refund of your tuition. This technology has been around for at least 30 years.

    (Interesting that the first link I found points back here ...)

    http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=8841&cid=625169

    Sage/Stride made nice machines. I never got around to playing with The Nod.

    1. Re:Do you mean The Nod? by Jake+Griffin · · Score: 1

      Our system was a bit more advanced than a reflective sticker... You could operate it without moving your head at all. You just look where you want the security camera to zoom/pan and it just does. It wouldn't be as intuitive to use the sticker because you would have to move your head to control it rather than your eyes.

      --
      SIG FAULT: Post index out of bounds.
  78. Oblig. Achievement Thread by JoshDM · · Score: 1

    Achieved? Did I get mine? Woo?

  79. Interesting concept. by t-maxx+cowboy · · Score: 1

    With the influx of web cams it does seem reasonable to have the ability to control my web browsing with facial expressions.

    --
    Regards,

    Ryan Pritchard
    Fun Extends All Basic Life Expectancies