The latest Applelet to come out of the Apple Labs has set the Social Networking world alight with the possibilities. Called simply iD it is a clever piece of technology combined with Apple's traditional ease of use.
Currently, the iD app is only available on the iPhone, but with the possibilities it has, expect it on every smart phone within months.
iD allows the user to point the phone's camera at a person or group of people, and it employs facial recognition software to identify the people in the group. If it doesn't know who they are, the iPhone owner can add their name. With a link to the popular social networking site Farcebook, the picture is instantly uploaded, with all the people in it tagged, and those that aren't already friends are sent a friend request. For those that are, pressing on a person's face (on the phone, not their real face, people get upset at that) retrieves a Farcebook summary, their name, date of birth and star sign.
Already, it has taken off with young people, who are using it to discover basic details about prospective dates, short cutting through the dating maze by starting off with the basics to know if they are compatible. It has also started a new sport of Tagging and Bagging, where teenagers will grab as many faces as they can.
Privacy Experts, who tend not to have iPhones or dating opportunities, are up in arms at the possibility of having millions of people's faces stored in a central place.
"It will allow the government to track everybody," said one such lonely Privacy Expert.
"Who cares?" asked a more hip and trendy teenager, "I know now that her name is Angela and she likes teddy bears."
