Riya to merge into Google borg Might photo-facial recognition makers Riya (unsearchable blog here) be getting bought out by Google? So far word has it that the deal is legit and had Google spending aroun $40 million to acquire the yet-to-be-released-out-of-invite-only beta software makers.

On another note, I think Riya's facial recognition software could have a broader application than just helping you rememeber who the heck is in your photos from last years infamous christmas party. How long until they're able to use it within video? Then you not only have the consumer benefit but also the obvious military applications. Might video technology be catching up to how videos are used in most action/cop movies?

sidenote: somewhere in their unsearchable blog (*see above) is a post detailing how they came up with the name Riya. Adds a nice, soft human touch.  ¶ 8:41 PM