Hasta La Gadget!

Are Hewlett-Packard MediaSmart webcams racist? Not exactly.

In a video posted to YouTube this week, two co-workers – one white and one black – tried out the webcam face-tracking software on an HP MediaSmart computer. It is supposed to follow users as they move, but it fails to recognize Desi, a black man. When his co-worker Wanda, who is white, enters the frame, it immediately recognizes her and follows her in the frame.

“As soon as my blackness enters the frame … it stopped,” Desi said. “As soon as white Wanda appears, the camera moves. Black Desi gets in there? Nope, no facial recognition anymore, buddy. I’m going on record and I’m saying it. Hewlett-Packard computers are racist.”

Despite the accusations, Desi is good-natured and seemingly amused by the problem.

HP responded on its community blog.

“We are working with our partners to learn more,” HP said. “The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty ‘seeing’ contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting.”

“Everything we do is focused on ensuring that we provide a high-quality experience for all our customers, who are ethnically diverse and live and work around the world,” HP continued. “That’s why when issues surface, we take them seriously and work hard to understand the root causes.”

PCMag’s network analystSamara Lynn’s take on this issue: Don’t Play the HP Race Card.

Finally, the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for Rainn Wilson fan on your list. Toshiba, GQ Magazine, and four “men of innovation” have combined their considerable talents to create unique limited-edition laptops, four for each celebrity, which are being auctioned off on eBay. Who are these men of innovation? Rainn Wilson, Hines Ward, Joe Perry, and Omar Epps. The proceeds from each innovator’s laptops will go to a different charity. Wilson’s charity, for example, is the MONA Foundation, which supports women and children in distressed areas around the world.

Each celebrity has customized a different Toshiba laptop. Ward has the Toshiba Satellite P505, with a big 18.4-inch screen, while Wilson has the lightweight Toshiba Satellite M505. The auction series will last for four weeks, with a new laptop for each celebrity auctioned off each week. So far bidding is slow; as of this writing, Ward’s laptop has the highest bid, at $510.00.

The cable industry proposed Tuesday that the government consider devoting some of the funds in its second round of federal broadband grants for a public-private partnership intended to increase broadband adoption among middle-school-aged kids.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s (NCTA) Adoption Plus (A+) is a proposed two-year, public-private partnership that would promote broadband adoption among the 3.5 million children currently eligible for the National School Lunch Program.

Adoption Plus would take a three-pronged approach: digital media literacy training; discounted, Internet-enabled computers; and discounted home broadband service to unserved households.

As NCTA envisions it, the stimulus funds would be awarded to school districts, which would be responsible for the digital literacy aspect – teaching kids how to use computers and about Internet safety, for example. Next, hardware partners would step in and provide discounted, subsidized, or free computers to school children. Finally, NCTA’s ISPs, well as non-cable Internet providers, would provide entry-level broadband Internet service and modems at a 50 percent discount.

Cable providers that have signed on to this program include: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Cablevision, Bright House, Mediacom, Suddenlink, Insight Communications, Bresnan Communications, Midcontinent Communications, GCI, US Cable, Bend Broadband, Eagle Communications, and Sjoberg’s Cable.

Apple has unveiled its Black Friday sales, and the deals are similar to those the company offered last year – $101 off the iMac and MacBook Pro, as well as savings on iPods and Apple TV.

Though many retailers are running their Black Friday deals into the weekend, Apple’s sales will occur today only on its Web site and at Apple stores.

First up, Apple has dropped the price of iMac and MacBook Pro models by $101, and thrown in free shipping online.

A MacBook Pro 13-inch with a 2.26GHZ processor, for example, has dropped from $1,199 to $1,098, while a model with a 2.53GHz processor will run you $1,398.

The 15-inch MacBook Pros, meanwhile, currently range in price from $1,598 to $2,198 depending on the processor you select, while the 17-inch 2.8GHz version is retailing for $2,398 until midnight.

On the iMac front, the price of a 21.5-inch machine with a 3.06GHz processor has dropped from $1,199 to $1,098, while the 3.06GHz version is now priced at $1,398.

Get the rest of this story on pcmag.com.

For Cyber Monday, Intel is enlisting consumers to help drive down prices of three popular notebooks, via Facebook.

The “Intel Fan Plan” page on Facebook urges consumers to sign up as “fans” of three thin-and-light notebooks: the Toshiba T135, the Acer Timeline 3810T, and the Asus UL50Ag. All fall into the inexpensive notebook segment without explicitly being classified as a netbook.

Here’s the way the program works: the more “fans” that sign up for a specific notebook, the lower Intel will push the price, down to what the company has set as a target. The program closes on Monday, also known as “Cyber Monday” for the number of people who buy online during that day. On that day, the prices will be locked.

It’s hard to say whether the end price will be significantly less than what you’ll be able to find elsewhere, although I suppose the page offers the convenience of one-stop shopping.