Hmm . . . I didn't even pay attention to the computer info at the bottom of this. Here's what I really have:
Model Name: MacBook Pro 15"
Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,2
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.33 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
So my computer is not that old. But the faces routine for each new batch of photos IS that long.
Face recognition is a highly CPU intensive operation and will take a looong time with a consumer computer and application. It's not a simple procedure. If you had a Cray computer and the high end face recognition software it would complete a library in a few minutes. It's just the nature of the beast.
I have multiple libraries and once the face recognition did it thing the first time I ignore the Faces section of the libraries. I let the initial scan go overnight and that was it.
Yes. I'd say my computer becomes useless. This is an exaggeration, but everything else (even Mail) becomes bogged down enough that it's not worth using while the process is going on.
Now if this Faces scan only took place one time, and it even took overnight, then I could live with that quite easily. But it scans each new batch of photos I upload. That's the nub of the problem. Since I'm using a Canon 5D mark ii the images are 21mp. I don't know if this impacts the speed of the Faces routine, but it may.
Here's the practical problem. I'm often using iPhoto right after a shoot (maybe 200-500 photos) and the people involved would like to see the photos. The amount of time needed for importing the photos is fine: I'm used to that. But it's that additional, truly buzz-kill, amount of time needed by Faces that gets everybody bored, ready to walk off, etc. iPhoto is a very nice, light-weight, program. There's so many things to like about it. Except for this one very annoying feature.
Are you using iPhoto as a professional photographer? If so I would seriously consider getting a professional grade DAM (digital asset management) application like
Media Expression. I would not risk my business on a consumer application. You may not lose photos with it but you could certainly lose lots of organizational effort.
I'd like to stop faces. I'm using iPhoto Library Manager to update some iPhoto db, and while it's moving the files and updating the data, it's also scanning for faces. I find faces useless, and it's pegging my CPU at 100%, which worries me on heat issues.
Not being able to turn off faces bites, and it's disingenuous for these Apple apologists to say other wise.
This is a first generation version of the Faces feature. It apparently is a feature that many users like (you can judge what the user base likes by what you see here as that would be akin to judging the health of a city buy what you observe in a hospital emergency room) as there are only a few asking for it to be turned off.
Do as Terence suggests and send a feature request to Apple for a way to turn off Faces and Places. It won't happen unless users give them feedback.
I'm new to the forum. I love iPhoto. I like the features in 09. I thought 'faces' would be good, helping me sort by subject. It did not seem to do what I expected. Then I discovered that my screen saver and desktop were popping up with blurry faces. My entire family really enjoys my photos coming up on my LCD panels via the screen saver and the desktop. I want photos chosen from my entire library. Well, now I REALLY want to turn off faces. ANY feature that is as significant as faces should have an OFF button. Somebody blew a simple thing at Apple. I'm a Mac consultant since the 128k Mac. There should be a pref for turning faces on and off. I assumed it was there. It's not? Fix it.
Then I discovered that my screen saver and desktop were popping up with blurry faces. My entire family really enjoys my photos coming up on my LCD panels via the screen saver and the desktop. I want photos chosen from my entire library.
I don't have this problem - probably because I've set the Screensaver to select from the Library +and not the Pictures Folder+. Set it to the Pictures Folder, you get the blurry thumbnails, as they are in there. Set it to the Library and you don't.
Fix it.
As I’m sure you recall from your careful reading of the Terms of Service you agreed to when you joined the Apple Discussions, this is a User to User forum. Apple aren’t here. They don’t promise to read anything here.
