SharePoint 2010 Solutions for Incremental Crawl Problems
February 13, 2012
The blogosphere is full of fixes and solutions for SharePoint 2010 quirks and problems. Unfortunately, we know that many of these solutions come from the pain and suffering of others – others who have had to figure these things out because of something that SharePoint failed to do. The article, “Scheduled Incremental Crawls Suddenly Stopped Due to a Stale Timer Service in SharePoint 2010” is a perfect example.
The author describes the issue he had with the SharePoint 2010 timer service:
It is always fun to get back on site after a couple of days off work. SharePoint 2010 is like an annoying little critter, if you’re not there to cuddle with it, it will do the most strange things. I currently have a support case open regarding some issues with crawled properties (I hope that will be another story to tell another day) and went into the Search Service Application admin pages in Central Admin to check some things. When poking around I noticed that the incremental crawl hasn’t been run for a few days . . . I fired up an incremental crawl manually and that worked, waited for the next incremental crawl to start – and it didn’t. Also tried a full crawl manually – which worked fine, but the scheduled crawls never started.
Ultimately, the author found a solution and was able to get everything back up and running. We know that SharePoint is a strange beast (or annoying little critter as the author stated) and these types of issues are common. However, many organizations are turning to third party solutions to either improve their SharePoint installation or replace it completely. Many find that these third party solutions are more tailored to the end user and save frustration on the part of the SharePoint administrator. One solution receiving accolades is Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
When the solution won KM World Trendsetting Product of the Year for 2011, KM World had the following to say about the easy and efficiency of the solution:
Fabasoft Mindbreeze Appliance as a pre-packaged solution (hardware and software) offers a quick and easy way to enjoy a high-end enterprise search solution out-of-the-box. The product is ready to use within in a very short timeframe.
If you are tired of troubleshooting SharePoint issues on a micro level, explore the other third party solutions available, paying particular attention to Fabasoft Mindbreeze.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Hadoop Vendors On the Rise
February 13, 2012
Information Week offers the interesting article “12 Hadoop Vendors to Watch In 2012.” Hadoop is a favorite in the business intelligence world “thanks to its combination of low cost, scalability, and flexibility to handle any data without building predefined schemas.”
Business intelligence vendors are counting on Hadoop to help with not only data processing but also with data analysis. The article mentions several notable companies. Cloudera is not surprising it is “the oldest and largest Hadoop software and services provider.”
Other vendors such as EMC and Microsoft are two surprising vendors noted in the article with Hadoop connections. Datameer is another notable vendor building steam and you can read more about them here. An interesting list however it comes as a big surprise that Digital Reasoning was left off of the list which is a huge oversight for so many reasons in my opinion. The list of vendors couldn’t be more different but data analytics bridges the gap. It’s definitely “the next big thing.”
Stephen E Arnold, February 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Bing: The Doing Search System
February 13, 2012
New positioning for Bing: is doing better than deciding? Apparently some market researchers at Microsoft have decided it is; Search Engine Watch reports, “The Decision Engine is Dead: Now Bing Is for Doing.”
A new advertisement features the very active (and inspiring) snowboarder Kevin Pierce. It also emphasizes verbs ending in –ing. You know, like “Bing” does. Writer Danny Goodwin notes:
’We thought now is a good time to evolve from decisions to doing,’ Sean Carver, director for advertising at Bing, told The New York Times. So moving forward, Bing will be the search engine for doing things while aiming for the 18-34 crowd of doers. Bing has been using the ‘Bing and Decide’ slogan since launching 2009.
Yes, actions speak louder than decisions, or at least sound like more fun.
Bing seems to be playing its cards right: the search engine recently displaced Yahoo for second place in the US market. I predict the more action-y stance will pan out for Bing.
Cynthia Murrell, February 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Website Finder Claims to Best Google
February 13, 2012
We found a Finder. Softpedia offers for download Website Finder 1.1.4.6, touting it as an alternative to Google and its ilk. The basic version is free, with a full version available for $19.95. The difference between versions is unclear.
The product description states:
Do you want to find the websites which can not be found with Google? If the answer is yes, then try Website Finder. Website Finder is a handy and reliable search tool designed to find websites. It can show you the websites one by one automatically and generate website thumbnails. And it is quite easy to use. What you need to do is just enter a keyword and start the search process.
Though there is a limit of 30 Web sites per keyword query, that should suffice for most purposes. The software can generate a list of sites with thumbnails and titles, as well as presenting sites one by one. The description, however, offers no evidence to back the claim that Website Finder finds what Google cannot. I would be interested to learn their reasoning.
Cynthia Murrell, February 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Hotel Search Engines
February 12, 2012
Straight away one cannot narrow results by NOTting out bed bugs.
It is nice to see vertical search engines get some press. MakeUseOf presents a roundup of the “10 Best Hotel Search Engines to Get the Best Deals When You Travel.” The article makes its case for each choice, complete with screenshots. See the write up for details.
Writer Saikat Basu remarks:
These ten hotel search engines are at the forefront of the pack, and there are more of them. Most of the websites in the hotel search category are quite similar…offering a mix of hotel reservations, reviews, and great deals. . . . Having a few of these hotel search engines bookmarked helps you to cross-check the best deals and plan your trip with low overheads.
A good idea for the frequent traveler. Basu’s first choice is Google Hotel Finder. (Nice to see Google doing something right.) Next are Bing Travel; Hotels.com; Laterooms; Tripadvisor; Booking.com; Hotels Combined; Hotwire; Venere; and Roomkey.
Odd, there’s not a single gnome or retired starship captain among them. Now for the antihistamine ointment.
Cynthia Murrell, February 12, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Funnelback and Marketing Memory Points
February 12, 2012
The key to any search site is being able to provide users with relevant and accurate search results. Funnelback Website and Enterprise Search allow business to setup a search system that meets their specific needs or objectives.
Funnelback asserts that it can take information from several different locations, compile it and deliver relevant results. Users also have administrative control in order to access additional features and tools. The University of Exter uses Funnelback Search. Upon trying out a simple search on the term economics the results are, according to the source, quite good if not impressive. The search produces several pages of results.
Users can narrow them down by sub category. You can look at types of economics, topics on economics or economics by site and there are several different choice options under each heading. The search system definitely seems to cover all the bases when it comes to the results and the additional search options helps users “find a needle in a haystack.”
To recap, the Funnelback assertion echoes the Vivisimo federated search angle from several years ago. The “needle in a haystack,” while not original, is closely associated with Matt Kohl, founder of Personal Library Software (PLS). The users and narrowing angle is reminiscent of Endeca’s facet approach. Interesting.
April Holmes, February 13, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Politicians Try to Surf on Social Media
February 12, 2012
Is this a new type of polling or is it social trolling? Attensity’s blog reports, “Politico Uses Attensity to Analyze SOPA Sentiment.” Attensity took on Politico’s challenge to mine social media for attitudes on the Stop Online Piracy Act. It turns out that people who spend a lot of time online skew heavily against the law. Go figure.
Author James Purchase writes:
If I had to directly summarize this analysis, I would say that the SOPA-opposition is significantly more organized and vocal in using Social Media to make their point. Whether or not the social media outcry affects the outcome of the legislation remains to be seen.
Perhaps, though I hope the uproar against the law has reached the ears of even the most tech-adverse legislators. They have interns, right? Some are awkward too. Wipe out!
Cynthia Murrell, February 12, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Two Google Work-Arounds
February 12, 2012
We’ve found a couple of useful tips for Google users. The first one I used immediately: MakeUseOf reveals “How to Turn Off Google’s Personal Search Results & Get Back to Enjoying Life.” Like writer Justin Pot and me, you may find Google’s new Personal Search to be more hindrance than help. The write up asks:
Have you ever looked through your Facebook feed and thought to yourself ‘It would be really awesome if all of this useless [stuff] came up when I was searching for something?’ Me neither! Google seems to think differently though, so last week they started flooding everyone’s search results with a bunch of nonsense. Happily they’re not complete idiots – they did provide a way to turn this [stuff] off.
The way is found under the gear in the top right of the Google screen. Click on that, then Search Settings, then, under “Personal results,” select “Do not use personal results.” Click “Save” at the bottom, and you’re back to your old Googling ways.
LifeHacker supplies the next tip, in “How to Sign Up for a Google Account Without Being Forced in to Google+ or Gmail.” Though the GOOG insists that “Your Google Account is more than just Search,” not everyone wants to be railroaded into Google+ or Gmail or to reveal personal information. Writer Melanie Pinola has two solutions. At the time of this writing, you can still use the sign-up old form found here. You can also sign up from other Google services like Calendar and Blogger to avoid the new form. For now, at least.
Google’s fix? Don’t log in to Google. We think this is a clever response and probably not going to prevent online wizards from figuring out quite a bit about a user.
Cynthia Murrell, February 12, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Survey Finds Trust in Governments Sharply Eroded
February 11, 2012
From the “we don’t know if this is accurate” department:
If you’re a government and need a reason for censorship, look no further than RT’s “People Let Down by Government Turning to Social Networks.” The write up reveals:
The Edelman Trust Barometer has found that people around the world have lost trust in their governments over the course of the last year. . . . Among the main causes for such a downturn, [Edlelman CDO Robert] Phillips said, is the dispersion of authority and the rise of social media.
The annual survey asks residents of 25 countries about their feelings on government, businesses, and non-governmental organizations. This is the sharpest drop in trust in the US and European governments the company has found since beginning these surveys a dozen years ago. Instead, folks are placing their confidence in peer networks.
Could social media be a threat to the untrusted? If so, perhaps censorship is a comin’ round the mountain. Yep, here she comes. And one cannot search if the information is not in the indexes, right?
Cynthia Murrell, February 11, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Protected: Don’t Panic! Relax, SharePoint Is Easy with the Right Knowledge
February 11, 2012
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