How to use Oracle Full Text Search in an Entity Framework
July 25, 2012
Oracle has the solutions, but how do you use Oracle full text search in an entity framework? We are not sure what this means, but the info you need can be found in Devart’s article, “Using Oracle Full-Text Search in Entity Framework.”
Devart began with:
“We decided to meet the needs of our users willing to take advantage of the full-text search in Entity Framework and implemented the basic Oracle Text functionality in our Devart dotConnect for Oracle ADO.NET Entity Framework provider. For working with Oracle Text specific functions in LINQ to Entities queries, the new OracleTextFunctions class is used, which is located in the Devart.Data.Oracle.Entity.dll assembly.”
It enables working with such Oracle Text functions as:
- CONTAINS
- CATSEARCH
- MATCHES
- SCORE
- MATCH_SCORE
Devart presents a very detailed sales pitch for OraDirect, or dotConnect as their calling it now. Whatever name you choose, the gist is the software offers native connectivity to the Oracle database, tools and technology. They also offer a customized set of their own tools to increase Dataset productivity such as Dataset Wizard and Dataset Manager.
If you can decipher their article, than the wisdom of the Oracle is yours. For the most part this article reads like a coder handbook, and I am not a coder. If you happen to speak that very enlightened language, you will probably grasp Devart’s meaning a lot quicker than this gosling. If not, maybe the Oracle will see you some other day.
Jennifer Shockley, July 25, 2012
Microsoft Embraces Cloud in Google Battle Move
July 25, 2012
It appears Microsoft is putting much focus on the cloud with the upcoming release of Office 2013 in an attempt to stay competitive with Google Apps.
The battle is highlighted in the article on ComputerWorld, “Microsoft Office 2013 Fires Shot at Google’s Enterprise Push.” Analysts say the move to the cloud is necessary for Microsoft to keep up with the search giant in the world of cloud-based office apps. Microsoft’s release preview included the cloud up front with multi-device tools and touch screen capabilities backing up the presentation.
We learn in the article:
“According to a May report from research firm Gartner, Google is far outpacing Microsoft in the cloud business. Compared with Microsoft, Google is winning one-third to one-half of new, paid-for, cloud-based office system seats, the analyst firm reported.
‘Google’s call to action is appealing to organizations generally not pleased with their current situation,” Gartner noted. “Primarily, the disaffected are moving to Google Apps, legitimizing that choice, and helping Google grow its base and defy all the early predictions of Google’s defeat’”
A full preview is available at http://www.microsoft.com/office/preview/en. Our opinion? We think neither company seems particularly concerned about search. How does one find a document amidst tens of thousands? Dropping buzzwords around does not make either company more navigationally easy to use, nor does it completely satisfy information-hungry users.
Andrea Hayden, July 25, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
Study Shows Google+ Outperforming Facebook in User Satisfaction
July 25, 2012
Ready to believe some random, pop-up survey data? The Register serves some up in “Study: Users Prefer Google+ Over Facebook.” The article reports on this study from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ASCI). The write up tells us:
“According to ACSI’s figures, Google+ tied Wikipedia with a score of 78 out of 100, leading the pack of all the social websites surveyed. By comparison, Facebook scored only a 61, which was actually 7.6 per cent lower than the previous year.”
No 2011 figure for Google+ is available, since the site was added to this survey just this year. The article goes on:
“ACSI attributes some of Google+’s high satisfaction marks to its ability to integrate Google services such as search, YouTube, and Gmail. It also calls out the ‘well liked’ Google+ mobile app, which Google says now accounts for the majority of its social network’s traffic.”
Writer Neil McAllister notes that another recent study, from Web site analytics firm Compete, found unique visitors to Google+ increasing by 43 percent from this past May to June. Sounds great for Google, on the surface.
But how much stock can we put in these statistics? And, reliability aside, what value do they add to society? It almost seems as if these surveys are designed for companies who want to annoy customers, like a digital “this call my be recorded for quality purposes” (which really means “we listen only if we are required to or need grounds to fire a cube dweller.”)
Cynthia Murrell, July 25, 2012
Sponsored by PolySpot
New Data Mapping Platform Customizes Journalistic Reality
July 24, 2012
CartoDB created a new data mapping platform that will add versatility to the way the media displays acquired data. Data Driven Journalism’s article “Meet Data Mapping Platform CartoDB” provides some insight into the technology that has journalists as excited as a cartographer who discovered a new island.
CartoDB has added flexibility and a few more creative options, as:
“In Fusion Tables you are very limited to how you want the marker to look like; it is just a circle in different colours. In CartoDB we support a full styling language like Carto CSS; you can do many more things, like changing the opacity, using a symbol, or changing how it looks at different zoom levels. More importantly, CartoDB is open source and does not impose data size limits.”
Data plays a big part in any field of journalism and efficient data mapping platforms are a necessity. Today’s mix of media personnel needs real-time applications that allow them to engage the audience over complex issues. Platforms like CartoDB add a unique visual display so the latest news can be seen in a more meaningful, informative and entertaining way.
Journalism is propelled by news and views, with the viewer’s ultimately determining the popularity of the site. Hunter Thompson once referenced the media by saying, “We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men’s reality.” CartoDB just gave journalists the freedom to further customize the way we see their reality.
Jennifer Shockley, July 24, 2012
Streamlining SharePoint at Work
July 24, 2012
On the Microsoft SharePoint Blog, Chirag Patel addresses readers’ questions about what SharePoint can do for them professionally with his entry, “8 Easy Ways to Change SharePoint at Work.”
Before diving into his list of eight tips, Patel gives an introduction to his ideas:
With endless possibilities and boundless optimism, SharePoint obviously has a great deal more to offer and [sic] the manner in which it is implemented and governed. You will also find mountain of articles and how to guides on the Internet but my response almost always touch on the following areas. In this post I will share 8 easy ways that by themselves may not dramatically improve productivity, but combined can result in significant performance gains and hopefully help you leverage SharePoint functionality.
In terms of leveraging SharePoint functionality, not every organization can afford a team of SharePoint developers in-house or contracted out. For these organizations, a smart third party solution may be a good addition to an existing SharePoint infrastructure, or as a standalone piece.
A third party solution with good reviews and user feedback is Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise. With a listed of notable technology partners, Fabasoft Mindbreeze can ensure high functionality with limited additional effort. For users who have to choose between intense customization of SharePoint and adding a third party solution, many will find a third party solution like Mindbreeze to be the least stressful option.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 24, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
Chasing the Tail of Search Engine Details
July 24, 2012
Details, details, what do users want? In order to run a successful business, that is the question that the entrepreneur of today must have answered. Siteimprove’s article “Create an Annual Search Cycle to Stay One Step Ahead of Your Users,” advises site administrators that the best way to catch results is to chase them.
Siteimprove actually encourages admins to double check the functionality of their platform, and:
- Examine the most popular search terms for each month
- Fill terms into an Excel table where you place the months side by side. It’s best to remove plural endings, synonyms, etc.
- Sort the terms alphabetically for each month. This will create an overview and help you distinguish between the terms to see if they appear in most months, or only in a few months.
- Ensure terms are easily identifiable which are specific to that month/or quarter.
We have all seen a pet chase their tail, but they don’t know what to do when they catch it. Chasing users to physically create a company overview can provide insight into anticipated results, but a good internal search engine already does that. An efficient program can create search term rules, store information and provide quick links for results in order to ensure users are finding exactly what they’re looking for.
Siteimprove seems to be running in circles to compensate for the possibility of an inefficient program. Is the system so bad that the users are chasing the search administrator like a pet chasing his tail?
Jennifer Shockley, July 24, 2012
The Codex of PLM Openness Gains another Provider
July 24, 2012
As the manufacturing industry is becoming less dependent on national borders the need for companies and providers to work together is growing. One initiative to help that happen is the Codex of PLM Openness. The Virtual Strategy article, “Trubiquity Joins the Codex of PLM Openness Initiative”, explains how another PLM provider has joined the initiative.
The article explains both the Codex itself and Trubiquity’s decision to join:
“The Codex of PLM Openness is a program of the ProSTEP iViP organization designed to provide a common understanding on openness of information technology (IT) systems in the context of PLM. This joint effort involved IT providers, integrators and customers and has defined measurable criteria that provides a clear position with regard to PLM Openness. Trubiquity joined the voluntary CPO as a self commitment to continue offering highly integrative solutions for PLM driven supply chain managed file transfer (MFT) and collaboration.”
PLM solutions used to be relegated to only the top manufacturers in the world but with the advances in technology (especially cloud) in the last few years PLM solutions have become affordable for even the smallest of enterprises. Providers who understand that many companies adopting PLM solutions are new to marketplace focus on customer support and training to ensure that solutions are utilized to their maximum. Openness begins with the relationship between customer and provider.
Catherine Lamsfuss, July 24, 2012
More Explanation of Predictive Coding
July 24, 2012
Predictive coding is the best thing to happen to eDiscovery since its conception, but it has been hard to find an article that goes into strict detail about how it works. Mondaq finally answered the call to explain how the litigation coding works in “Predicting the Future of Predictive Coding.” It first gives the prerequisite paragraph about what predictive coding is, uses an example of hand sifting through paper, and explains about cost savings.
Then it gets into the meat:
“A recent study by Rand Corp., which includes 57 case studies from eight large corporations, shows that the cost of e-discovery can be grouped into three main categories: collection, processing and review. Amazingly, the review phase accounted for 73 percent of the costs incurred during e-discovery. Predictive coding works to drastically reduce the number of documents that are manually reviewed by lawyers.”
The process typically works in this way. Lawyers review a small document sampling and code them according to subject matter or relevance. The litigation software then studies the sampling and applies it to a larger document set. Lawyers perform quality control checks to make sure the correct relevant documents are pulled up, drastically reducing manual searching and increasing accuracy. Predictive as an adjective is now doing more work than the previous favorite “big data.” My hyperbole radar is humming.
Stephen E Arnold, July 24
Sponsored by HighGainBlog
Crowd Sourced Dictionary Holds Promise
July 24, 2012
Dictionaries become part of our lives shortly after we start to read and many of us remember the classic textbook copy of Webster. The old texts seem to gather dust, and the addition of a crowd source dictionary will not increase their popularity.
A new dictionary is in the works according to Stylist Magazine’s article “The World’s First Crowd-Sourced Dictionary.” Dictionary publishers Collins are inviting the general public to contribute to their online dictionary, and become involved in the evolution of the English language.
This new online reference will contain not only words, but some of the phrases from slang between friends to abbreviations, jargon or made-up buzzwords, all input by the users.
Anyone can be a part of the process and submitting content is simple, as:
“Users just need to log and submit their phrase of choice, which will go through an editorial evaluation and if accepted appear on the definition page, with your name forever imprinted as the creator of that word.”
“If there’s a word you use with your friends that you think is absolute genius, now’s your chance to let the world know. Collins will also giving away prizes to a person who submits a word every day until the 31st August 2012.”
The thing that makes Collins stand out from other user content sources like Wikipedia is the moderation and approval aspect. A crowd sourced dictionary is not only an interesting concept, but may bring the occasional chuckle as we watch trendy buzzwords come and go.
Jennifer Shockley, July 24, 2012
Reasons for Amazon Cloud Service Shut Down Explored
July 24, 2012
Cloud computing may be affordable and energy efficient, but it is not without fail despite the efforts of marketing language might try to present it as otherwise. The recent Amazon EC2 Outage received some attention by Dmitriy Samovskiy in his article, “Applying 5 Whys to Amazon EC2 Outage.” He describes the reasons behind the service disruption which occurred on Friday June 29, 2012.
Using a deductive dialogue inquiring why this outage occurred, the author eventually states the following:
“The EC2 and EBS APIs are implemented on multi-Availability Zone replicated datastores. These datastores are used to store metadata for resources such as instances, volumes, and snapshots. To protect against datastore corruption, currently when the primary copy loses power, the system automatically flips to a read-only mode in the other Availability Zones until power is restored to the affected Availability Zone or until we determine it is safe to promote another copy to primary.”
Heavily immersed in a world of cloud computing, we have essentially replaced the local crash with an “out there” crash. Cloud computing is the future, but that does not mean we do not see room for critique as the feeling of helplessness creeps upon us when a crash occurs out there in the cloud.
Megan Feil, July 24, 2012
Sponsored by IKANOW
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