Has Lightning Struck for MaxxCat?
February 10, 2015
Have you ever heard of MaxxCat? It has played around in the back of our RSS feed every now and then when they have accomplished a major breakthrough. The company skipped to the forefront of enterprise search news this morning with one of their products. Before we discuss what wonders MaxxCat plans to do for enterprise search, here is a little more about the company.
MaxxCat was established in 2007 to take advantage of the growing enterprise search solutions market. The company specializes in low cost search and storage as well as integration and managed hosting services. MaxxCat creates well-regarded hardware with an emphasis that their clients should be able to concentrate on more important things than storage. The company’s search appliance hosting page explains a bit more about what MaxxCat offers:
“MaxxCAT can provide complete managed platforms using your MaxxCAT appliances in one or more of our data centers. Our managed platforms allow you to focus on your business, and allow us to focus on getting the maximum performance and uptime from your enterprise search appliances. Nobody can host, tune or manage MaxxCAT appliances as well as the people who invented them.”
Enterprise search appliances without a headache? It is a new and interesting concept that MaxxCat seems to have a handle on it.
Whitney Grace, February 10, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Is an Intelligent Photo Search Possible?
February 10, 2015
Microsoft is doing its best to maintain relevancy in the technology market. Its rivals, Google and Apple, are eating up all the customers and smacking their lips at the deliciousness of their success. Microsoft has not given up the battle and according to PC World, “Microsoft One Drive Adds Super-Intellifenct Searching Of Document Text, Photos.” OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud service and it has been upgraded to include Microsoft Research and Bing techniques to examine, tag, and analyze photos aka intelligent photo search.
Once photos are uploaded into OneDrive they will be scanned by OCR to gather information and apply tags. This feature is part of Microsoft’s new automated image recognition technology. Microsoft will also make the cloud easier to use:
“Microsoft also will make it easier to actually get your photos into the cloud through a new “Camera Imports” folder, which will be rolling out over the next month. Once you connect a camera or USB stick to your Windows 7 or 8 computer, photos will be automatically siphoned off and stored in Microsoft’s cloud. Likewise, if you snap a screenshot on a Windows 7 or Windows 8 machine, it too will be stored in OneDrive—a feature that’s already in Windows Phone today.”
The Internet has always been a visual medium, but accessibility of cameras has increased that and people want to organize and find their photos like they can their text files. Good move, Microsoft.
Whitney Grace, February 10, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Bridging the Gap between Policy and Technology
February 10, 2015
To many organizations, SharePoint installations can be more of a challenge than an asset. To help negotiate some of the most common challenges, webinars and other trainings can be valuable. Sys-Con Media covers a new training opportunity in their article, “Free 5 Feb Workshop Explores Using Sharepoint to Bridge the Gap Between Policy and Technology.”
The article begins:
“As technology executives, we’re often challenged with managing policy requirements and keeping up with technology to support them, while working with limited budgets and a shallow pool of qualified staff. DataPoint Solutions is hosting a free workshop to address these challenges in the form of four briefings, outlining how processes can be automated and streamlined by leveraging SharePoint and mission-critical systems to help capture organizational knowledge, automate processes, and ensure compliance with policies.”
Stephen E. Arnold also offers another resource for finding SharePoint training opportunities on his Web service, ArnoldIT.com. His SharePoint feed in particular is helpful for managers and end users alike. SharePoint will always be a large installation with lots to manage, but good training and a plan can go a long way toward easing a lot of the common struggles.
Emily Rae Aldridge, February 10, 2015
Is Facebook the Internet?
February 9, 2015
There has been a buzz in some circles that Facebook is the Internet. I think that one’s point of view plays a part in feeling comfortable with the statement. The author of “Millions of Facebook Users Have No Idea They’re Using the Internet” finds the idea more than a little intriguing. The write up makes reference to Facebook users far from Silicon Valley.
I highlighted this passage:
Since at least 2013, Facebook has been making noises about connecting the entire world to the internet. But even Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s operations head, admits that there are Facebook users who don’t know they’re on the internet. So is Facebook succeeding in its goal if the people it is connecting have no idea they are using the internet? And what does it mean if masses of first-time adopters come online not via the open web, but the closed, proprietary network where they must play by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s rules?
The write up points out that there is a slip twixt cup and lip. However, the theme of Facebook is the Internet continues to form the spine of the write up. I noted this passage:
Already services are starting to move away from the open web and to Facebook. And it’s happening not just in the poor world, but in poor parts of the developed world, where there also exists a sense among some that using an app isn’t the same as using the internet, which requires a web browser like Safari or Internet Explorer.
My view is that the notion of the open Internet is going to be a thorny issue. Governments are clamping down on some types of Internet sites. I checked one extremist Web site based in France. On February 5, 2015, the site was online. On February 6, 2015, the site returned 404s. However, some of the somewhat disturbing videos posted by the Web site remaining available on YouTube.com.
The idea for a state-certified information service may have some appeal. Did you explore Sputnik? Have you encountered issues with site access in China, Iran, or Turkey?
Is there a future in walled gardens?
Stephen E Arnold, February 9, 2015
Meet the Crazy Search Uncle of KDE
February 9, 2015
We all have those weird relatives that drop by during the holidays or odd times during the year. Ken Starks of Foss Force used the metaphor in “Desktop Search: KDE’s Crazy Uncle” to explain his views about KDE desktop search. Starks says that you can rely on KDE’s desktop search to be unreliable, like that crazy uncle who can’t hold down a job or a marriage.
Kfind, the default search, cannot find any files, especially when Starks knew they were in there. After some grumbling, he shares his experiences with KDS search software that does work. He liked using GNOME, Nepomuk to index, Dolphin, and his current search of choice: Catfish. He stresses that he loves working with KDE, he just wants the out-of-the-box search engines to work well instead of having to download a third party app:
“I installed a search app I use in Xfce and I didn’t have to drag in too many GTK dependencies to do it. It’s called “Catfish”…. find it a bit odd that a third party app surpasses the native KDE search application. Catfish gets it right. It’s a darned shame that it isn’t native to KDE.”
He has gotten some comments about using the command line and fussing with the code, but Starks’ retort is that most users do not know how to use those lines. They want to log into a system and have it work right through the user interface. Crazy idea, is it not?
Whitney Grace, February 09, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Just How Expensive is Azure
February 9, 2015
Wondering how expensive it would be to implement Microsoft’s cloud storage solution Azure in your business? The company offers a free download that can help (but only if you’re in the U.S.): the Microsoft Azure (IaaS) Cost Estimator Tool. Here’s the description:
The Azure (IaaS) Cost Estimator has been designed keeping in mind the need to provide the IT manager of next generation organizations the ability to quickly assess running cost of the existing on-premises workload on Azure.
About the tool
1. The tool provides real world machine hardware usage
2. It recommends appropriate Azure instance to match the scanned workload
3. It also generates 31-day cost estimates of running such an Azure instance
Features
1. The tool supports
*Microsoft technologies (Hyper-V, SCVMM)
*VMware technologies (vCenter, ESXi)
*Physical environments (Windows, Linux)
2. Support to A series and D-series Virtual Machines
3. Support to all regions apart from US
4. Price conversion in 24 currencies with the latest prices.
5. It is able to export to Excel/.csv that can be used for discussions with Systems Integration partner or a Microsoft representative
6. No data is sent to Microsoft at any time. All report and profile information resides on the machine where the tool is installed
Value Proposition
1. Can be Installed and a profile scan completed within 15 minutes (can be deployed on a Windows client)
2. Enables a comparison with on-premises running costs (e.g. hardware, power, cooling, building, security, and systems management among others)
Then again, if you just want to know whether Azure will be expensive (but don’t need to know by how much) we can save you some time: the answer is yes, when compared to open-source Elasticsearch.
Cynthia Murrell, February 09, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
What Makes a Startup Winner in Silicon Valley?
February 9, 2015
Is Silicon Valley a place or a state of mind? “An “Analysis of San Francisco’s Startups Shows Where the Real Silicon Valley Is” attempts to peg the there there.
The map suggests that Silicon Valley embraces a chunk of territory in the San Francisco area.
Apart from geography, there was an interesting list of success characteristics.
I noted this passage:
Based on the researchers’ model, the best indicators of entrepreneurial quality were characteristics like a company’s name. Companies that have short names containing words associated with technology tend to grow better. Businesses that aren’t named after their founders also tend to do better over time. In addition, the model showed that corporations are six times more likely to do well compared with companies that aren’t incorporated. The same goes for trademarks; companies with trademarks are five times more likely to grow than non trademarked businesses. Patents are also important indicators of entrepreneurial quality…
In my view, one can use these characteristics to identify search and content processing vendors likely to have a greater chance of success. The company name issue seems to be important. When a company located outside of the Silicon Valley hot zones lose control of their name and brand, the company may face more friction. Trademarks are also important.
Does this mean that when a vendor’s attempts to boost its identity are ineffective, that vendor may be at risk? In short, marketing may be more important than some technologists believe. Also, Berkeley seems to be a better location than a trailer in Mt. Diablo.
Stephen E Arnold, February 9, 2015
Mondeca: Joey Erodes a Brand
February 8, 2015
Protecting the “name” of a company is important. I pointed out that several content processing vendors were losing control of their name in terms of a Bing or Google query. I noticed another vendor finding itself in the same pickle.
Navigate to YouTube. Run a query for Mondeca. What the query “mondeca” triggers is a spate of videos to Joey Mondeca.
Now try the Twitter search for the string “mondeca”. Here’s what I see:
Mondeca, the French smart content outfit, may want to turn its attention to dealing with Joey Mondeca’s social media presence. On the other hand, maybe findability is not a priority.
A Google query for “mondeca” returns links to the company. But Joey is moving up in the results list. When vendors lose control of a name as Brainware did, getting back that semantic traction is difficult. Augmentext has a solution.
Stephen E Arnold, February 9, 2015
Hewlett Packard and Autonomy: A Fourth Try for Clear Thinking
February 8, 2015
The weekend approacheth. Another legal action takes place. The article “Former Autonomy CFOI Tries Again to Halt HP Shareholder Settlement” does a good job of explaining why Sushovan Hussain (Autonomy’s former CFO) wants to put the brakes on HP’s settlement of a shareholder lawsuit. The legal maneuverings are too complex for me.
According to the article:
The shareholders accused HP of issuing misleading statements about the financial health of Autonomy. Terms of the early settlement deal, since rejected by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, proposed not only to drop claims against HP, its executives and directors including CEO Meg Whitman, and but also for law firms representing the shareholders to assist HP with any criminal charges that might result against former Autonomy execs including Hussain and the company’s former CEO Mike Lynch. HP is on its fourth attempt to obtain approval from the judge for a settlement. The latest proposal includes terms that would basically bar anyone from suing HP over the Autonomy deal, a move which Hussain says amounts to a legal overreach and strips him of his legal rights.
Several thoughts crossed my mind:
First, HP is investing considerable time, money, and effort in going after Autonomy. But HP bought Autonomy and presumably reviewed the deal before forking over $11 billion.
Second, the after purchase remorse seemed to affect HP management in a surprising way; to wit, HP did not know what it purchased. Isn’t HP management’s job to know what it buys?
Third, with each passing month, HP is lagging farther and farther behind the companies that have leapfrogged Autonomy’s late 1990s technology. Will it be too late for HP to generate the billions in revenue from Autonomy’s technology to recover their investment and generate a return for HP stakeholders?
I find this soap opera lacking the logic of the Tela Novela Entre el amor y el odio. I know whom I would nominate as el odio.
Stephen E Arnold, February 8, 2015
The Info Mayflies: The Life Span of a Tweet
February 8, 2015
I read “Why It’s Never Been Harder to Be Seen on Social Networks (and What to Do about It: Hint, Buy Ads).” Google would certainly approve of this title’s message. The Twitter Google tie up is designed to deal with recalcitrant Twitter members like my dog Tess. She has a Twitter account and a Facebook page.
I noted a factoid:
tweets have an extremely short life span; a tweet’s half-life—that is, when half of a link’s total clicks occur—is 24 minutes, according to social media analytics firm Wisemetrics. So if a consumer doesn’t interact with a brand’s message shortly after it’s posted, chances are, he probably never will. Marketers are finding similar situations on Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and even the shopping-focused, advertising-supported Polyvore.
I have zero idea if this assertion is accurate. My hunch is that the time value of a tweet is even less. I, for example, do not read tweets; therefore, the tweets flowing out that I could view have a life spam of zero.
With Twitter a growth challenged and geographic-centric activity, tweets are ephemeral in my view.
One way to interpret this factoid is that a Twitter member who wants to be noticed faces an uphill climb. But Mother Google and Cousin Twitter are there to help—for a price.
Stephen E Arnold, February 8, 2015
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