Autonomy iManage: Out of the HP Way
July 29, 2015
Autonomy’s beefy revenues came from acquisitions. One of the properties in the pre-HP portfolio was iManage. Believe it or not, iManage is a document management-Outlook centric system. There are some customers who cannot prepare legal documents without its functionality. One can send an attachment in an email so a colleague can click on the document and edit the document within the iManage work flow and document management environment. Some attorneys is a very big US government agency are in raptures about this type of “keep it together” capability.
I read “Autonomy Unit iManage Exits HP With Buyout.” The main point of the article is that iManage was an “asset.” Imagine. HP is okay with the notion of some of Autonomy having value.
The deal puts some of the old team back in the saddle. To add some gloss to the “we want outta this place,” the article reports that the new iManage will use HP cloud services and will use IDOL for some content processes.
Several observations:
- What other bits and pieces of Autonomy will HP dump?
- Why was HP unable to leverage the iManage system as an organic revenue stream?
- Is HP confident that it can generate pre-acquisition Autonomy revenues without the mosaic of products and services which allowed Autonomy to hit $700 million plus in revenues?
Interesting development. iManage has some significant accounts and is likely to have a bright future away from the HP way.
Stephen E Arnold, July 29, 2015
Sri Lanka and Loon Balloons
July 29, 2015
If you are in Sri Lanka, you will be able to get high speed Internet. Sri Lanka is conveniently located near south east Asia. It is an island, and it is easy to reach. I assume there will be excellent on the scene reportage about the high speed Internet provided by the Google Loon balloons.
A Sri Lankan beach.
The details of this Loon deployment appear in “Google’s Balloons to Provide Sri Lanka with High-Speed Internet.” I learned:
the X Labs creation uses stratospheric balloons that transmit signals to the ground to provide internet coverage even in rural locations. That’s why Sri Lanka’s government news portal is proudly proclaiming that the nation is “on its way to becoming the first country in the world to have universal internet coverage.”
You can surf when you are not “surfing.”
There are parts of Kentucky where Internet access is not available; for example, in the restaurant across the street from the largest mall in Kentucky. Sri Lanka is preferable because it is a more cost effective location for a test. Air fare from SFO to Columbo begins at $2,400. Such a deal for a 24 hour trip door to door.
The Sri Lankan infrastructure makes testing as easy as walking across the Stanford University soccer fields.
Google’s new focus on cost control is evident in choosing this remote island for a test. There are a couple of beaches, mountains, and a dynamic, highly charged technological pulse beating throughout an area the size of Texas. One can shop for computer parts at the Micro Centre in Unity Plaza or snag a missing part in Delhi, a short jaunt for an intrepid Googler.
The location for the Loon test is not Sicily. Google is renting some ruins in Sicily for a meeting about cost controls. Sicily is also close to Google’s Mountain View headquarters and an easy trip for the journalists who cover the firm’s excursions into financial probity.
Stephen E Arnold, July 29, 2015
Ooooh, Darpa, Ooooh, Baby, Wail
July 29, 2015
I read “DARPA Hired a Jazz Musician to Jam with Their Artificially Intelligent Software.” I would have used the pronoun “its” but I am not artificially intelligence. DARPA brings it axes to a jam fest. The DARPA barrelhouse features some Bose bouncing riffs.
DARPA’s robot, AI infused quartet is down by law.
The write up said:
“A human musician also builds a knowledge base by practicing and by listening and by learning and studying,” Thomas [DARPA cat] said. “So the thing we’re proposing to do is analogous to the way a human learns, but eventually it will be able to do this on a much larger scale. It can scour thousands of transcriptions instead of dozens or hundreds.” Many people might not consider music a form of communication, but Paul Cohen, an AI researcher and head of the Communicating with Computers project, thinks music shares many qualities with the spoken and written word.
You can watch a video and watch these fantastic musicians keep up with a human hep cat. If Dark Web search and drone performance improves with this investment, that’s cool.
Maybe we have another US government moldy fig, dude? Robot musicians would not be persons of interest for alleged use of controlled substances unless WD-40 were reclassified.
Stephen E Arnold, July 29, 2015
Bing Is A Winner…Huh?
July 29, 2015
Bing is the joke of Internet search. Skilled Web surfers…no, scratch that term. Nobody “surfs” the Internet anymore, unless you are an older person trying to maintain relevancy. Skilled Web users Google or play DuckDuckGo, but according to Mashable, Bing might be ringing in as many jokes anymore, “Microsoft’s Bing Isn’t Such A Failure After All.”
Microsoft VP of advertiser and publisher Rik van der Kooi said that Bing is now able to pay for itself, contrary to its launch six years ago when it hemorrhaged cash from the beginning. Microsoft wants Bing to be even more profitable by its 2016 fiscal year, which started earlier this month on July 1.
“Microsoft should provide more clarity on Bing’s financials with its next earnings release in July. Profitable or not, Bing is clearly moving in the right direction. The service’s improved financial position, combined with recent strides in pushing its share of the search market to 20%, offer the clearest argument yet that Microsoft still has the power to muscle its way into lucrative and mature technology categories and find solid footing there.”
The article recounts Bing’s unprofitable history, culminating in its more recent successes that have funneled more green into the search engine. This includes Apple making Bing the default search on its mobile OS, a renewed partnership with Yahoo, a ten year deal with AOL, and Bing sending map imaging to Uber. It finishes by calling Bing a contender and it looks like that may be true. Let’s wait until they start making self-driving cars until victory is declared.
Whitney Grace, July 29, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
An Obscure Infographic About London Coffee Shops
July 29, 2015
Here’s a unique pair of graphics, particularly of interest for anyone who can see themselves enjoying a cup of joe in London. Gizmodo presents “A Taxonomy of Hip Coffee Shop Names.” The infographic from Information is Beautiful lays out London’s hipster coffee shops by both naming convention and location. Both charts size their entries by popularity– the more popular a shop the bigger disk (coaster?) its name sits upon. The brief write-up sets the scene:
“As you walk down the sidewalk, you see a chalkboard in the distance. As you step a little closer, you smell the deep musk of coffee emanating from an artfully distressed front door. Out steps a man with a beard, a Mac slung under his arm, sipping from small re-useable flat white-sized cup. You’ve stumbled across another hip coffee shop. Now, what’s it called?
“Information is Beautiful … breaks the naming structure down by type: there are ones themed around drugs, chatter, beans, brewing, socialism and more. But they all share one thing in common: they sound just like they could be hand-painted above that scene you just saw.”
So, if you like coffee, London, hipsters, or taxonomy-graphics, take a gander. From Alchemy to Maison d’être to Window, a shop or two are sure to peak the curiosity.
Cynthia Murrell, July 29, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google+ or Google Plus: A Minus It Seems
July 28, 2015
I love product and service names which are unsearchable. I think I have a Google+ or Goiogle Plus account. I am not sure. I will not care any time soon.
I read with interest “Google Gives Up on Google+ As a Facebook Rival.” Let’s see. Google gave up on Orkut, Wave, and I suppose other social things. Each of these “give ups” reminds me of the ethos of my high school math and science clubs. Heh heh, who cares if no one understands.
According to the estimable Wall Street Journal article:
Google launched Google+ four years ago, seeking to create a big social network with a billion or more people updating their status, posting photos and keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues. The company wanted it to be a “platform layer” that unified Google’s sharing models, as well as a product and a mobile app, Horowitz explained in a (yes, you guessed it) Google+ update. “This was a well-intentioned goal, but as realized it led to some product experiences that users sometimes found confusing,” he wrote. Among the most confusing – and irritating – was a requirement that a user have a Google+ account and profile to log into many other Google services.
But my fondest recollection was that some Googlers had to do Google+ or Google Plus things to get a bonus. Yes, that’s the way to motive the team.
My favorite social service was Orkut. Google allegedly skirmished in court a couple of times. Orkut then became a fave in Brazil among some of the folks who were not likely to be invited to join Google.
Google+ or Google Plus lacked this sort of zing. I remember a Googler writing me, imploring me to become active in Google+ or Google Plus. I think we pump Beyond Search content toward the service.
My hunch is that like Google Glass, Google+ or Google Plus is not dead. Like the characters in an Anne Rice novel, Google me too innovations are like Lestat and his relatives. Oh, when is the next meeting of the math club? I hope it does not conflict with the science club meeting.
Stephen E Arnold, July 28, 2015
Watson: The PR Blitz Continues
July 28, 2015
I know that IBM is trying to reverse 13 quarters of revenue decline. I know that most of the firm’s business units are struggling to hit their numbers. I know that IBM’s loyal employees are doing their best to belt out the IBM song “Ever Onward” in perfect harmony.
If you are not familiar with the lyrics, you can read the words at this link on the IBM Web site, which unlike the dev ops pages are still online:
EVER ONWARD — EVER ONWARD!
That’s the spirit that has brought us fame!
We’re big, but bigger we will be
We can’t fail for all can see
That to serve humanity has been our aim!
Our products now are known, in every zone,
Our reputation sparkles like a gem!
We’ve fought our way through — and new
Fields we’re sure to conquer too
For the EVER ONWARD I.B.M.
Goodness, I am tapping my foot just reading the phrase “Our reputation sparkles like a gem!”
And I don’t count the grinches who complain at EndicottAlliance.org like this:
Comment 07/27/15:
Job Title: IT Specialist
Location: Rochester MN
CustAcct: Various
BusUnit: Cloud
Message: I was forced out/bullied out through bad PBC rating/threats of PIP. I left voluntarily a few months back, rather than waiting for the inevitable layoff (since my 2014 rating was a 3, I would have probably been let go with no package). Once I got my appraisal in January, I started looking around and found another job that pays about the same as my band 10 IBM salary – and I am evaluating several other offers as we speak. I truly feel for the victims of yet another round of layoffs. But I don’t quite understand why some find it “shocking” and “unexpected” that IBM gets rid of them. Your CEO has publicly declared that many of you – especially those in the services organizations – are nothing more than “empty calories.” She went on record with those words. What do you expect? Either you organize or you better start looking for something else.
I pay attention to the “3 Lessons IBM’s Watson Can Teach Us about Our Brains’ Biases.” The write up explains:
Cognitive computing is transforming the way we work.
Twitter Message Disinformation: The Light Bulb Goes On
July 28, 2015
Twitter messages or tweets can be spoofed. No kidding. I read “Embedded Tweets Can Be Easily Faked.” Many exciting actions can be applied to the lowly tweet. The write up reveals this Ah Ha insight:
you may modify the actual text of the tweet. The favorite & retweet counts can be altered as well.
Marketers, rev your engines. Think of the possibilities for disseminating misinformation, reformed information, and good old disinformation.
Stephen E Arnold, July 28, 2015
Image Match: Wave Fingerprints and Search
July 28, 2015
Navigate to “Deep Neural Network Can Match Infrared Facial Images to Those Taken Naturally.” The write up explains that an infrared snap of a person’s face can be matched (mapped) to a normal picture of a human’s face. The idea is that there are wave signatures. I find this interesting. The write up states:
To use such a system for correlating infrared images with natural light counterparts, then, would require a large dataset of both types of images of the same people. The duo discovered that such a dataset existed as part of other research being done at the University Notre Dame. After being given access to it, they “taught” their system to pick out natural light images of people based on half of the infrared images in the dataset they were given. The other half was used to test how well the system worked. The results were not perfect, by any means—the system was able to make correct matches 80 percent of the time (which dropped to just 55 percent when it had only one photo to use), but marks a dramatic improvement in the technology.
The approach has a number of search related applications. Worth monitoring.
Stephen E Arnold, July 28, 2015
Connecting SharePoint with External Data
July 28, 2015
One of the most frequently discussed SharePoint struggles is integrating SharePoint data with existing external data. IT Business Edge has compiled a short slideshow with helpful tips regarding integration, including the possible use of business connectivity services. See all the details in their presentation, “Eight Steps to Connect Office 365/SharePoint Online with External Data.”
The summary states:
“According to Mario Spies, senior strategic consultant at AvePoint, a lot of companies are in the process of moving their SharePoint content from on-premise to Office 365 / SharePoint Online, using tools such as DocAve Migrator from SharePoint 2010 or DocAve Content Manager from SharePoint 2013. In most of these projects, the question arises about how to handle SharePoint external lists connected to data using BDC. The good news is that SharePoint Online also supports Business Connectivity Services.”
To continue to learn more about the tips and tricks of SharePoint connectivity, stay tuned to ArnoldIT.com, particularly the SharePoint feed. Stephen E. Arnold is a lifelong leader in all things search, and his expertise is especially helpful for SharePoint. Users will continue to be interested in data migration and integration, and how things may be easier with the SharePoint 2016 update coming soon.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 28, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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