Blackberry Gets Alerted
July 23, 2015
The idea of industrial strength notifications is understood in some mission critical entities. For most folks who focus on marketing hyperbole, the notion of an alert is a Twitter message or a real news release.
Blackberry, confused and baffled Blackberry, has realized that commercial alerts can be a good business. According to “Blackberry to Buy Crisis Alerts Firm AtHoc,”
AtHoc’s communications software is essentially a messaging alerts system, but for entities that need to exchange potentially sensitive and critical information between devices, organizations and people when other forms of communication may be unavailable. The software supports a variety of devices and platforms, including iOS, Android, PCs and Macs.
At Hoc has interesting technology. There is the alert function. The company also features filtering and scheduling activities and a number of content processing functions.
I like At Hoc. I assume the sale will not significant alter the At Hoc products and services. But, hey, it is Blackberry.
Stephen E Arnold, July 23, 2015
What We Know About SharePoint 2016
July 23, 2015
Everyone is vying for a first look at the upcoming SharePoint 2016 release. In reality those details are just now starting to roll in, so little has been known until recently. The first true reveal came from Bill Baer at this spring’s Microsoft Ignite event. CIO distills Baer’s findings down into their article, “SharePoint 2016: What Do We Know?”
The article says:
“The session on SharePoint 2016 was presented by Bill Baer, the head of SharePoint at Microsoft. This was the public’s first opportunity to learn what exactly would be in this version of the product, what sorts of changes and improvements have been made, and other things to expect as we look toward the product’s release and general availability in the first quarter of next year. Here’s what we know after streaming Baer’s full presentation.”
The article goes on to discuss cloud integration, migration, upgrades, and what all of this may point to for the future of SharePoint. In order to stay up to date on the latest news, stay tuned to ArnoldIT.com, in particular the dedicated SharePoint feed. Stephen E. Arnold has made a career out of all things search, and his work on SharePoint gives interested parties a lot of information at a glance.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 23, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Disable Annoying Windows Web Search
July 23, 2015
In another attempt to Apple, Microsoft allows users to search not only their computer’s hard drive, but also the Web at the same time. This is a direct copy of Apple OS’s Spotlight Search, but unlike Apple, Windows’s increased search parameters are annoying. Windows users can disable this supposed “helpful” feature and GHacks has the directions to do it: “How To Disable Web Search In Windows 10’s Start Menu.”
Apple’s Spotlight Search does pretty much the same thing, but it categorizes results into organized categories and does not search the entire Web, only Wikipedia, iTunes, and preselected search engines. Microsoft has the tendency to go overboard and that usually equals slow response time. The article mentions the Windows 10 search results are also:
“I will never use the search for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t need it there as I want local files and settings to be returned exclusively when I run a search on Windows 10. Second, the suggestions are too generic most of the time and third, since a browser is open all the time on my system, I can run a search using it as well without having to add another step to the process.”
The good news is that the Web search feature can be disabled, but it is not available to all users. Does that surprise you? Microsoft has the tendency to release OS’s without fully fixing all the bugs. Windows 10 appears to be better than prior releases, but little bugs like this make it annoying.
Whitney Grace, July 23, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
A Technical Shift in Banking Security
July 23, 2015
Banks may soon transition from asking for your mother’s maiden name to tracking your physical behavior in the name of keeping you (and their assets) safe. IT ProPortal examines “Fraud Prevention: Knowledge-Based Ananlytics in Steep Decline.” Writer Lara Lackie cites a recent report from the Aite Group that indicates a shift from knowledge-based analytics to behavioral analytics for virtual security checkpoints. Apparently, “behavioral analytics” is basically biometrics without the legal implications. Lackie writes:
“Examples of behavioural analytics/biometrics can include the way someone types, holds their device or otherwise interacts with it. When combined, continuous behavioural analysis, and compiled behavioural biometric data, deliver far more intelligence than traditionally available without interrupting the user’s experience….
Julie Conroy, research director, Aite Group, said in the report “When the biometric is paired with strong device authentication, it is even more difficult to defeat. Many biometric solutions also include liveliness checks, to ensure it’s a human being on the other end.’
“NuData Security’s NuDetect online fraud engine, which uses continuous behavioural analysis and compiled behavioral biometric data, is able to predict fraud as early as 15 days before a fraud attempt is made. The early detection offered by NuDetect provides organisations the time to monitor, understand and prevent fraudulent transactions from taking place.”
The Aite report shows over half the banks surveyed plan to move away from traditional security questions over the next year, and six of the 19 institutions plan to enable mobile-banking biometrics by the end of this year. Proponents of the approach laud behavioral analytics as the height of fraud detection. Are Swype patterns and indicators of “liveliness” covered by privacy rights? That seems like a philosophical question to me.
Cynthia Murrell, July 23, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Lexmark: The Former IBM Printer Unit Prints Pink Slips
July 22, 2015
I live in rural Kentucky. Hopefully the layoffs at Lexmark will not cause new trailers to appear adjacent my property and my spiffy Clayton mobile castle.
I read “Lexmark Announces 500 Layoffs Worldwide as Revenue, Earnings Are Flat.” I know that the Lexington, Kentucky based company is trying. The firm is nosing into healthcare. The company is building facilities to cater to the new work force.
Lexmark is even nosing into the search and content processing sector which interests me. I don’t pay much attention to printers. My Lexmark laser went to the local thrift shop a decade ago. Come to think of it. I just create PDFs. I assume that other people find that printers are no longer must-have devices.
Lexmark splashed some cash for search and content processing companies. The firm bought the quite wrinkled and aged search technology founded by Ian Davies in 1988. That works out to more than a quarter century ago. Lexmark bought the Brainware technology, which is based on a rather nifty concept of trigrams. When content is processed with the trigram numerical sausage machine, it becomes easy to match the patterns. The higher the pattern overlap percentage, the more likely the documents are about the same thing. At least, that’s the idea as I understand the explanation given to me face to face before the deal went down. Lexmark also snagged Kofax, which itself had purchased Kapow, an outfit into the normalization of content and some other “interesting” functions.
Lexmark is a sponsor of the Bluegrass Disc Golf Association competition to be held in August 2015. This is an event of note in these here parts.
When I learned about these deals in 2012 and the 2015 Kofax purchase, I realized that Lexmark was emulating the thinking at two other companies. Hewlett Packard bought Autonomy in the hopes of riding a revenue rocket. I still marvel at the shallowness of HP’s understanding of how Autonomy grew to $700 million in revenue in 15 agonizing years of effort and perspiration. But HP caught spreadsheet fever and has not yet recovered. IBM allegedly bet $1 billion that Lucene, home grown code, and acquired technology could create a computing revolution. IBM touts the cognitive revolution at the same time it reports its 13th quarterly decline in revenues. I learned today that IBM is pushing the cooking angle via a partnership with Welltok.
Lexmark, I submit, did the same thing: Looked at search and decided, “Our management team can make more money that these acquired outfits ever did.” The result is that Lexmark is probably: [a] Doomed to suffer cash outlays in order to keep the search and content processing systems current with alternative software; [b] going to struggle to develop organic revenue streams which deliver profits to stakeholders, and [c] reposition itself the way Sprylogics has. As you may know, Sprylogics shifted from an intelligence oriented content processing system to a mobile fantasy sports app.
I have to stop now. I hear the sound of a four wheel drive’s wheels slipping. Yikes. Someone is putting a 2006 Fleetwood 14×70 across the pond from my Clayton. One of the people is wearing what looks like a Lexmark disc golf logo on a T shirt.
Stephen E Arnold, July 23, 2015
Statistician Eclipse? No, Disintermediation Is Now Part of Data Space
July 22, 2015
The fact is that many folks who are managers responsible for profits and losses can add. Some can do basic manipulations of data in their head; for example, “What is my commission on a sale of 10,000 shares of GE?”
But the vast majority of the folks I encountered before I retired struggled with mathematics. The fact that physics, bioengineering, even civil engineering depends on math is knowledge that sits on the sidelines in the race to pay the mortgage.
The folks who are able to use math to solve problems and earn a living are in the majority at outfits like Halliburton, Google, Diffeo, and other companies with less dependency on MBAs, marketers, lawyers, and the other “soft” disciplines that constitute the majority of an organization’s talent pool.
Enter statistics. Now the notion of Big Data, like the silliness about cognitive computing and semantics, is a token, a mental shortcut, a bit of jargon. Why worry about what is required to make sense of data, whether big or little? Why concern oneself with the challenges of determining a proper local diffeomorphism between manifolds?
I read “The Risky Eclipse of Statisticians.” I liked the article. I recommend it.
The main point is that statisticians are being marginalized by data scientists. I am not sure what a data scientist is. I am sure what a statistician is. I had a relative who was pretty good with statistics. He (VI Arnold) worked for another guy {Kolmogorov) who also was good with statistics.
The data scientist thing sounds a little too New Age for me.
I did note this passage in the write up:
What speaks even louder volumes is that statisticians are often left out of some of the biggest national discussions happening around Big Data today. For instance, UC Berkeley’s Terry Speed observes:
US National Science Foundation invited 100 experts to talk about Big Data in 2012. Total number of statisticians present? 0.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has a 17-person Big Data committee. Total number of statisticians? You guessed it…0.
Justin Strauss, co-founder at Storyhackers, who previously led data science programs in the healthcare industry, can attest to this more generally. He says he has “seen an underrepresentation” of statisticians at conferences and other events related to Big Data. But statistics is the foundation of understanding Big Data. This was supposed to be their decade–their time to shine in the limelight. So, what changed? As renowned statistician Gerry Hahn once said:
“This is a Golden Age of statistics, but not necessarily for statisticians.”
The article explains the gap.
For me, however, the write up does not drive home a point which I think is important.
Statistics and the practice thereof is not speedy, necessarily intuitive, and not all that easy, even for mathematically gifted folks.
Consequently short cuts are needed to get over the skills gap and around the bellyachers who suggest that bad data will get worse with bad analysis and lead to the probability of really bad decisions. I bet you can think of a few real bad decisions in your own company, can’t you, gentle reader. Here’s a hint: The probability of the junk bond market working like the model predicted.
The push for point and click data analysis systems is a response to a dearth of people who can “do” statistics without taking short cuts. Some companies are trying to bake in safeguards so the system user does not generate a real or figurative train wreck.
I am supportive of multi dimensional teams. On the team should be individuals who are data integrity savvy. There should be people who know the business and the competition. And, in my opinion, a real live statistician should be involved. She needs a computer, a mobile phone, and a cattle prod. Zap the strays who don’t know the systems and methods appropriate for the question at hand. Zap. Zap.
Stephen E Arnold, July 22, 2015
Italian Firm Delivers Semantic API to Wall Street
July 22, 2015
Short honk: There are quite a few high technology firms chasing the deep pockets on Wall Street and in the City. Some, like Digital Reasoning, have teamed with larger players to capture customers. Others, like Connotate, have relied on their stakeholders to open doors. Many companies attended financial technology showcases to demonstrate the power of their intelligent systems; for example, Digital Shadows. Some companies like Terbium Labs show up and demonstrate how their advanced technology reduces risk and improves financial performance.
Expert System is approaching the market with what it calls the “first semantic API”. The idea is that money folks can create cognitive computing systems. You can read about the system at this link.
Expert Systems is betting that this is true. The news release quotes Luca Scagliarini, CEO as saying:
Intelligent solutions for strategic information management are absolutely critical in today’s big data world, and no where is this more critical than in the financial services industry where inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to fatal decisions. With Cogito API Finance, we are filling a big gap and tremendous need for customized knowledge management solutions in the financial industry.
Expert System is a publicly traded company (EXSY:MI) so the payoff from this cognitive push should be evident in the firm’s next financial report.
Today shares are trading at 2.12, up 0.02 or 0.76 percent. BAE Systems, a company with its NetReveal / Detica technologies which are in use in a number of financial applications, is trading at 29.35. There is market headroom available.
Stephen E Arnold, July 22, 2015
IBM SAP Versus SAS: A Faux Dust Up
July 22, 2015
Ah, the freebie statistics are like gnats. One or two make no difference when one is eating a chicken leg. Toss in 20,000 or more and the leg eating becomes a chore.
I read an oblique write up called “SAS UK Chief: Envious Rivals, Skills Gap and Analytics in the Cloud.” The topics are interesting because they are mixed together, a fruit salad to go with that picnic chicken.
The write up begins a statement attributed to an IBM SAP executive along the lines: “SAS could be entirely replaced.” That seems a bit of fortune telling which might not be entirely in line with some SAS users’ plans. IBM, as you may know, is fresh from 13 straight quarters of revenue decline. I interpreted the feisty comment as a signal to IBM management that the much loved SAP division is replete with machismo and doing its bit to increase revenues. There’s nothing like a statistics squabble to pump up the sales spice.
As I understand the write up, that allegedly “put ‘em up, chump” statement caused an SAS executive to flounder. SAS’s problem is that it is still a little chunk of graduate school. SAS faces competition from upstarts like Talend. SAP, on the other hand, is chasing consulting and giant IBM cloud-type things. But the two outfits are old school operations. For proof just ask a graduate student in statistics.
The reality is that both SAP and SAS may be victims of the same market shifts. In order to get either company’s products to deliver a perfect grilled chicken, one has to know about statistics and have resources (money, gentle reader).
Big companies are okay with these requirements. But the buzz in the analytics world is for open source, point and click, ready to run solutions. The outputs of these next generation systems may not meet the standards of the SAPs and the SASs of the world, but the customers don’t care.
These two firms are facing many gnats. Neither is going to have a pleasant meal. The good old days of sunshine, blue skies, and a bug free experience are gone.
Stephen E Arnold, July 22, 2015
Scribd Obtains Social Reading
July 22, 2015
Access to books and other literary material has reached an unprecedented high. People can download and read millions of books with a few simple clicks. Handheld ebook readers are curtailing the sales of printed book, but they also are increasing sales of digital books. One of the good things about ebooks is bibliophiles do not have to drive to a bookstore or get waitlisted on the library. Writers also can directly sell their material to readers and potentially by pass having to pay agents and publishers.
It occurred to someone that bibliophiles would love to have instant access to a huge library of books, similar to how Netflix offers its customers an unending video library. There is one and it is called Scribed. Scribd is described as the Netflix of books, because for a simple $8.99 bibliophiles can read and download as many books as they wish.
The digital landscape is still being tested by book platforms and Scribd has increased its offerings. VentureBeat reports Scribd’s newest business move in: “Scribd Buys Social Reading App Librify.” Librify is a social media reading app, offering users the opportunity to connect with friends and sharing their reading experiences. It is advertised as a great app for book clubs.
“In a sparse press release, Scribd argues Librify’s “focus on the social reading experience” made the deal worthwhile. The news arrives at a heated time for the publishing industry, as Amazon, Oyster, and others all fight to be the definitive Netflix for books — all while hawking remarkably similar products.”
Netflix has its own rivals: Hulu, Amazon Prime, Vimeo, and YouTube, but it offers something different by creating new and original shows. Scribd might be following a similar business move, by offering an original service its rivals do not have. Will it also offer Scribd only books?
Whitney Grace, July 22, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Neural Networks and Thought Commands
July 22, 2015
If you’ve been waiting for the day you can operate a computer by thinking at it, check out “When Machine Learning Meets the Mind: BBC and Google Get Brainy” at the Inquirer. Reporter Chris Merriman brings our attention to two projects, one about hardware and one about AI, that stand at the intersection of human thought and machine. Neither venture is anywhere near fruition, but a peek at their progress gives us clues about the future.
The internet-streaming platform iPlayer is a service the BBC provides to U.K. residents who wish to catch up on their favorite programmes. In pursuit of improved accessibility, the organization’s researchers are working on a device that allows users to operate the service with their thoughts. The article tells us:
“The electroencephalography wearable that powers the technology requires lucidity of thought, but is surprisingly light. It has a sensor on the forehead, and another in the ear. You can set the headset to respond to intense concentration or meditation as the ‘fire’ button when the cursor is over the option you want.”
Apparently this operation is easier for some subjects than for others, but all users were able to work the device to some degree. Creepy or cool? Perhaps it’s both, but there’s no escaping this technology now.
As for Google’s undertaking, we’ve examined this approach before: the development of artificial neural networks. This is some exciting work for those interested in AI. Merriman writes:
“Meanwhile, a team of Google researchers has been looking more closely at artificial neural networks. In other words, false brains. The team has been training systems to classify images and better recognise speech by bombarding them with input and then adjusting the parameters to get the result they want.
But once equipped with the information, the networks can be flipped the other way and create an impressive interpretation of objects based on learned parameters, such as ‘a screw has twisty bits’ or ‘a fly has six legs’.”
This brain-in-progress still draws some chuckle-worthy and/or disturbing conclusions from images, but it is learning. No one knows what the end result of Google’s neural network research will be, but it’s sure to be significant. In a related note, the article points out that IBM is donating its machine learning platform to Apache Spark. Who knows where the open-source community will take it from here?
Cynthia Murrell, July 22, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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