SAIL LABS Updates Speech Technology
October 9, 2013
Good news from SAIL LABS Technology! The company has made an exciting press announcement, “SAIL LABS Announces New Release Of Media Mining Indexer 6.2.” Known for its speech software, SAIL LABS has updated its top product for real-time, multi-lingual, multimedia indexing. This updates come at the perfect time when companies are searching for ways to capture the next wave of data from mass media. The updates harnesses the power of SAIL LABS’s speech technology and provides a suite for multimedia processing, taking audio and video data and indexing it into a searchable format.
SAIL LABS is excited about the update:
“ ‘We are proud to introduce the latest version of the Media Mining Indexer. This newest version is the result of our ongoing investments in innovation and represents a quantum leap forward in terms of system flexibility and stability, overall performance and processing capabilities to optimally respond to client needs. Our customers will be pleased with the progress and we invite all others to join us on the way into the future,‘ says Gerhard Backfried, Head of Research at SAIL LABS.”
Image driven indexes are predicted to gain more prominence in the next few months. SAIL LABS has caught on quickly to a market need and will likely increase their customer base. Will others follow suit?
Whitney Grace, October 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Shodan and the Scary Side of Search
September 25, 2013
Search can be a lot of things, but “terrifying”? Yes, I’m afraid so. Forbes describes a thoroughly modern, search-related threat in, “The Terrifying Search Engine that Finds Internet-Connected Cameras, Traffic Lights, Medical Devices, Baby Monitors, and Power Plants.”
You may have heard the story about the hacked baby monitor, through which one truly deplorable individual viewed and harassed a sleeping two-year-old who was tucked into her own bed. In this piece, journalist Kashmir Hill examines the search engine Shodan, which she says probably facilitated that digital predator. Such a trespass is just the tip of the chill-inducing iceberg. She writes:
“Shodan crawls the Internet looking for devices, many of which are programmed to answer. It has found cars, fetal heart monitors, office building heating-control systems, water treatment facilities, power plant controls, traffic lights and glucose meters. A search for the type of baby monitor used by the Gilberts reveals that more than 40,000 other people are using the IP cam–and may be sitting ducks for creepy hackers. . . .
“Shodan’s been used to find webcams with security so low that you only needed to type an IP address into your browser to peer into people’s homes, security offices, hospital operating rooms, child care centers and drug dealer operations. Dan Tentler, a security researcher who has consulted for Twitter, built a program called Eagleeye that finds webcams via Shodan, accesses them and takes screenshots. He has documented almost a million exposed webcams.”
Scary stuff, but that is not all. The article notes that many modern buildings that house everything from apartments to businesses to government facilities have security, lighting, and HVAC systems connected to the Internet, where they could be hijacked. Even entire power grids could be usurped. The unnerving possibilities seem endless.
Like many scary things, Shodan can also be used for good. Folks working in security, academia, law enforcement, and white-hat hacking have used the tool to find susceptible devices and see that they are secured. It is also at least a bit comforting that the FTC is aware of Shodan’s capabilities and the vulnerabilities it reveals. The takeaway for consumers, of course, is to pay close attention to locking down devices from our end, with things like obscure user names (not “admin”!) and hard-to-guess passwords. Better yet, at least for now, we may wish to tune out the growing siren song that promises convenience through universal connectivity. The cost could be too high until security is significantly improved.
The programmer that developed and now runs the search engine, John Matherly, originally envisioned it being used by corporations for, let’s call it, competitor research. The sharp turn into creepy territory, though, does not seem to bother him. In fact, he seems to see this development as a good thing, shining light on inadequate security practices at companies that sell internet-connected devices. See the article for more about the man behind Shodan and the hornets’ nest that he has soundly thwacked.
Cynthia Murrell, September 25, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Watson Gets A Few More IQ Points
September 24, 2013
Watson impressed the world with a computer’s potential when IBM first introduced it in 2009. According to PC World, the powerful processor is about to get a few more IQ points: “IBM”S Watson Could Get Even Smarter With Power8 Chip.” Watson is currently running on the Power7 chip, but number 8 was discussed at a recent conference and is described as being two to three times faster. IBM’s Power line and Intel’s Xeon processor are used in most of the world’s supercomputing. Whenever IBM upgrades its product it uses Watson as a test dummy and the ultimate marketing tool.
Watson is already a powerful tool used in customer service applications, financial applications, and potentially smartphones. The new upgrade will make Watson and other computers that use the Power more than double their processing speed.
IBM has yet to release Power8, but it will soon:
“Recently, IBM announced its OpenPower initiative, where it will license the Power chips and co-develop an ecosystem around the Power architecture with companies like Google, Nvidia, and Mellanox. Up until now, IBM primarily used the Power design in its own servers. This new initiative makes it possible for cloud services and their technology providers to redesign the chips and circuit boards where computing is done, optimizing the interactions of microprocessors, memory, networking, data storage and other components, IBM executives said.”
More is just around the corner for Watson. I have made the joke before and I will continue to do so, I just hope it is not world domination.
Whitney Grace, September 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Notification Service for Craigslist Users
September 23, 2013
Searching for something specific on Craigslist? (No, I don’t want to know what. That’s your business.) If so, you might be interested in a service we have run across called NotiCraig.com, now in beta. The description specifies:
“NotiCraig.com is a free tool for automated craigslist searches. Instead of wasting all your time searching around on Craigslist, we’ll send you a notification as soon as the item you want becomes available. There is no signup required and we’re a 100% free service!”
The signup form is straightforward, asking questions about what you’re looking for, how much you are prepared to pay, and where you’re located. Naturally, it also asks for your email address so the service can alert you when your item pops up—it will automatically send out an email as soon as its scanning algorithm spots a match. That can be a real help when you’re on the hunt for something that is in high demand.
Cynthia Murrell, September 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Raritan Picks up Another Partner in AWS
September 19, 2013
In a move that brings enhanced UI customization to Amazon‘s CloudSearch, PR Newsire announces, “Raritan Releases Dynamic Search User Interface on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace.” They call the tool, sensibly enough, the CloudSearch Plus User Interface, and the press release tells us:
“This search solution, which interacts with Amazon’s CloudSearch product, is now for sale on the AWS Marketplace. Raritan’s search UI is easily configured to access any CloudSearch collection, customizable for each company’s unique interface requirements and enables mobility for content retrieval and accessibility.”
The write-up emphasizes four features of the product: enhanced, integrated search and navigation; accessibility via mobile devices; security and usability features; and the ability to customize UI elements like logos, fonts, and color schemes. This is not Raritan’s first venture into an enterprise search partnership. The article notes that the search solution firm:
“. . .has partnered with and worked with most of the top Enterprise Search engines, including Autonomy, Endeca, Fast, Google, LucidWorks (SOLR/Lucene), Verity and X1. This partnership with AWS (CloudSearch) will broaden Raritan’s offerings, enabling small and medium sized enterprises to experience the benefits of high-end search and Big Data solutions at a lower price.”
Raritan offers a range of data-management software and services. Though they have historically concentrated on the pharmaceutical industry, they also serve clients in the publishing, finance, commerce, and science/technology sectors. The company makes its home in Flemington, New Jersey.
Cynthia Murrell, September 19, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Navy Project Pulls Military into the Nineties
September 13, 2013
Sometimes an initiative comes along that causes me to perk up and declare, “wait, you mean they weren’t doing that already?” That is my response to Slashdot‘s article, “Navy Version of ‘Expedia’ to Save DOD Millions.” I know, I should no longer be surprised by the gross inefficiency of large bureaucracies.
The set of bureaucracies that makes up our military, though, is taking a welcome step toward efficiency with this project being tested by the Office of Naval Research. The system would use “an Expedia-like” search to correlate freight and personnel travel needs with open slots worldwide. Writer Kevin Fogarty reports:
“The Transportation Exploitation Tool (TET) is a little more sophisticated than online-travel sites such as Expedia or Travelocity were in 1996: The system consolidates travel schedules and capacity reports for both military and civilian carriers to give logistics planners a choice of open spaces in ships, planes, trucks, trains or other means of travel, along with information about cost, estimated time of arrival and recommendations of the most efficient route. Previously, logistics planners trying to get an engine part to a Navy ship stranded in a foreign port, for example, might spend hours or days looking through separate databases to find a ship or plane able to carry the part that could deliver it within a limited window of time.”
Though it has taken our government seventeen years to take advantage of this technology, I suppose the fact that they finally are is worth celebrating. The TET system is part of the Logistics Information Technology (LogIT) project, which aims to combine information “from separate systems for travel planning, asset tagging, tracking, location, monitoring and analysis of travel options into a single interface.” Logic is a beautiful thing!
The article includes a few details about how the system will work, as well as expectations for the project’s impact. See the article for more information about this belated but important initiative.
Cynthia Murrell, September 13, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
A New Search Tool Kicks Its Heels
September 6, 2013
Apache Lucene/Solr is already the most popular open source search software, but there are other options available including GigaBlast and Elasticsearch. Another search project wishes to join the ranks of open source search. Visit the main Web site and read the synopsis entitled, “Introducing Searchkick” to gain a basic understanding of the new technology. Searchkick is touted as helping developers “bootstrap their search.” It is an out-of-the-box solution that can stem, use special characters, ignore extra white space, handle misspellings, and is smart enough for custom synonyms.
Interestingly the new search tool is an intelligent search function:
“Searchkick uses conversion data to learn what your users are looking for. If a user searches for “ice cream” and adds Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey to the cart (the conversion metric), that item gets a little more weight for similar searches. Results get better as more people search.”
Searchkick can also reindex without any downtime, uses SQL, and can be deployed to any language. The search software is available via Github for download and development. We see a lot of small search projects starting off using open source software. The main problem is that they are often abandoned. Searchkick appears to be off to a better start than others. Let us see if the spark sticks.
Whitney Grace, September 06, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
IBM Lands New Account with Reevoo
September 5, 2013
Merchants at the U.K.’s the Jewellery Channel will soon have new analytics tools at their fingertips. PRWeb reveals the deal in the lengthily titled, “Reevoo and IBM Help the Jewellery Channel Analyse Customer Sentiment to Engage Customers and Build Trust.” Reevoo has embedded IBM’s Content Analytics with Enterprise Search into their Insight platform, which underpins the sparkly retail site. The press release informs us:
“The Jewellery Channel can leverage the sophisticated capabilities of IBM Content Analytics to access, aggregate and analyze unstructured content, understanding the meaning and context of human language within textual information found in both internal and external sources.
“The sentiment and natural language processing performed by Reevoo Insight with IBM Content Analytics not only unveils trends, patterns, issues and opportunities but also quickly identifies the root causes of why key metrics are changing. All the results are then made available through a series of user-friendly, visual actionable insights, customized for different roles.”
IBM has developed its Smarter Commerce program, of which its Content Analytics is a part, to help customers adapt to today’s dynamic tech landscape. The idea is to put the customer front-and-center, and IBM has tailored solutions for the fields of banking, electronics, consumer products, retail, and communications.
Based in London, social-commerce firm Reevoo was launched in 2005. Its cloud-based services aim to tap into social-media sentiment to provide clients with actionable insights. They pride themselves on their unique, flexible model, which they say outperforms the industry standard by far.
Cynthia Murrell, September 05, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Best Social Monitoring Tool Depends on Who Is Asking
August 28, 2013
Confused about social media monitoring? A thread at Quora, “Which Are the Best Social Media Monitoring Tools?” suggests that like search, social media monitoring is pretty tricky. The overall consensus statement makes it clear there is no simple answer: “No overall best tool. Pick the best fit for your needs.” Hmm.
Several respondents share their thoughts. One had compared Radian6 and Sysomos, and found the latter much easier to use. Another liked Engagor for its low price point. Perhaps the most comprehensive (though admittedly promotional) answer comes from Web Liquid account executive Ben Semmar, who shares:
“[. . .] Over the past couple of months, I’ve been involved in the creation of a Social Media Monitoring Buyer’s Guide. We began with a list of over 40 vendors, and based on a variety of criteria, whittled it down to a list five ‘finalists’ that we then conducted hands-on trials with. We found that some tools perform better than other tools in certain areas (but, really, doesn’t everything?) and so we don’t proclaim one tool king of them all; suffice it to say, though, that the five tools we tested are, based on our experience with and objective evaluation of the market, the best out there. You can find the study here: http://www.webliquidgroup.com/social-media-monitoring-tool-buyers-guide.”
Note that the guide he mentions is free, but requires a name and email address to view. Semmar goes on to assert one important caveat: We have not reached the point where algorithms can make reliable judgments about which insights a business should focus on, and how to use them. Though quality monitoring software can be a useful tool, the human mind is still required to wield it. (For now.)
Cynthia Murrell, August 28, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Shortcut Available for Text Searches Online
August 23, 2013
An article titled SearchClip Searches the Web for Text You Select with a Keystroke on Lifehacker addresses a Windows utility that enables easy search of highlighted text. The utility runs in the background once installed and enables the user to simply select text, hit Ctr+C twice in order to do a web search on the highlighted text. The utility, named SearchClip, sounds like a variant on the Autonomy Kenjin app developed over five years ago. The article explains some specifics of the program,
“You may need to add an exemption to your anti-malware tool for SearchClip to work—it does need to capture keyboard input to work, which can set off your antivirus app’s alarms. If you’re worried, Scott Hanselman was the one who turned us on to this one, and the code is freely available for inspection at GitHub. Also, you need Microsoft’s Visual C++ installed for the tool to work.
The article also states that on the first attempt to use SearchClip a DLL error code may appear. This problem disappeared once the package was installed. This utility seems like a shortcut of a shortcut, since copy and pasting Visit GitHub to try SearchClip out. Most of the responses to the post were critiquing the awkward hand position pictured in the article.
Chelsea Kerwin, August 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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