HonkinNews for April 18, 2017 Now Available
April 18, 2017
From the friendly skies of rural Kentucky, this week’s HonkinNews talks about the benefits of a visit to Louisville, Kentucky. Injuries are possible. HonkinNews report that a mid tier consulting firm has decided that people do not search. When you look for information online, you really “insight.” Yep, that sounds pretty crazy to Beyond Search as well. Even more startling are the companies the thrashing consulting firm identifies as leaders in “insight.” Spoiler: Recorded Future, Palantir Technologies, and other companies of this ilk are not included. Why? Insight means enterprise search. HonkinNews also take a quick look at what we call the “high school science club disorder” or HSSCD. Although not on the list of official medical conditions, we report on some striking parallels between Stephen E Arnold’s high school science club in 1958 and Google’s response to allegations from the US Department of Labor about Google’s compensation plan. From the Beyond Alexa service, HonkinNews recycles some information about must-use Amazon Alexa skills. Fancy some Eastern philosophy or words from fashionistas. You will learn what to have Alexa deliver for your auditory delight. A technological news flash about pizza adds flavor to this week’s show. You will want to use DRU to get your slice. No, DRU is not based on “drool”, although one of the Beyond Search team does droll when someone mentions pizza. DRU is a Domino Robotic Unit. Yummy. HonkinNews speculates about a rumored “new” functions for those who write using Microsoft Word. If you like Windows 10’s start menu ads, you will love LinkedIn information displayed next to that memo you are trying to finish so you can leave early. View the program to find out if Clippy will return. You can view the program here.
NB. One viewer of the program wanted to know why the program is in black and white and is pretty lousy. The reason is that we film on a Bell & Howell camera. We are in rural Kentucky, and we use what we have. Enough said. You can “insight” old fashioned eight mm film too.
Kenny Toth, April 18, 2017
HonkinNews for April 11, 2017, Now Available
April 11, 2017
This week’s HonkinNews video program leads with information about Bitext, a company providing breakthrough deep linguistic analysis solutions. In order to put the comments of Dr. Antonio Valderrabanos in perspective, HonkinNews takes a look at the “promo” article discussing IBM’s cognitive computing activities. There is one key difference highlighted in HonkinNews: IBM talks jargon in recycled marketing language and Bitext’s CEO talks about the company’s rapid growth and licensing deals with companies like Audi, Renault, and one of the largest players in the mobile device and mobile services market. The program also looks at the remarkable 9,000 word Fortune Magazine article about Palantir Technologies’ interaction with US government procurement agencies. The very long article does not describe Palantir’s technical innovations nor does the Fortune analysis explain why using commercial off-the-shelf software for intelligence work makes sense. News about the Dark Web Notebook teams three presentations at the prestigious TechnoSecurity & Digital Forensics Conference in June 2017 complements a special offer for the only handbook to Dark Web investigations available. For discount information, check out the links displayed in the video. The video also takes a look at the new Yahoo. Once the transformation of Yahoo into Oath with a punctuation mark no less takes place, the Yahoo yodel will become a faint auditory memory. Does the HonkinNews item trigger an auditory memory. Watch this week’s video to find out. You can watch the video at this link.
Kenny Toth, April 11, 2017
HonkinNews for 4 April, 2017 Now Available
April 4, 2017
For April 4, 2017, HonkinNews digs into a shallow article about enterprise search. We did not know that enterprise search illuminates the dark corners of the Internet. We don’t believe this, but that’s why we decided to discuss this flimsy analysis. Also, Snap ephemera are now findable, which means that these gems of knowedge ot disappear quickly. We find some humor in a headhunting outfit which is promoting the name Beyond Search in interesting ways: Dead links and tie ups in Brazil, for example. ISPs can now sell user data. We quote a former FTC big wig who is a master of alliteration. Of course, big ISPs promise not to sell user data. Never. Ever. We discuss a company with technology able to figure out a person’s interests and match ads to that individual. The ads will arrive via an Alexa device or a wheelchair. Finally we illustrate the Google way of answering direct questions. You can find the program at this link.
Kenny Toth, April 4, 2017
Beta-Stage Video Sharing Platform BitChute Tosses Gauntlet at YouTube
March 28, 2017
The article on ITWire titled BitChute: The First Serious YouTube Competitor? touts the new video sharing platform, BitChute. Never heard of it? Don’t feel bad, neither has anyone else, it is still in the beta stage. But the article argues that BitChute’s peer-to-peer technology may make it a serious threat to YouTube. YouTube has always had the upper hand when it came to centralized servers, especially since being acquired by Google, due to its enormous resources. The article explains how BitChute may challenge YouTube,
An example of the peer-to-peer model being used to scale up online is the creation of Skype in 2003. By 2012, Skype, the first Internet telephony application to use peer-to-peer technology, had carved out a market share of more than 30%. Not only does BitChute use different technology, its principles are clearly outlined in its FAQ, in which it is revealed that the website’s existence is in response to YouTube’s failure to cater to independent content creators.
BitChute broadcasts its disruptive intentions in the FAQs, setting up a David and Goliath archetype. YouTube’s strike system, which goes by the honor code more than anything else, alongside its history of demonetization of advertisements, plays directly into the hands of a company like BitChute. The startup calls for freedom of expression, decentralization, and customized pairings for monetization.
Chelsea Kerwin, March 28, 2017
HonkinNews Special Report for 28 March 2017
March 28, 2017
This week’s HonkinNews (https://youtu.be/N9-1LFnJW8A) provides information about Stephen E Arnold’s new report Dark Web Notebook: Investigative Tools and Tactics for Law Enforcement, Security and Intelligence Organizations. The video presents a six minute summary of the 10 sections of the Notebook, the appendices, and information about purchasing. The program contains several important announcements related to his Dark Web work:
- He is making a return to live, in person lectures at law enforcement and intelligence conferences. Information is at Techno Security & Digital Forensics Conference, June 4-7, 2017.
- He is announcing the his Dark Web Basics lecture and his Dark Web Vendor Systems lectures have been updated to include important techniques and law enforcement and intelligence software
- A live tutorial is available. Attendees may bring their own Windows laptop. Stephen provides each hands on tutorial attendee with [a] an untraceable prepaid debit card, [b] a clean email address not linked to the tutorial user, [c] prepaid hotspot connectivity via Karma, O2, and T-Mobile, a USB key preloaded and bootable with TAILS and support software.
- He is making the Dark Web Notebook available at a special pre-publication price of $99, regular price $149.
HonkinNews reveals that Stephen E Arnold’s three hour, hands on tutorial for Dark Web access via TAILS, live access to selected Dark Web sites, and the procedure for acquiring Bitcoin without revealing an investigator’s identify will be presented. Attendees for this session must have proof that they are engaged in active investigations and intelligence work.
The video explains the scope of the Dark Web Notebook and highlights several aspects of the book which make it useful for those engaged in an active investigation or intelligence operation; for example, how to obtain an untraceable identity when best practices are followed, the method for obtaining specific information about Dark Web sites engaged in unlawful activities, and cleared third-party vendors able to provide Dark Web services for operations. Vendors are on procurement schedules such as GSA or DSA, among others.
The video walks through each section’s content and appendices. This week’s program explains that for individuals or organizations not part of a government entity, on-site tutorials, webinars, and formal training programs are available from Stephen E Arnold and the Dark Web Notebook team.
The video also announces that Stephen E Arnold will be lecturing and conducting training classes at the upcoming Techno Security & Digital Forensics Conference, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The program is available at www.technosecurity.us.
I have seen the video, and it is clear that Stephen’s presentations will be a popular part of the program at the conference. The information in the Dark Web Notebook is likely to be of interest because it provides recipes for Dark Web access, use of specialized software, and identify protection. The video includes urls and email addresses for those who are interested in attending his lectures in Myrtle Beach in June 2017 or in arranging a program for a specific audience.
You can access the video at this link: https://youtu.be/N9-1LFnJW8A
Kenny Toth, March 28, 2017
Now Online: HonkinNews for 14 March 2017
March 14, 2017
HonkinNews for March 7, 2017 Now Available
March 7, 2017
The March 7, 2017, HonkinNews explains how to make bad data better. Curious about this type of digital magic? We report that one expert believes one just adds more data. The result is that a data lake becomes crystal clear. Believe it or not. Fake news and fake research may be more widespread than some believe. One well respected academic reports that often rejected research will get published. The author just needs to be persistent. Google may have a competitor which believes it can become the king of search. The proud owners of Qwant, a search system based on Pertimm technology, perceive the GOOG as vulnerable. With more than 95 percent of Web search traffic from France and Germany flowing to Google, we are not sure if Qwant realizes that Quaero tried this play and failed to get a first down. Did you know that one search wizard believes that Google’s PageRank system is like a soccer game? We sure didn’t. We red carded this explanation. Hewlett Packard Enterprise seems to be emulating IBM’s financial trajectory. Indicators are down. And Yahoo is making headlines once again. The person responsible for the security lapses and the failure of the company to manage the situation is revealed. Tune in to find out who won the purple plastic ring at the carnival. The video is at this link.
Ken Toth, March 7, 2017
HonkinNews for 28 Feb 2017 Now Available
February 28, 2017
This week’s HonkinNews considers the Facebook “manifesto.” Our interpretation is that companies like Facebook are countries too. Aren’t we lucky? The IBM security conference is scheduled for March 2017 and Beyond Search was invited. We assume that the data science root access breach will be one highlighted case study. The program also comments on the Pinterest Lens technology. Now after “pintering”, one can locate and buy a product. No words required. Two stories illustrate the depth or shallowness of thinking about online research. We present a list of “must use” search engines and note some notable omissions. Then we consider a comparison of conducting research on an ad supported system versus the commercial databases, books, and journals at a first-rate research library like Dartmouth’s. The subject of Google’s Loon balloons drifts in as well. We consider the question: Will Facebook free Internet drones engage in combat with Google’s free Internet Loon balloons? You can find it at this link.
Kenny Toth, February 28, 2017
HonkinNews for 21 February Now Available
February 21, 2017
Hang onto your lightweight mobile. HonkinNews lets you watch recall, precision, and relevance being kicked to pieces by a real live SEO expert and famed author. We love that “famed” thing. You will also get a peek at how to visualize innovation. Inside the box and outside the box look tame compared to our view of the real world. We give you a tip for searching for an image in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 350,000 digital collection. You may not like the answer. We did not. If you have a mainframe in your home office, you can load Watson and let it index your significant other’s recipes, or you can process a local bank’s overnight cash transactions. Either way, IBM gives you some Watson juice. And you will get a bit of information about Yahoo’s most recent security issue. Yep, yabba dabba hoot.
Kenny Toth, February 21, 2017
Gender Bias in Voice Recognition Software
February 21, 2017
A recent study seems to confirm what some have suspected: “Research Shows Gender Bias in Google’s Voice Recognition,” reports the Daily Dot. Not that this is anything new. Writer Selena Larson reminds us that voice recognition tech has a history of understanding men better than women, from a medical tracking system to voice-operated cars. She cites a recent study by linguist researcher Rachael Tatman, who found that YouTube’s auto captions performed better on male voices than female ones by about 13 percent—no small discrepancy. (YouTube is owned by Google.)
Though no one is accusing the tech industry of purposely rendering female voices less effective, developers probably could have avoided this problem with some forethought. The article explains:
’Language varies in systematic ways depending on how you’re talking,’ Tatman said in an interview. Differences could be based on gender, dialect, and other geographic and physical attributes that factor into how our voices sound. To train speech recognition software, developers use large datasets, either recorded on their own, or provided by other linguistic researchers. And sometimes, these datasets don’t include diverse speakers.
Tatman recommends a purposeful and organized approach to remedying the situation. Larson continues:
Tatman said the best first step to address issues in voice tech bias would be to build training sets that are stratified. Equal numbers of genders, different races, socioeconomic statuses, and dialects should be included, she said.
Automated technology is developed by humans, so our human biases can seep into the software and tools we are creating to supposedly to make lives easier. But when systems fail to account for human bias, the results can be unfair and potentially harmful to groups underrepresented in the field in which these systems are built.
Indeed, that’s the way bias works most of the time—it is more often the result of neglect than of malice. To avoid it requires realizing there may be a problem in the first place, and working to avoid it from the outset. I wonder what other technologies could benefit from that understanding.
Cynthia Murrell, February 21, 2017
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