Elastic App to Stretch Finding
February 26, 2020
Elasticsearch is one of the most used open source search application. While Elasticsearch is free for open source developers to download, the company offers subscriptions for customer support and enhanced software. Street Insider shares that Elasticsearch added a new addition to their service, “Elastic Announces The General Availability Of Elastic App Search On Elasticsearch Service.”
Starting now Elasticsearch Service users can deploy App Search simply from their dashboard. A powerful search experience is available in mobile devices harnessing the Elastic Cloud. The new Elastic App Search also includes new geolocation services and pricing:
“This milestone also unlocks a whole new choice of geolocation options for Elastic App Search users: from São Paulo to Singapore and California to Germany, App Search can be hosted everywhere you find our Elasticsearch Service.
Elastic didn’t just make getting started on App Search easier — they’ve also simplified pricing by switching to the same resource-based pricing model that Elasticsearch Service uses. With App Search on Elasticsearch Service, users only pay for the resources they consume, without worrying about artificial constraints around the number of users, documents, or operations made. It’s a whole new approach to pricing search that’s transparent and fair.”
Elastic, the parent company, is dedicated to making its software available to anyone who needs powerful search. Elastic offers free trials and opportunities to build prototypes.
Whitney Grace, February 26, 2020
Amazon Pursues the Ipanema Way
February 26, 2020
Foreign technology investment is a booming industry. Most major technology investments appear to occur in Asia and western countries. Amazon Web Services is looking south for technology investments, specifically Brazil. ZDNet reports that, “AWS Plants Multimillion-Dollar Investment In Brazil” for development.
AWS plans to invest $233 million (1 billion reais) to expand its infrastructure in São Paulo. The investment will be made over two years. Governor of São Paulo João Doria predicts that AWS’s investment will create more jobs and opportunities for startups within the state. AWS and the Brazilian officials did not share anything else about the deal other than an official press releases. AWS first came to São Paulo in 2012, when they built its first datacenter. That was just the start of the new investment:
“A few years later, the company announced that it would be using the customer cost-consciousness driven by economic instability to grow its business in Brazil and increase its influence in the local technology community. Cloud computing and artificial intelligence will be the core areas of focus when it comes to investment in technology in Brazil in 2020, according to a study released last month by technology firm CI&T.”
AWS’s major challenge in Brazil will be guaranteeing that this sector of the market can keep up with the rest of the world. Cloud computing technology advancements are driving AWS to invest in Brazil because it is a new, although volatile market.
Whitney Grace, February 26, 2020
Does Amazon Have Dark User Interface Patterns?
February 25, 2020
The question “Does Amazon make use of interfaces intentionally designed to generate revenue?” is an interesting one. Amazon does have a boatload of features, functions, and services. There are — what? — more than a half dozen different databases, including the quantum thing.
The article “My First AWS Free Tier Hosting Bill Was $900.” The idea is that “free” did not mean exactly free. This is akin to the word “unlimited” when it appears in mobile data plans. Is Amazon following a path blazed by telecommunications giants, truly models of consumer centric behavior in DarkCyber’s narrow view of the economic world.
The write up states:
A major part of AWS marketing is pay-per-use for their services:
“You only pay for the services you consume, and once you stop using them, there are no additional costs or termination fees.” – AWS Pricing
They also market “free tier” products, less powerful instances that are free for the first year of use.
The article reports that a slow roll out allowed the system to “sit around for a month.”
That decision cost about $1,000.
The article points out that assuming that an “idle server” would not cost anything. Also, the Amazon jargon did not make sense, so the developer ignored the Amazon speak.
The write up goes through the Amazon lingo to alert other individuals of Amazon’s approach to “free.”
Several observations:
- Amazon is confusing. DarkCyber thinks this is party due to the vaunted two pizza team approach to programming and part due to clever marketers who really want to match up to the founder’s principles.
- Amazon pitches itself hard as the logical, best, and superior choice for cloud anything. Individuals who buy this pig in a poke are going to pay.
- Amazon, if one makes a good case to the customer service unit staffed with people who sort of speak like those in rural Kentucky, will modify the charge.
Are these some lessons one can learn from this write up? Maybe, for example:
- Learn to speak Amazon
- Think before clicking
- Amazon became really big for a reason: Avoid becoming a third party merchant whose hot product became part of Amazon Basics.
Your mileage may vary from the drive through the Tunnel of Love that the author of the article took.
Stephen E Arnold, February 25, 2020
Google: Information Is for Us (Us Is the Google)
February 22, 2020
I won’t write about the alleged Google murder. Plus, I won’t run through the allegations related to this story: “Google Secretly Monitors Millions of School Kids, Lawsuit Alleges.” Google has many facets, and I find advertising Google style fascinating.
DarkCyber thinks the multi state investigation into Google’s possible violation of of antitrust law is philosophically challenging. The case involves information, consultants, Texas, and a tendril reaches Microsoft, an outfit skilled in software updates.
Let’s start with a Wall Street Journal (a story protected by a pay walls) revealed an interesting Google stance.
“Google Resists State Demands in Ad Probe” (February 22, 2020) reported that the company’s resistance to requests for information, in the words of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton:
They don’t believe that they’re clean because they don’t act in any way like they are.
Those involved is the Texas-led legal action want more than email. Google has balked. Google has groused about c0onsultants working on the case.
Why the hassle over ads? According to the Murdoch owned WSJ:
News Corp has complained that Google and other digital companies siphon ad revenue from content creators.
DarkCyber finds the pivot point in this multi state tug of war is information.
Google is an information company. Some believe that Google sought to index the world’s information. Then allow people to access the content.
But advertising revenue and a mostly ignored lawsuit about ad technology have altered the definition of information.
Google has information about its ad business. Some of that information has been requested via appropriate legal vehicles by the states’ taking Google to court. Google does not want to make that information available.
If the data were made available, presumably attorneys would be able to:
- Perform text analytics; for example, display statistical information about word occurrences, generate clusters of like data, etc.
- Generate indexed entities and tag them. Once tagged, these entities can be graphed so relationships become visible
- Output timelines of events and link those events to entities
- Search the content using key words and use the tags to reveal tough to discern items of information; who influenced what action when the words used to describe the activities were ambiguous to a non Googler.
There are other functions enabled by the corpus and current content processing technology.
DarkCyber noted these thoughts:
- Google is an information company and does not want that information disclosed
- Tools, some of which may run on Google’s cloud infrastructure, can reveal important nuances in the ad matter, nuances which otherwise may be impossible to discern by reading and human note taking
- The legal system, which has been most ineffectual in dealing with Google lacks laws and regulations which have not be enacted in the US to deal with digital monopolies.
Net net: Google may have the upper hand… again.
Stephen E Arnold, February 22, 2020
Innovators and Innovation: Is Google in the Me Too Business?
February 21, 2020
Ah, Google Plus. One could get a bonus for doing Plus things. Yes, Google Plus, the wanna be Facebook. And using the Orkut experience only made Google Plus better. How could a plus become a minus? It happened. Keep in mind that Google Plus could at any moment vivify if a Googler with time on his/her hands enters the “circle.” Why? How? What?
Hey, that’s just Googley.
Cult of Mac is circulating what may be a delicious digital cupcake. Now the confection could be a real treat like those at Philz Coffee, or it could be one of the pipe dreams about job security in the Google Cloud unit. Who knows?
The write up’s title is “Google Is Readying Its Own Apple News Competitor.” Now Apple News is different from Facebook, the alleged target of the Google Plus service. There’s insufficient information to figure out if the Apple News service is making publishers and users happy. DarkCyber has heard that some of those ink stained wretches are not ready to shout “Hurrah” from the watering holes near the great publishing facilities in Manhattan and trailer courts in Kansas-like locations.
The write up states:
Google has been in talks with multiple publishers about paying a licensing fee for content used in its upcoming news product. So far it sounds like the company is mostly talking to publishers outside the US, but the company says it views the initiative as an important tool for an informed democracy.
Ah, democracy. Google allegedly phrased its idea this way:
“We want to help people find quality journalism – it’s important to informed democracy and helps support a sustainable news industry,” said Richard Gingras, VP of news at Google. We care deeply about this and are talking with partners and looking at more ways to expand our ongoing work with publishers, building on programs like our Google News Initiative.”
Let’s reflect a moment on these questions:
- What me too product from Google has been the equivalent of Amazon’s AWS or Apple’s ear bud things?
- What happens when the Googlers working on the alleged product decide to shift to a product that will earn the workers bonuses and niftier work?
- What’s the plan for differentiating the service from for fee competitors, original sources and their pay walls and begging for dollars messages, or ad supported services like Newsnow.co.uk?
There are other questions, but this is a rumor. When it becomes a reality like Google Plus, then we will have “real” news or AF as some young folks say.
Stephen E Arnold, February 21, 2020
Amazon Revealed by the BBC: Analysis and News about the Bezos Bulldozer
February 18, 2020
The BBC is a subsidized news outfit. As a person who lives in America, I don’t understand the approach taken to either obtaining money or to programming. I do miss the Lilliburlero tune. Also, wouldn’t it be helpful to be able to locate BBC audio programs? Well, maybe not.
DarkCyber noted “Why Amazon Knows So Much about You.” The write up is notable for several reasons. First, it uses one of those Web layouts that are popular: Sliding windows, white text on black backgrounds, and graphics like this one of Mr. Bezos, zeros and ones, and a headline designed to make the reader uncomfortable:
Second, the article is labeled as news, but it is more of a chatty essay about Amazon, its Great Leader, and the data the company gathers via the front scoop of the Bezos bulldozer. But news? Maybe one of those chatty podcasts which purport to reveal the secrets of some companies’ success.
Third, the write up seems long. There are plenty of snappy graphics, dialog which reads a bit like the script for the video program Silicon Valley, and embedded video; for example, Margreth Vestager:
Note that this image is in close proximity to this image of Mr. Bezos and his friend. Happenstance? Sure.
The write up goes deep into Amazon history with details about a snowy, cold, and dark night. The stage setting is worthy of Edward Bulwer Lytton, the fellow who allegedly coined the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Is the BBC’s pen mightier than an Amazon sword, available in the US for $23.70 with free shipping for Prime members:
With that in mind, what is “Why Amazon Knows So Much about You?”
The most straightforward way to respond to this question is to look at what the write up covers. Here’s the general layout of the almost 5,000 word “semi news” story:
Introduction with the author’s personal take on Amazon
The early days (the meeting in the mountains) of “planning to suck data”
Amazon’s approach to business: Slippery, clever, and maybe some Google-style deflection
The Ring moment when the Shark Tank people proved they were not qualified to work for Mr. Bezos
Amazon is just like those other American monopolies and the sky is falling because staff are complaining about many things
Amazon’s big ideas for making even more money.
Encrypted Chat: Important but Possibly a Threat to Some Interests
February 18, 2020
Here is some interesting, if blatantly slanted, information. The founder of Telegram Messenger, Pavel Durov, describes the reasons his company’s rival is trouble in the post, “Why Using WhatsApp Is Dangerous.” He writes:
“A few months ago I wrote about a WhatsApp backdoor that allowed hackers to access all data on any phone running WhatsApp [1]. Facebook, its parent company, claimed at the time that they had no proof the flaw had ever been used by attackers [2]. Last week it became clear that this backdoor had been exploited to extract private communications and photos of Jeff Bezos – the richest person on the planet – who unfortunately relied on WhatsApp [3]. Since the attack seemed to originate from a foreign government, it is likely that countless other business and government leaders have been targeted [4]. In my November post, I predicted this would happen [5]. The United Nations now recommends its officials remove WhatsApp from their devices [6], while people close to Donald Trump have been advised to change their phones [7]. Given the gravity of the situation, one would expect Facebook/WhatsApp to apologize and pledge not to plant backdoors in their apps going forward. Instead, they announced that Apple, not WhatsApp, was to blame. Facebook’s vice president claimed that iOS, rather than WhatsApp, had been hacked [8].”
(Yes, those numbers represent footnote citations. See the post for those, and many more, relevant links.)
The post explains why, exactly, the Bezos breach could not have been the fault of iOS. It also explains why WhatsApp’s promise of “end-to-end encryption” is not all it’s cracked up to be. For one thing, users tend to back their chats up to the cloud; we’re reminded, as an example, that the FBI got Apple to relinquish plans to encrypt its iCloud. Then there are the backdoors—enforcement agencies pressure app developers to secretly build vulnerabilities into their platforms. These are usually described as “accidental” security flaws when discovered, as 12 have been found in WhatsApp in the last year alone. Finally, it is impossible to know whether the encryption implemented on a messaging app uses the code the company claims it does. Except for Telegram, of course, which has been open source with fully documented encryption since 2013, Durov emphasizes.
The telegram founder cheerfully admits his bias, asserting that, of course, he believes Telegram Secret Chats is more secure than the competition. That is largely because, unlike other platforms, his company refuses to comply with enforcement agencies’ demands for backdoors. As a result, Telegram is banned in Russia and Iran, unlike the dodgy WhatsApp. To read more details of Durov’s/ Telegram’s perspective, check out the post for yourself.
Cynthia Murrell, February 18, 2020
Apple: Project Maven and the US Department of Defense? No Go
February 17, 2020
Apple continues to avoid entanglements with the military, we learn from AppleInsider’s brief write-up, “Apple Nixed Xnor.ai’s Involvement in Pentagon’s Project Maven Following Acquisition.” Project Maven’s goal is to develop tech that can autonomously analyze image data from drones and other systems for military intelligence. Though Google famously broke with Maven after employee and public backlash, several private sector companies continue to work with the Pentagon on the project. Xnor.ai was one such company until Apple purchased it early this year. Writer Mikey Campbell reports:
“Spun out of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Xnor.ai focused on low-power, edge-based artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms that can run on-device instead of in the cloud. As noted by the report, running AI processes like image recognition on an iPhone instead of offsite — a practice that edge-based computing enables — could raise privacy concerns. Always the bastion of consumer security, Apple likely recognized the implications — and optics — of Xnor.ai’s involvement in Project Maven and terminated the work before the press caught wind of the relationship. Unlike other big tech firms, like Google which pulled out of Project Maven after protests from employees, Apple typically distances itself from military contracting activities.”
Based in Seattle, artificial intelligence firm Xnor.ai was founded in 2016. Perhaps ironically, the company’s focus on running deep learning algorithms locally instead of in the cloud is popular with companies concerned with privacy. Their clients inhabit the aerospace, automotive, retail, and consumer electronics fields.
Cynthia Murrell, February 17, 2020
Will Amazon Send President Trump a Valentine This Year?
February 13, 2020
DarkCyber noted “Amazon Wants Trump to Testify on Order to Screw Amazon in Pentagon Deal.” The Australian information service states:
Amazon Web Services said on Monday it was seeking to depose President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper in its lawsuit over whether the president was trying “to screw Amazon” when it awarded a Pentagon contract for cloud computing to rival Microsoft Corp. The Amazon.com Inc unit alleged that Trump, who has publicly derided Amazon head Jeff Bezos and repeatedly criticized the company, exerted undue influence on the decision to deny it the US$10 billion contract.
Years ago I read the handbook of modern management, De Principatibus by Niccolo Machiavelli. One observation I sort of recall is:
If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
Worth monitoring billionaires fighting.
Stephen E Arnold, February 13, 2020
Acquiring Data: Addressing a Bottleneck
February 12, 2020
Despite all the advances in automation and digital technology, humans are still required to manually input information into computers. While modern technology makes automation easier than ever millions of hours are spent on data entry. Artificial intelligence and deep learning could be the key to ending data entry says Venture Beat article, “How Rossum Is Using Deep Learning To Extract Data From Any Document.”
Rossum is an AI startup based in Prague, Czechoslovakia, founded by Tomas Gogar, Tomas Tunys, and Petr Baudis. Rossum was started in 2017 and its client list has grown to include top tier clients: IBM, Box, Siemens, Bloomberg, and Siemens. Its recent project focuses on using deep learning to end invoice data entry. Instead of relying entirely on optical character recognition (OCR) Rossum uses “cognitive data capture” that trains machines to evaluate documents like a human. Rossum’s cognitive data capture is like an OCR upgrade:
“OCR tools rely on different sets of rules and templates to cover every type of invoice they may come across. The training process can be slow and time-consuming, given that a company may need to create hundreds of new templates and rule sets. In contrast, Rossum said its cloud-based software requires minimal effort to set up, after which it can peruse a document like a human does — regardless of style or formatting — and it doesn’t rely on fully structured data to extract the content companies need. The company also claims it can extract data 6 times faster than with manual entry while saving companies up to 80% in costs.”
Rossum’s cloud approach to cognitive data capture differentiates it from similar platforms due to being located on the cloud. Because Rossum does not need on-site installation, all of Rossum’s rescuers and engineering goes directly to client support. It is similar to Salesforce’s software-as-a-service model established in 1999.
The cognitive data capture tool works faster and unlike its predecessors:
“Rossum’s pretrained AI engine can be tried and tested within a couple of minutes of integrating its REST API. As with any self-respecting machine learning system, Rossum’s AI adapts as it learns from customers’ data. Rossum claims an average accuracy rate of around 95%, and in situations where its system can’t identify the correct data fields, it asks a human operator for feedback to improve from.”
Rossum is not searching to replace human labor, instead they want to free up human time to focus on more complex problems.
Whitney Grace, February 12, 2020
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