In a Game of Duck Duck Goose, Google is the Goose
December 25, 2012
Google undeniably controls Internet search, but the little guy has not given up yet. DuckDuckGo is the newest competitor in the search engine game and it promises to have “fair search.” News Web sites like The New York Times, Search Engine Land, and PCMag.com hail DuckDuckGo as a “long-term threat to Google search dominance.” The newest Internet star was recently covered in the Search Engine Journal in the article,“DuckDuckGo Vs. Google-The War Get Dirty.”
What makes DuckDuckGo a “fair search” is that it does not track your search history or IP, have your questions answered by more official Web sites than Wikipedia, and the ability to search Facebook, Amazon, YouTube, and many other Web pages.
Google has problems with its rival, though, asserts Gabriel Weinberg—DuckDuckGo’s founder. In the Chrome browser, it is difficult to make DuckDuckGo the default search engine and to override some of Google’s presets the newbie had to create a Chrome plug-in. The reality is that while Google always wants to be number one, it is not going to hinder the competition:
“Manually setting DuckDuckGo as the default search engine for Chrome is quick, and it can be done in Google Chrome settings. …It is really not that complicated, and it’s a matter of seconds to set up. No unfair treatment from Google against DuckDuckGo – any new search engine would need to go through the same process.
Saying that Google purposely harms a competitor’s search engine, in a time when the search giant is being investigated by the FTC for ‘using its power in the market to smother competitors’, is misleading and unfair. It’s fighting dirty – and bad PR.”
DuckDuckGo just might be a little jealous of Google. Weinberg also might be having startup problems, so blaming it on Google is a way out for him.
Whitney Grace, December 25, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Strong Infrastructure and Flexible Computing Options Has Enterprises Flying High on Search
December 24, 2012
Companies are looking for the most economical way to increase ROI and the right software can easily provide the solution. The problem then comes to choosing the right software for your business?
CIO’s utilizing the cloud combined with enterprise search are literally floating on cloud nine, according to Wall Street Journal’s article “Oracle Earnings Show CIO Preference for Cloud and Systems”. Oracle’s shares exceeded analyst expectations by 3 cents per share, and credit is given to the cloud combined with search software:
“CIOs are embracing cloud software because of lower initial costs and other benefits, such as the ability to increase their usage of software, upgrade applications without the disruptions that come with traditional on-premise applications and the positive financial impact of being able to take cloud services as an expense rather than having to capitalize software and hardware purchases. Companies are investing in technology rather than in employees. That’s not good news for people who are unemployed, but it is good news for employees who are getting technology in their hands that can make them more productive.”
Cloud solutions combined with integrated infrastructure such as the partnership demonstrated by IBM Pure and Intrafind make for a good investment. The word hybrid comes to mind. This partnerships combines the stability and strength of IBM with the ever evolving enterprise search development that comes from a well established open source foundation. The result is more accessible, more secure and more usable enterprise information. Companies that choose the cloud combined with proven enterprise search software will be floating on their own cloud nine with Oracle and the other successful businesses.
Jennifer Shockley, December 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Enterprise Priorities Remain Focused on Delivering Insights from Big Data
December 24, 2012
A major player in anything and everything involving enterprise data has released 2.0 of their NoSQL database. What does it look like and what does this mean for other contenders in this arena? ZDNet tells us in the recent posting, “Oracle Updates NoSQL, big data appliance and connectors.”
Oracle NoSQL Database 2.0 uses Oracle’s Berkeley DB storage engine and is more seamlessly integrated with Oracle’s Database and Hadoop environments than earlier iterations. Better performance and decreased latency (measuring in at below 5ms) are other selling points for 2.0. Additionally, the Big Data Connectors release sees the Oracle SQL Connector for Hadoop supported within the Data Integrator Application Adapter.
The most interesting area of the article lies in the positioning from Oracle about this new version of their database.
Oracle development chief Vaishnavi Sashikanth said in a statement:
Oracle NoSQL Database 2.0 provides developers with that ‘last-mile’ infrastructure to enable crucial real-time interaction between an organisation’s applications and its customers. It provides a key mechanism for enterprises to maximise the value of big data.
An important takeaway from this article is that big data is on the minds of every software vendor. Since the priority for businesses is to ensure information access in real-time to employees working hard to deliver insights from big data, that emphasis makes complete sense. Solutions like PolySpot‘s Information At Work were born to deliver these insights.
Megan Feil, December 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Maybe Santa Needs Big Data for Christmas
December 24, 2012
Attivio has had a good 2012. To top if off, it looks like they landed a big account, the North Pole to be specific. All in good fun Attivio has crafted a press release aimed at streamlining Santa’s intense December 24th workload. Read “What if Santa Used Big Data” for an amusing look at Santa’s information architecture needs.
The piece begins:
“We’re not sure how Santa has historically handled all the data required to make his yearly rounds work, but this morning we received a press release from Saint Nick and Attivio stating his new approach: big data. I got a chuckle out of this and figured you might too. This is a big get for Attivio, locking down the North Pole as a customer. On the other hand, it’s a bit depressing that the data will be leading to more coal delivered this year.”
Aside from the downside of more coal being delivered this year, it seems that a smart Big Data solution is good news for Santa and could be good news for your organization too. Attivio has made some headlines, but LucidWorks is another Big Data contender. Built on open source, LucidWorks has been an industry standard for years. Customer support, training, and an investment in open source infrastructure is what LucidWorks brings to the table. Happy holidays, and here’s hoping you find no coal in your stocking this year.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data May Not Be All Its Cracked Up To Be
December 24, 2012
Over the past year, the buzzword has been Big Data. Companies have instituted plans to analyze their unstructured data to learn about new trends and create better business insights. According to the Jonathan Macdonald Report, Big Data may not hold all the answers to making new endeavors in 2013, check out “The Big Data Disaster.” Macdonald makes five predictions about Big Data: the financial rewards are way off the mark, the Big Data experts are going to be conducting damage control, money will be lost, acquisitions bought for projects will lose their value, and then the world will move onto the next big trend.
Macdonald asserts that companies can back out, but probably will not due to them being too deep in the Big Data pool and not wanting to change. Companies are too focused on selfish financial gain and unrealistic approaches to business.
Macdonald plays into the fact that companies may be accessing private data. He states that there will be repercussions, because we live in an age of mass communication and ignorance will come back to bite businesses. His closing remark:
“You seriously consider the above words and ask yourself, as a human, are you in the game of exploiting information regardless of morality, or instead wishing to pursue a purpose that people can believe in, and by doing so enable relationships of mutual value that will bring you profits beyond your imagination?”
Big Data experts are not going to be pleased by this article, but Macdonald does make valid points. What will companies sacrifice in order to make a bigger profit?
Whitney Grace, December 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Harsh View on Autonomy
December 24, 2012
HP, one of the big names in printing, received bad news in late November when they became aware that spending billions of dollars on Autonomy was an $11 billion dollar mistake. Tech Eye reported on the Hip’s blunder in “Autonomy Was Practically Vaporware.” According to the article, when HP began to inspect their new acquisition the company noticed that Autonomy’s leading software was not as advertised and had to be given away free to customers. Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO, accused Autonomy of misrepresenting their software and used accounting tricks to hide the truth.
HP bought Autonomy in a move to leave the PC world behind and concentrate on developing software, like SAP. Autonomy’s flagship IDOL is nothing more than a search engine. IDOL along with other software would be bolted onto customers’ existing systems and Autonomy would tell them they would have to pay more money for the “upgrades.” It was a trick that worked for a while, but HP caught on.
“So why on earth didn’t HP spot this lemon when it bought it? HP has accused former managers of ‘a willful effort’ to inflate the underlying financial metrics of the company in order to mislead investors and potential buyers. These misrepresentations and lack of disclosure severely impacted HP management’s ability to fairly value Autonomy at the time of the deal, the company said. Even calling customers would not have uncovered the problem. Many of them are embarrassed to admit they spent $10 million on software that doesn’t actually work, one HP insider said.”
Oops! Embarrassed is right. It is one thing to admit you broke a window and another to say you lost $11 billion. HP is going to have an even harder time digging itself out of financial ruin now.
Whitney Grace, December 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Visual Aids Always Make Data Analysis Better
December 24, 2012
You might have asked yourself the question, “what is data?” The answer according to Dictionary.com is individual facts, statistics, or items of information or a body of facts/information. Data basically supplies you with knowledge about a subject. When it comes to data analysis, you will probably ask yourself this question as well, “what is the best way for me to represent my data findings?” The answer to this one is even simpler: use visual aids. If you are unsure where to find useful and free data visuals, Computer World has been keeping a running inventory of “Chart and Image Gallery: 30+ Free Tools for Data Visualization and Analysis.”
Running through the list you will notices there are free tools for presentations, charts, and other ways to represent your analysis findings without relying on an expensive, commercial software. These free tools do require a certain set of skills; each one is ranked according to difficulty:
“Skill levels are represented as numbers from easiest to most difficult to learn and use:
1. Users who are comfortable with basic spreadsheet tasks
2. Users who are technically proficient enough not to be frightened off by spending a couple of hours learning a new application
3. Power users
4. Users with coding experience or specialized knowledge in a field like GIS or network analysis.”
With Big Data becoming even a bigger player in the business world taking advantage of these tools will help your organize the results from your Big Data analysis. Visual aids have come a long way from the standard PowerPoint.
Whitney Grace, December 24, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google Breaks Its Own Record
December 23, 2012
Google has beaten the odds again! In October, the Google broke its own search engine market share record, claiming a total of 66.9% of the total searches made in the US. Bing had its own record with a 16% of the total, but nothing that can compare to Google. Search Engine Watch details this extraordinary event in “Google Smashes US Search Market Search Record, Closes In On 70%.”
Google keeps increasing its percentage of the total market shares, but Bing manages to do grow as well. Bing, the little search engine that could, is not even close to creeping up the high Google numbers. Bing went from 15.9% in September to a solid 16% in November, bumping them up from last tear. Organic searches for Google are close to the 70% mark at 69.5% for October, up 0.1% point from the previous month.
Core searches also saw a record growth:
“After a noteworthy dip in the number of September searches (to 16.3 billion), “explicit core” searches grew 8 percent to 17.6 billion in October. Google led the way with 11.8 billion searches (up from 10.9 billion in September); Bing was second with 2.8 billion searches (up from 2.6 billion); Yahoo was third with 2.1 billion searches (up from 2 billion); Ask was fourth with 560 million searches (down from 565 million); and AOL came in fifth with 309 million searches (up from 287 million).”
Google is eating away at the competition, but in a free market one company cannot monopolize one sector. The same goes for the free Web. Google may be big and mighty, but they are not cause to be afraid.
Whitney Grace, December 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Another Enterprise Search Vendor Turns Big Data Solution
December 22, 2012
Technology vendors go through many iterations of their image; they change as quickly as the technologies do. Funnelback has announced that they are on version number twelve of its website and enterprise search offerings. Their press release, “Funnelback 12 Delivers Quantum Leap in Scale and Speed of Enterprise Searching for Big Data,” discusses the new features and more.
Big data drives quite the demand and Funnelback is one of many that promises search technology to quell the queries. Search results in this iteration return more date-based facets, easily categorizing results by dates, and TextMiner, a new feature offers definitions of acronyms and terms for users.
According to the article, Matthew Sheppard, Manager of Research and Development stated:
“Version 12 significantly enhances the speed and scale of searching in the enterprise. As the issue of Big Data increases globally, the need for powerful search technology with the ability to search multiple information sources and across large data sets becomes paramount. Funnelback Version 12 unlocks the value of enterprise information like never before.”
Funnelback is now a big data search system just like Vivisimo. It seems that words are more magical than the technologies they describe.
Megan Feil, December 22, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
IBM: Buying Big Data Capability or Customers?
December 21, 2012
I just learned that IBM is duplicating its Big Data “capability.” Actually, since IBM has more Big Data capabilities than I have goose feathers, IBM is probably buying customers. Navigate to “IBM to Acquire StoredIQ in Big Data Play.” This “real news” story reported:
In plain terms, IBM wants to help businesses figure out which data is important in the short- and long-term so that it’s easier to find valuable data (and easier to eliminate unneeded data). Aside from being a good business practice — you don’t really want to keep every bit and byte, do you? — it also helps cut down on all the hardware necessary to store that information.
Okay, but doesn’t IBM already own that Big Data powerhouse Vivisimo? Doesn’t IBM own the DB2 data management system? Doesn’t IBM already own WebFountain, CLEVER, and dozens of other text processing methods? Doesn’t IBM already own iPhrase, SPSS Clementine, and the really zippy STAIRS III code base?
IBM is buying companies, slapping on the Big Data label, and then taking a close look at the customer lists. Why? IBM knows it is tough to make a Big Data sale in today’s fluid market. My view is that it is easier to buy existing customers, do the upsell thing, and move on. “Real news” outfits see “Big Data” and don’t poke into other “value” elements of the company.
Does IBM know what it owns? My dear, departed mother bought multiple pairs of black shoes. She could tell the pairs apart. I was clueless.
Just my opinion. Honk.
Stephen E Arnold, December 21, 2012
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