Stocking Stuffers for Mathematicians
December 25, 2013
Rather than buying the math geek in your family a Sudoku book, buy them an eReader or tablet with a bunch of mathematics books downloaded on it. E-Books Directory has an entire list of free, published books about the subject: “Free Mathematics Books.”
E-Books Directory describes its free online viewing and download list as:
“Here is an alphabetical list of online mathematics books, textbooks, monographs, lecture notes, and other mathematics related documents freely available on the web. I tried to select only the works in book formats, “real” books that are mainly in PDF format, so many well-known html-based mathematics web pages and online tutorials are left out. Click here if you prefer a categorized directory of mathematics books.”
Many free books on the Internet are in the public domain or were released without academic credentials to back up the research. This list, however, contains publications with recent dates, come from reputable publishers, and their authors have professional credentials. If you do not want to use this resource to cross a name off your shopping list, consider sharing it with a student. Textbook prices are outrageously expensive and college students are notoriously poor. Any dollar saved is put towards paying off student loans. E-Books Directory is one of the many resources available to find free, authorities books on the Internet.
Whitney Grace, December 25, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Secure Collaboration in SharePoint
December 24, 2013
While SharePoint is the mostly widely used collaboration software available, broad adoption does not quell the security concerns of organizations. And as mobile becomes more widely adopted, access is not limited to a single at-work machine. Organizations are getting creative about security and KM World covers a newly available solution in its story, “Secure collaboration in SharePoint and File Shares from HiSoftware.”
The article begins:
“HiSoftware has launched a new version of Security Sheriff specifically designed for secure collaboration of sensitive information stored in File Shares and SharePoint. The company explains the new Secure Document Viewer included in Security Sheriff allows users to open an encrypted document in a protected state to ensure that a user with read-only permission cannot open and decrypt a document, then manually distribute it using print, save as and send to actions, or copy its contents. It will then remove the file from their system once the file is closed.”
Stephen E. Arnold is a long time leader in search and the man behind ArnoldIT.com. He spends a lot of time writing about SharePoint and security is a common topic. SharePoint isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so users would do well to pay attention to what the experts have to say about security.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
LinkedIn Friend Request Option Stinks
December 24, 2013
We are about to make a heretical observation based on Kirill Zubovsky’s blog post entitled, “How LinkedIn Screwed Up Our Friendship.” According to the article, Zubovsky uses LinkedIn like any professional seeking to maintain and forge business relationships. Recently he noticed that he was being sent a bunch of blind friend requests from people have never met before. Any sort of message identifying the user did not accompany the requests and he chalked it up to the user being lazy. Then he realized why he wasn’t receiving messages to accompany friend requests:
“I fell into the trap when I tried to invite Ethan Anderson to connect. I was just browsing through a page, which suggests people I may know, and I realized that indeed, I met Ethan at a 500Startups event a couple of months ago. I’ve been a fan ever since he did RedBeacon, and I find him to be quite a smart dude, so connecting on LinkedIn to keep him on a closer radar seemed like a natural step.”
He hit a connect button and viola! A friend request was sent without allowing Zubovsky to personalize it. He puts it that LinkedIn messed up his friendship with this potential business contact. We agree with him that LinkedIn should improve this “connect” option. No one likes getting requests from strangers and business relationships rely on an introduction to take root.
Whitney Grace, December 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google Ad Viewability Initiative Taking Off
December 24, 2013
An article posted on Business Insider titled Google Will Now Only Charge For Ads That People Can Actually See commented that this adjustment in advertisement policy by Google. The high number of online ads that aren’t being seen (high as in half) are often hidden at the bottom of the page or under other content.
The article spells out the changes:
“Google said its customers will now be able to make real-time display ad purchases that only include impressions that meet the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s viewability standard. The IAB designates a viewable ad as any impression where at least of half of the ad is viewable on the page for one second or more.”
Google’s viewability initiative also included the announcement of the sale of reservable inventory in April. They are the first large-scale ad network to take viewability into consideration, and will most likely be able to charge higher prices for their ad space. However, viewability “has been a controversial topic in online advertising” especially due to the lack of an industry standard for a viewable impression. This has not prevented the sale of ads. Of course it remains to be seen how revenue will be made up elsewhere.
Chelsea Kerwin, December 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint Improves its Style
December 23, 2013
SharePoint frequently takes hits for its user experience, or lack thereof. And user experience can mean a lot of different things. Sometimes it just comes down to what users see on the screen and how pleasing it is to work with. The latest CMS Wire story gets at this very point in, “SharePoint, This Old House Style – Interior Design, Decorating.”
The article explores style options for the latest version of SharePoint:
“SharePoint ‘branding’ used to be a more esoteric science of hand tooled features and CSS files. SharePoint 2010 introduced the seldom-used ability to define custom site themes by using PowerPoint. That was an interesting step (no one ever used it), but now you can make key changes directly from the browser using Composed Looks. With Composed Looks, a site owner can restyle a site with custom layouts, fonts, colors and background images.”
Stephen E. Arnold of ArnoldIT.com, is a long time leader in search. He devotes a lot of research and writing to SharePoint, and has frequently reported that most user complaints come down to user experience. While cosmetic changes don’t solve every problem, it can be a small gesture by Microsoft that truly goes a long way with customers.
Emily Rae Aldridge, December 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Incapsula Study on Web Activity Gives Insight into Bot Behaviors
December 23, 2013
The article on BBC News Technology titled Bots Now ‘Account for 61% of Web Traffic’ expands on the data from a recent Incapsula study that found humans might only account for a shrinking minority of internet traffic. Last years figure was more like fifty/fifty, but this is not as scary as it might sound since most of the ‘bots’ causing this traffic are tools for search engines indexing website content. There are also other ‘good bots’ like those used by analytics companies rating website performances and other such tasks. The article describes some reservations about the numbers, according to Dr. Ian Brown of the Oxford University Cyber Security Centre:
“There will also be some unavoidable fuzziness in their data, given that they are trying to measure malicious website visits where by definition the visitors are trying to disguise their origin.” Despite the overall growth in bot activity, the firm said that many of the traditional malicious uses of the tools had become less common. It said there had been a 75% drop in the frequency spam links were being automatically posted.”
Part of the explanation for this drop is credited to Google’s vigilance over the last year in stamping out this practice. More good news, Incapsula also reported a 10% drop in hacking activities such as stealing credit cards and hijacking sites (grouped together under the term tool bot activities).
Chelsea Kerwin, December 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Advanced Search Edition of Coveo for Sitecore Now Available
December 23, 2013
Is content management hot again? Coveo has been working with Sitecore on what it calls the most powerful contextual site search application in the industry, we learn from, “Coveo Launches Coveo for Sitecore, Advanced Search Edition” at Yahoo Finance.
The press release tells us:
“Coveo for Sitecore – Advanced Search Edition provides cutting-edge search, navigation, personalized recommendations, connectivity, and relevance tuning capabilities. Integrated with the underlying structure of the Sitecore WCM platform, Coveo provides capabilities far beyond the search currently available.
The application ensures more relevant information and products are surfaced to the visitor faster, resulting in higher conversion rates, improved self-service, and greater visitor satisfaction.
Ecommerce sites can accelerate sales and build customer loyalty by integrating product catalogs and other relevant information from external systems, thereby empowering visitors to discover, sort, and explore product offerings with ease.
Coveo’s new offering is seamlessly integrated with Sitecore Customer Engagement Platform 7, built exclusively on .Net technologies and fully embedded within Sitecore’s Search Provider framework. Out-of-the-box, marketers configure and manage Coveo Search & Relevance Technology from within familiar Page & Content Editors.”
Check out the write-up for the full list of features. A few notables: search functionality equipped with auto-completion, search-as-you-type, phonetic matching, and regex search; contextual relevance for rankings rules; and a collection of secure connectors to a range of external resources.
Coveo serves organizations large, medium, and small with solutions that aim to be agile and easy to use yet scalable, fast, and efficient. The company was founded in 2005 by some members of the team which developed Copernic Desktop Search.
Established in 2001, Sitecore maintains offices around the world. The company combines web content management with customer intelligence in their Customer Engagement Platform. Sitecore serves several big-name companies, like American Express, Microsoft, and Nestle.
Cynthia Murrell, December 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
A Useful Source for Tech Quotes
December 23, 2013
If you ever feel the need to cite a technology expert to make a point, check out the Technology Quotes page at Woopidoo!, a Web site dedicated to business quotes. With words of wisdom from the likes of Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, and Stephen Hawking, you should be able to find a good argument or two. For example, Steve Jobs encourages us to become a multidisciplinarian:
“To turn really interesting ideas and fledgling technologies into a company that can continue to innovate for years, it requires a lot of disciplines.
Steve Jobs – Skill – Technology – Innovation”
Also, Larry Page would have innovators concentrate on the big picture:
“We have always tried to concentrate on the long term, and to place bets on technology we believe will have a significant impact over time. It’s hard to imagine now, but when we started Google most people thought search was a solved problem and that there was no money to be made apart from some banner advertising. We felt the exact opposite: that search quality was very poor, and that awesome user experiences would clearly make money.
Larry Page – Google – Internet – Money – Search – Technology – Focus – Advertising”
Meanwhile, novelist Daniel Quinn cautions us to be mindful of the planet in our zeal to embrace the cutting edge:
“Upwards of two hundred species.. mostly of the large, slow-breeding variety.. are becoming extinct here every day because more and more of the earth’s carrying capacity is systematically being converted into human carrying capacity. These species are being burnt out, starved out, and squeezed out of existence.. thanks to technologies that most people, I’m afraid, think of as technologies of peace. I hope it will not be too long before the technologies that support our population explosion begin to be perceived as no less hazardous to the future of life on this planet than the endless production of radioactive wastes.
Daniel Quinn – Nature – Life – People – World – Technology – Peace – Environmental”
Check out this interesting collection for more tech-related quotes.
Cynthia Murrell, December 23, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data Fans: The Nitty Gritty
December 22, 2013
Love talking about Big Data? I recommend doing a bit of reading. I found “What I Learned from 2 Years of Data Sciencing” refreshing. Quotes I noted were:
- With reference to Big Data projects where the author worked: “None of these projects gained traction within the company and became abandoned.”
- With reference to the work required: “Much of the efforts spent for those projects were in getting the right data into the right shape.”
- “Little did I know that we’ll be cleaning and shaping data for most of my second year at uSwitch.”
- “In practice, I was just cleaning and shaping data.”
- “Figuring out the right work to do is one of the most difficult tasks for a data science team. It doesn’t help with the fact that the data science role is so vague.”
- “Figuring out where to devote our time and effort is not as easy as it sounds.”
- “Unless someone or something can act on the data, results can only satisfy intellectual curiosity. A business can’t survive on funding people to carry out academic studies forever.”
- “If cleaning vast amount of data, being clueless as to what to do, and debating with colleagues sound like a challenge that you want to take on, I know a company in London that’s looking for a data scientist!”
Is there a message about the nuts and bolts of data? Is analytics repeating the sins of the first enterprise search vendors? It is so much easier to sell sizzle than focus on the basics like figuring out what’s important and getting valid data. Let’s just take the easy path seems to be one risk for analytics cheerleaders.
Stephen E Arnold, December 22, 2013
Watson Apps Due Next Year
December 22, 2013
To what pressing issue is IBM now applying Watson’s superior (artificial) intellect? Why, to shopping, of course. Business Insider reports, “IBM’s Jeopardy-Winning Supercomputer Will Power a ‘Cognitive, Expert Personal Shopper’ App Next Year.” Writer Dylan Love was especially taken by one app on the horizon from a firm called Fluid Retail.
He quotes IBM Watson Solutions VP Stephen Gold:
“Fluid, which builds online shopping experiences for retail businesses to drive customer engagement and conversion, is developing the Fluid Expert Personal Shopper powered by IBM Watson. The app calls upon Watson’s ability to understand the nuances of human language and uncover answers from Big Data. Consumers who use Fluid’s app will interact with rich media and dialogue with Watson, as their newfound cognitive, expert personal shopper. The Fluid app incorporates the information users share and questions they ask to help them make smart, satisfying purchases by putting a knowledgeable sales associate in the hands of consumers, on demand.”
What happened to game shows, fighting cancer, and plain old search? Watson‘s game-show career may be over, and we would certainly like to see more of the tech applied to search. However, IBM is still running with the medical-field advances. One Watson-powered app due out next year, called Hippocrates (PDF), will streamline the process of researching medical device purchases for healthcare facilities. Another, CaféWell Concierge, is being developed by health-management company Welltok. The app will create personalized health itineraries for Welltok users.
So, I guess shopping is not the most pressing area on which Watson is working, just the one able to grab headlines. Isn’t that a relief?
Cynthia Murrell, December 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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