SRCH2 Releases Java Software Development Kit
May 28, 2014
We see that SRCH2 is chugging along. App News reveals, “SRCH2 Technology Available to Android Developers and Consumers.” Our esteemed leader Stephen E Arnold interviewed the company’s founder and its CEO as part of his Search Wizards Speak series last summer. Now, SRCH2 is wisely facilitating the integration of their in-memory search platform into mobile apps with the release of a software development kit. The article reports:
“Using advanced software that even Google cannot provide – instant type forward, rapid geo search, error correction, custom rankings and real time updates, SRCH2 is expanding to reach mobile consumers and developers. They have released a new Java SDK for android developers, allowing third parties to integrate this search technology into mobile applications. The company expects their search technology to be most useful for new utility apps, particularly for enterprise and business mobility. A consumer-facing mobile app has also been released to Google Play showcasing what SRCH2 technology is capable of, offering users the ability to search and find any contact, message, calendar invite, music, app and more.”
The write-up notes that the company has healthy competition in the mobile-search realm, largely from Lucene and Endeca. SRCH2, however, asserts their tech is 400 times faster on mobile devices than that of those formidable outfits. Writer Allison Saffiotti notes that some clients, including CBS, Huawei, and HTC plan to integrate SRCH2’s search into their mobile projects within the year.
Developers interested in the SRCH2 Java SDK can sample the platform’s capabilities through the Google Play app mentioned above and can get more information here. Saffiotti points out that incorporating an alternative search engine is one way to stand out in the vast mobile market. Founded in 2010, SRCH2 is based in Irvine, California.
Cynthia Murrell, May 28, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Pinterest Attempts Improved Search
May 26, 2014
Pinterest is known as a time drain, a very entertaining time drain, but a time drain none the less. It is pages and pages of endless scrolling, browsing, and clicking. But now Pinterest attempts to join the world of search, to make their product easier to use and perhaps more efficient. Read the details in the MakeUseOf story, “Explore Pinterest In Just A Few Taps As Guided Search Comes To The Mobile Apps.”
The article says:
“Guided Search is being described as a new way to find content on Pinterest. With so many pins, boards, and Pinners to search through, Guided Search wants to make it easier to find something within the first few taps. As the name indicates, Guided Search helps you get more specific by diving deeper into each category.”
No advanced search phrases are needed – just a simple keyword that can then be narrowed down via the sliding row of filters along the top of the screen. And while this is a nice thought, Pinterest users likely have no expectation for efficient search. If they did, they would be using Google to find the page in the first place instead of scrolling through countless pins from friends of friends in search of mashed potato recipes.
Emily Rae Aldridge, May 26, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
MaxxCAT Reveals New Model and Adjusted Pricing
May 23, 2014
The article titled MaxxCAT Anmounces New Hardware, Pricing in Preparation for New OS on ICT Procurement came with a disclaimer that seemed aimed at other tech giants like Apple. Burt LeFay, hardware manager for Maxxcat, wanted to assure customers that the new hardware would be compatible with the old. There is nothing more annoying than downloading a new version of, say, ITunes, only to learn moments after that it is no longer compatible with your old Macbook. The article states,
““We know how it feels to purchase your hardware and a week later the company announces something new,” said Burt LeFay… “We began testing the new hardware several months ago and developed a special release of our earlier OS to work with the new hardware. That way we could begin shipping the new hardware while we finalized the latest OS.” Customers who have purchased their appliance recently have received the new hardware and can contact MaxxCAT support to schedule an update.”
Maxxcat has been creating high-performance search appliances since 2007, of which they offer a comparison to Google on their website. Demos are available on request. The new model, MaxxCAT 5.0, is touted for its more potent hardware and competitive pricing.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 23, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
DeCartas L2 Geospatial Search Engine Makes Waves
May 22, 2014
The article on GPS World titled DeCarta Search Engine for LBS Expands to 120 Countries opens by identifying deCarta, Inc as an “independent LBS platform company.” Unfortunately it never goes on to explain what on earth an LBS is. We do learn that the company has recently made improvements to its local search technology which is called the L2 Geospatial Search Engine. The article explains (sort of),
“The L2 Search engine is an integral component of deCarta’s LBS platform which provides specialized geospatial technologies for maps, routing, navigation, geocoding, local search and geo-data integration and processing. deCarta offers two deployment models for its LBS platform: a Hosted LBS Platform Service (PaaS) or, alternatively, customers can self-host the platform either on-premise or in a cloud service such as Amazon’s AWS. Both approaches utilize deCarta’s advanced REST API architecture and can scale to support billions of maps and searches and millions of users per month.”
J. Kim Fennell, CEO of deCarta, describes the excitement of the company at their advances and competitiveness with Google Maps. He believes this is due to better customer service, the user’s ability to customize their content, and license terms that don’t limit use. L2 also allows for businesses to merge their content with industry map and POI content, allowing for more control over content.
Chelsea Kerwin, May XX, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Coveo Client Advises on Search Deployments
May 21, 2014
Market Wired hosts a press release titled, “Join Coveo and Majedie Asset Management at Enterprise Search Europe 2014.” The title is a bit confusing, since it was published (at least at Market Wired) on the last day of that conference. It describes a presentation to be given that day by Coveo client Majedie Asset Management on best practices for search deployments in the financial services field. The write-up reports:
“During a presentation taking place on Wednesday, April 30 at 12:20 p.m., titled, ‘Search and Relevance in the Financial Services Industry,’ Simon Hazlitt, information director and co-founder of Majedie Asset Management, will share details of Majedie’s search-driven knowledge solution. After sharing the firm’s objectives and planning process for the initiative, Hazlitt will detail how Majedie provided its analysts with powerful, secure, single-point access to contextually relevant enterprise knowledge from across multiple on-premise and cloud-based systems.
“‘We worked closely with Majedie Asset Management to architect a truly next-generation knowledge solution for the firm,’ commented Coveo’s de Jong. ‘We are honored that Majedie’s innovation and successes will be highlighted at the conference, and suspect that conference attendees will gain many valuable and actionable insights from Simon’s presentation.'”
Kind of short notice, I think. Nevertheless, we’re intrigued by the term “search-driven architecture.” What does that mean, exactly? The press release offers this link to more information on Majedie’s implementation, but I could not find the answer there, either. Hmm.
Founded in 2005 by some members of the team which developed Copernic Desktop Search, 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 maintains offices in the U.S., Netherlands, and Quebec.
Cynthia Murrell, May 21, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Recipe Search Tutorial
May 16, 2014
Over at SitePoint, writer Adam Bard gets into the nitty gritty of creating a site search system in, “Building a Recipe Search Site with Angular and Elasticsearch.” The article begins:
“Have you ever wanted to build a search feature into an application? In the old days, you might have found yourself wrangling with Solr, or building your own search service on top of Lucene — if you were lucky. But, since 2010, there’s been an easier way: Elasticsearch.
“Elasticsearch is an open-source storage engine built on Lucene. It’s more than a search engine; it’s a true document store, albeit one emphasizing search performance over consistency or durability. This means that, for many applications, you can use Elasticsearch as your entire backend.”
The article goes on to supply step-by-step instructions, complete with code snippets, for building a recipe search engine based on the open-source version found at OpenRecipeSearch.com. Bard has pupils begin with a download of Elasticsearch and the OpenRecipe database, proceeds to crafting an appropriate UI (that’s where the open-source Angular comes in), and concludes with a few deployment notes. Bard also points readers to his demo file repository at GitHub. Anyone with a site-search deployment in their future might want to at least bookmark this resource.
Cynthia Murrell, May 16, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Search: Dreams and a Million Miles
May 15, 2014
I read “Google ‘A Million Miles Away from Creating the Search Engine of my Dreams’, Says Larry Page.” Sigh.
The write up points to Mr. Page’s “founder’s letter.” I thought there were two founders. Guess not. Anyway, the point of the write up is that Google search is not particularly good.
More interesting is the assertion that Google wants to answer a user’s questions. No problem. Well, a tiny glitch. Users often do not know what question to ask. If one thinks about answering questions, the first step is to figure out what the user needs to know at a point in time in a particular fungible and non fungible context.
This, in my opinion, is a tough problem. Much tougher than figuring out what ad to show to a user. We know how well that works using technology like Applied Semantics’ methods and the cruft of a decade added on to what was Oingo.
Here’s the portion I noted:
But despite these advances Page admitted that “in many ways, we’re a million miles away from creating the search engine of my dreams, one that gets you just the right information at the exact moment you need it with almost no effort.”
Then:
Page explained: “Improved context will also help make search more natural, and not a series of keywords you artificially type into a computer. We’re getting closer: ask how tall the Eiffel Tower is, and then when ‘it’ was built. By understanding what ‘it’ means in different contexts, we can make search conversational.”
A couple of thoughts.
Google is one of the few companies positioned to deliver relevant results. The reality is that revenue takes precedence over relevance in my view. I give lectures for a an organization that focuses on law enforcement and intelligence professionals. My most popular lecture provides examples of ways to get through Google’s bullet proof vest of baloney and ersatz information. Why? Useful information IS in the Google index. Finding the information has become a major problem. And getting relevant results is becoming more difficult because as boat anchor access gives way to mobile access, users have neither the screen real estate, time, or expertise to fire queries into a foot of Kevlar.
Because Google is the go to system for metasearch systems, the results in metasearch systems display similar problems with relevance. The Google approach rewards non information, making the metasearch systems output results that are not much more useful than those produced by straight on Google queries.
Google’s belief or fantasy that it is a search and retrieval system reaches back to the dorm and Backrub. The reality is that search is the digital equivalent of a mule. A “query” is generated by some human, system, or algorithmic action. The retrieval system then matches the “query” to one of the indexes Google houses. The results are what you get when you see most Google pages.
Example:
The searcher is an award winning technology journalist who now labors in the ArnoldIT vineyards. The situation is looking for a restaurant in Washington, DC, a short walk from Google’s office. The journalist keys in Cuba Libre to get the address. Note that the journalist, one of my law librarians, and I are standing in front of Cuba Libre. The Google system shows a map and the map does not locate Cuba Libre. The journalist looked at me and asked, “What’s up?” My response: The new Google is what’s up.
I am delighted that ZDNet summarized a founder’s letter. I am thrilled that the myth of search is being propagated. I am happy knowing that as long as Google sees search as a million miles away, my three hour seminar will attract a large audience.
Now navigate to Google and try to find out where I am giving my next talk. Let me know how that works out for you using Google search.
And enterprise search? Don’t get me started.
Stephen E Arnold, May 15, 2014
Bill Suggests Replacing NTIS with Google Search
May 15, 2014
The article titled There’s a ‘Let Me Google That For You’ Bill on Talking Points Memo relates the substance of a bipartisan bill (sponsored by Tom Coburn and Clair McCaskill). The bills purpose is to save the taxpayer money by resorting to Google and eliminating the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The article states,
“The bill is meant to cut down on “the collection and distribution of government information” by prioritizing using Google over spending money to obtain information from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). NTIS, run by the Department of Commerce, is a repository of 3 million scientific, technical, engineering, and business texts. The bill would abolish the NTIS and move essential functions of the agency to other agencies like the National Archives.”
If the bill’s name sounds familiar, you have probably heard of the website it is named after, in which the website redirects you to Google. The bill is put forward to prevent waste by federal agencies in obtaining government documents for money when they are available online free of charge. Sounds like a no-brainer, especially since NTIS was founded in 1950, decades before the Internet was even a possibility. You can read the full bill here.
Chelsea Kerwin, May 15, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Airbnb Offers Prospective Hosts Guidelines for Higher Search Results Placement
May 14, 2014
Now here is an intriguing definition of search. Airbnb’s blog examines “How Search Works on Airbnb.” You may have heard of the site, which connects travelers to folks who have space to rent out. The post is directed at hosts looking to receive prominent positioning in Airbnb search results, and explains that rankings are based on considerations that affect a traveler’s experience. The write-up states:
“The factors that affect search can be broken down into a few high-level categories:
1. Quality of the listing. How appealing is the listing to guests and how good is the trip experience the host provides?
2. Ease of booking. How reliably and easily can a guest book the space?
3. Guest preferences. How well does the listing match the specific preferences and criteria of the person searching?
“It’s important to note that we are constantly working on improving search to better match guests and hosts, so the factors we use and how we use them may change over time. Because we take so many factors into account, comparing listings based on just a few characteristics doesn’t tell the whole story. Most importantly for hosts, you have control over many of the factors that we discuss below, so you can have an impact on where you appear compared to other listings.”
The post goes on to elaborate on each factor. For example, under “quality of the listing,” the article advises hosts on how to create an appealing listing with reviews and photos. See the article for more if you are curious. We think it’s interesting to see how some companies are tailoring their vertical searches to their unique audiences.
Cynthia Murrell, May 14, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Ravn Amps Up Its Search Prowess
May 9, 2014
I read “RAVN Systems Revolutionises COWI’s SharePoint 2013 Search.” I learned several things. First, COWI means “a leading international consulting group with 50 remote locations.”
Next, RAVN delivers some performance assertions; for example:
In representative tests across their estate COWI have achieved a 57% reduction in indexing time of remote content, over 90% reduction in bandwidth usage during indexing and 70% reduction in time to preview compared with opening content. They have also estimated a saving of 12 physical servers.
Unfortunately there were no data about life before RAVN, the system’s throughput, etc. But the assertion is interesting.
Finally, the article states:
“RAVN Connect revolutionises SharePoint Search in distributed environments”.
I have heard this before from Fulcrum Technologies decades ago. I assume this time the nail in SharePoint’s findability coffin is hammered tight. No word from the legions of other SharePoint indexing systems, however.
Stephen E Arnold, May 9, 2014
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