Maybe Trump Speak Pretty One Day
June 15, 2017
US President Donald Trump is not the most popular person in the world. He is a cherished scapegoat for media outlets, US citizens, and other world leaders. One favorite point of ridicule for people is his odd use of the English language. Trump’s take on the English tongue is so confusing that translators are left scratching their heads says The Guardian in, “Trump In Translation: President’s Mangled Language Stumps Translators.” For probably the first time in his presidency, Trump followed proper sentence structure and grammar when he withdrew the US from the Paris Accord. While the world was in an uproar about the climate change deniers, translators were happy that they could translate his words easier.
Asian translators are especially worried about what comes out of Trump’s mouths. Asian languages have different root languages than European ones; so direct translations of the colloquial expressions Trump favors are near impossible.
India problems translating Trump to Hindi:
‘Donald Trump is difficult to make sense of, even in English,’ said Anshuman Tiwari, editor of IndiaToday, a Hindi magazine. “His speech is unclear, and sometimes he contradicts himself or rambles or goes off on a tangent. Capturing all that confusion in writing, in Hindi, is not easy,’ he added. ‘To get around it, usually we avoid quoting Trump directly. We paraphrase what he has said because conveying those jumps in his speech, the way he talks, is very difficult. Instead, we summarise his ideas and convey his words in simple Hindi that will make sense to our readers.’
Indian translators also do Trump a favor by translating his words using the same level of the rhetoric of Indian politicians. It makes him sound smarter than he appears to English-speakers. Trump needs to learn to trust his speechwriters, but translators should learn they can rely on Bitext’s DLAP to supplement their work and improve local colloquialisms.
Whitney Grace, June 15, 2017
Quote to Note: Hate That Semantic Web Stuff
June 8, 2017
I read “JSON-LD and Why I Hate the Semantic Web. “
Here’s the quote I noted:
I hate the narrative of the Semantic Web because the focus has been on the wrong set of things for a long time. That community, who I have been consciously distancing myself from for a few years now, is schizophrenic in its direction. Precious time is spent in groups discussing how we can query all this Big Data that is sure to be published via RDF instead of figuring out a way of making it easy to publish that data on the Web by leveraging common practices in use today. Too much time is spent assuming a future that’s not going to unfold in the way that we expect it to. That’s not to say that TURTLE, SPARQL, and Quad stores don’t have their place, but I always struggle to point to a typical startup that has decided to base their product line on that technology (versus ones that choose MongoDB and JSON on a regular basis).
There you go.
Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2017
Dark Web Notebook Now Available
June 5, 2017
Arnold Information Technology has published Dark Web Notebook: Investigative Tools and Tactics for Law Enforcement, Security, and Intelligence Organizations. The 250-page book provides an investigator with instructions and tips for the safe use of the Dark Web. The book, delivered as a PDF file, costs $49.
Orders and requests for more information be directed to darkwebnotebook@yandex.com. Purchasers must verify that they work for a law enforcement, security, or intelligence organization. Dark Web Notebook is not intended for general distribution due to the sensitive information it contains.
The author is Stephen E Arnold, whose previous books include CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access and Google Version 2.0: The Calculating Predator, among others. Arnold, a former Booz, Allen & Hamilton executive, worked on the US government-wide index and the Threat Open Source Intelligence Gateway.
The Dark Web Notebook was suggested by attendees at Arnold’s Dark Web training sessions, lectures, and webinars. The Notebook provides specific information an investigator or intelligence professional can use to integrate Dark Web information into an operation.
Stephen E Arnold, author of the Dark Web Notebook, said:
“The information in the Dark Web Notebook has been selected and presented to allow an investigator to access the Dark Web quickly and in a way that protects his or her actual identity. In addition to practical information, the book explains how to gather information from the Dark Web. Also included are lists of vendors who provide Dark Web services to government agencies along with descriptions of open source and commercial software tools for gathering and analyzing Dark Web data. Much of the information has never been collected in a single volume written specifically for those engaged in active investigations or operations.”
The book includes a comprehensive table of contents, a glossary of terms and their definitions, and a detailed index.
The book is divided into 13 chapters. These are:
- Why write about the Dark Web?
- An Introduction to the Dark Web
- A Dark Web Tour with profiles of more than a dozen Dark Web sites, their products, and services
- Dark Web Questions and Answers
- Basic Security
- Enhanced Security
- Surface Web Resources
- Dark Web Search Systems
- Hacking the Dark Web
- Commercial Solutions
- Bitcoin and Variants
- Privacy
- Outlook
In addition to the Glossary, the annexes include a list of DARPA Memex open source software written to perform specific Dark Web functions, a list of spoofed Dark Web sites operated by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and a list of training resources.
Kenny Toth, June 5, 2017
Whirlpool Snaps up Yummly, Recipe Search Engine
June 2, 2017
IBM Watson’s book or recipes may have been a harbinger for foodies. Now Whirlpool, the appliance manufacturer, has taken another step into the future with the acquisition of tech start-up company Yummly, a recipe search engine/shopping list creator with 20 million users. Terms of the deal have not been made public.
Techcrunch reports in Whirlpool Acquires Yummly, The Recipe Search Engine Last Valued At $100M:
Yummly basically can help extend the kinds of services that Whirlpool can offer … it can (generate) more recipes and other suggestions for your food items; Yummly has created a lot of specific parameters for recipe searches which help make results more specific to what users need.
Yummly will maintain its offices and act as a subsidiary of Whirlpool. The acquisition provides Whirlpool with new avenues into technology and Yummly with a source a revenue as it continues to grow.
As tech start-ups continue to spring up and established companies evolve, nothing remains the same. Whirlpool seems to agree with us at Beyond Search. IBM Watson’s recipes are more like kale sandwiches than a trucker’s special.
Mary Pattengill, June 2, 2017
Deep Diving into HTML Employing Semantics
May 31, 2017
HTML, the programming language on which websites are based can employ semantics to make search easier and understanding, especially for those who use assistive technologies.
Web Dev Studios in an in-depth article titled Accessibility of Semantics: How Writing Semantic HTML Can Help Accessibility says:
Writing HTML is about more than simply “having stuff appear on the page.” Each element you use has a meaning and conveys information to your visitors, especially to those that use assistive technologies to help interpret that meaning for them.
Assistive technologies are used by people who have limited vision or other forms of impairment that prohibits them from accessing the web efficiently. If semantics is employed, according to the author of the article, impaired people too can access all features of the web like others.
The author goes on to explain things like how different tags in HTML can be used effectively to help people with visual impairments.
The Web and related technologies are evolving, and it can be termed as truly inclusive only when people with all types of handicaps are able to use it with equal ease.
Vishal Ingole, May 31, 2017
Dark Web Monitoring
May 26, 2017
As criminals have flocked to the Dark Web, the need for companies to protect themselves from hackers has escalated quickly. But are Dark Web Monitoring services worth the price tag, or is this today’s snake oil? Motherboard examines that issue in, “The Booming, and Opaque, Business of Dark Web Monitoring.”
There are two basic approaches to Dark Web Monitoring, explains contributor Joseph Cox. The first relies on algorithms to flag stolen data, while the second sends humans on fishing expeditions to Dark Web forums. Either way, though, the complexity and underground nature of the Dark Web make wild-goose chases inevitable. Cox writes:
Fundamental problems with the very idea of some of these services, such as the issue of verifying information gleaned from forums and marketplaces, means they might be providing an illusion of security, rather than the real thing.
There is a lot of misleading or outright fabricated information in the dark web. Often, particular listings or entire sites are scams, and forum chatter can be populated with people just trying to rip each other off. For that reason, it’s not really good enough to just report everything and anything you see to a customer.
Cox consulted with several Dark Web Monitoring vendors, who describe a balancing act—avoid passing along false flags (which cost clients time and money) while ensuring real threats do not slip through their fingers. A “confidence-level” some services include with each report aims to mitigate that uncertainty, but it is an inexact science. Especially since the Dark Web is ever changing.
Cynthia Murrell, May 26, 2017
Passion for the Work Is Key to Watson Team HR
May 17, 2017
Have you ever wanted to be on the IBM Watson team? Business Insider shares, “An IBM Watson VP Says He’s Hired Candidates Without Even Conducting an Interview—Here’s Why He’d Hire You on the Spot.” The brief write-up introduces Watson’s VP of HR Obed Louissant, who reveals that he has offered some folks a job they weren’t actually seeking after speaking with them. Writer Áine Cain specifies:
In certain conversations, Louissant says that he’s been blown away by the passion and engagement with which some individuals speak about their work. … ‘It was more about the experience and what types of places they like to work at,’ Louissant says. If the type of workplace happens to sound just like IBM Watson, the branch of the company that focuses on the question answering computer system, then Louissant says he’s willing to make a job offer right then and there.”
So, never underestimate the power of revealing a passion for your work. It could just land you a better job someday, with Louissant or other corporate leaders who, like him, are ready to snap up enthusiastic workers as soon as they recognize them.
Cynthia Murrell, May 17, 2017
Does This Count As Irony?
May 16, 2017
Does this count as irony?
Palantir, who has built its data-analysis business largely on its relationships with government organizations, has a Department of Labor analysis to thank for recent charges of discrimination. No word on whether that Department used Palantir software to “sift through” the reports. Now, Business Insider tells us, “Palantir Will Shell Out $1.7 Million to Settle Claims that It Discriminated Against Asian Engineers.” Writer Julie Bort tells us that, in addition to that payout, Palantir will make job offers to eight unspecified Asians. She also explains:
The issue arose because, as a government contractor, Palantir must report its diversity statistics to the government. The Labor Department sifted through these reports and concluded that even though Palantir received a huge number of qualified Asian applicants for certain roles, it was hiring only small numbers of them. Palantir, being the big data company that it is, did its own sifting and produced a data-filled response that it said refuted the allegations and showed that in some tech titles 25%-38% of its employees were Asians. Apparently, Palantirs protestations weren’t enough on to satisfy government regulators, so the company agreed to settle.
For its part, Palantir insists on their innocence but say they settled in order to put the matter behind them. Bort notes the unusual nature of this case—according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, African-Americans, Latin-Americans, and women are more underrepresented in tech fields than Asians. Is the Department of Labor making it a rule to analyze the hiring patterns of companies required to report diversity statistics? If they are consistent, there should soon be a number of such lawsuits regarding discrimination against other groups. We shall see.
Cynthia Murrell, May 16, 2017
Forrester Research Loses Ground with Customer Management Emphasis
May 3, 2017
Yikes, the Wave people may be swamped by red ink. The investor-targeted news site Seeking Alpha asks, “Forrester Research: Is Irony Profitable?” Posted by hedge fund manager Terrier Investing, the article observes that Forrester has been moving away from studies on business technology and toward customer-management research. The write-up reports:
The definition of irony, for $500 please? Forrester’s customers… don’t like what they’re selling. This is unfortunate, because as I explain in my Gartner write-up, selling technology research is actually a great business model in general – the value proposition to clients is strong […] and the recurring annual contracts with strong cash flow characteristics make it a hard business to kill even if you really try. To wit, while Forrester’s revenue growth and margins haven’t been anywhere near their targets for quite some time, the business hasn’t imploded and still throws off strong cash flow despite sales force issues and the ongoing product transition.
Perhaps that strong cash flow will ease the way as Forrester either pivots back toward business technology or convinces their customers to want what they’re now selling. The venerable research firm was founded back in 1983 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cynthia Murrell, May 3, 2017
How Data Science Pervades
May 2, 2017
We think Information Management may be overstating a bit with the headline, “Data Science Underlies Everything the Enterprise Now Does.” While perhaps not underpinning quite “everything,” the use of data analysis has indeed spread throughout many companies (especially larger ones).
Writer Michael O’Connell cites a few key developments over the last year alone, including the rise of representative data, a wider adoption of predictive analysis, and the refinement of customer analytics. He predicts, even more, changes in the coming year, then uses a hypothetical telecom company for a series of examples. He concludes:
You’ll note that this model represents a significant broadening beyond traditional big data/analytics functions. Such task alignment and comprehensive integration of analytics functions into specific business operations enable high-value digital applications ranging far beyond our sample Telco’s churn mitigation — cross-selling, predictive and condition-based maintenance, fraud detection, price optimization, and logistics management are just a few areas where data science is making a huge difference to the bottom line.
See the article for more on the process of turning data into action, as illustrated with the tale of that imaginary telecom’s data-wrangling adventure.
Cynthia Murrell, May 2, 2017
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