Recent Developments in Deep Learning Architecture from AlexNet to ResNet

September 27, 2016

The article on GitHub titled The 9 Deep Learning Papers You Need To Know About (Understanding CNNs Part 3) is not an article about the global media giant but rather the advancements in computer vision and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The article frames its discussion around the ImageNet Large-Scale Recognition Challenges (ILSVRC), what it terms the “annual Olympics of computer vision…where teams compete to see who has the best computer vision model for tasks such as classification, localization, detection and more.” The article explains that the 2012 winners and their network (AlexNet) revolutionized the field.

This was the first time a model performed so well on a historically difficult ImageNet dataset. Utilizing techniques that are still used today, such as data augmentation and dropout, this paper really illustrated the benefits of CNNs and backed them up with record breaking performance in the competition.

In 2013, CNNs flooded in, and ZF Net was the winner with an error rate of 11.2% (down from AlexNet’s 15.4%.) Prior to AlexNet though, the lowest error rate was 26.2%. The article also discusses other progress in general network architecture including VGG Net, which emphasized depth and simplicity of CNNs necessary to hierarchical data representation, and GoogLeNet, which tossed the deep and simple rule out of the window and paved the way for future creative structuring using the Inception model.

Chelsea Kerwin, September 27, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
There is a Louisville, Kentucky Hidden Web/Dark Web meet up on September 27, 2016.
Information is at this link: https://www.meetup.com/Louisville-Hidden-Dark-Web-Meetup/events/233599645/

Half of Online News Produced by Just Ten Publishers

May 19, 2016

The wide-open Internet was supposed to be a counterweight to the consolidation of news media into fewer and fewer hands. Now, though, PublishersDaily reports that “10 Publishers Account for Half of All Online News.” The article cites a recent study from SimilarWeb, which examined 2015’s top online news publishers, on both mobile and desktop platforms. Writer Erik Sass summarizes:

“Overall, the top 10 publishers — together owning around 60 news sites — account for 47% of total online traffic to news content last year, with the next-biggest 140 publishers accounting for most of the other half, SimilarWeb found.

“The biggest online news publisher for the U.S. audience was MSN, owner of MSN.com, with just over 27 billion combined page views across mobile and desktop, followed by Disney Media Networks, owner of ESPN and ABC News, with 25.9 billion.

“Time Warner, owner of CNN and Bleacher Report, had 14.8 billion, followed by Yahoo with 10.3 billion, and Time, Inc. with 10.2 billion.

“A bit further down the totem poll were CBS Corp., owner of Cnet.com, with 9.9 billion combined page views; NBC Universal, with 9.5 billion; Matt Drudge, with 8.5 billion; Advance Publications, with 8 billion; and Fox Entertainment Group, owner of Fox News, with 7.9 billion.”

Sass goes on to cover page views for specific publications and outlines which outfits are leading in mobile. Interestingly, it seems smaller publishers are doing especially well on mobile platforms. See the write-up for more details.

 

Cynthia Murrell, May 19, 2016

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph

 

Be the CIA Librarian

May 3, 2016

Research is a vital tool for the US government, especially the Central Intelligence Agency which is why they employee librarians.  The Central Intelligence Agency is one of the main forces of the US Intelligence Community, focused on gathering information for the President and the Cabinet.  The CIA is also the topic of much fictionalized speculation in stories, mostly spy and law enforcement dramas.  Having played an important part in the United States history, could you imagine the files in its archives?

If you have a penchant for information, the US government, and a library degree then maybe you should apply to the CIA’s current job opening: as a CIA librarian.  CNN Money explains one of the perks of the job is its salary: “The CIA Is Hiring…A $100,000 Librarian.”  Beyond the great salary, which CNN is quick to point out is more than the typical family income.  Librarians server as more than people who recommend decent books to read, they serve as an entry point for research and bridge the gap between understanding knowledge and applying it in the actual field.

“In addition to the cachet of working at the CIA, ‘librarians also have opportunities to serve as embedded, or forward deployed, information experts in CIA offices and select Intelligence Community agencies.’  Translation: There may be some James Bond-like opportunities if you want them.”

Most of this librarian’s job duties will probably be assisting agents with tracking down information related to intelligence missions and interpreting it.  It is just a guess, however.  Who knows, maybe the standard CIA agent touts a gun to the stacks?

 

Whitney Grace, May 3, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph

Microsoft Drops Bing from Pulse, Adds Azure Media Services

December 22, 2015

The article on VentureBeat titled Microsoft Rebrands Bing Pulse to Microsoft Pulse, extends Snapshot API ushers in the question: is Bing a dead-end brand? The article states that the rebranding is meant to emphasize that the resource integrates with MS technologies like Power BI, OneNote, and Azure Media Services. It has only been about year since the original self-service tool was released for broadcast TV and media companies. The article states,

“The launch comes a year after Bing Pulse hit version 2.0 with the introduction of a cloud-based self-service option. Microsoft is today showing a few improvements to the tool, including a greatly enhanced Snapshot application programming interface (API) that allows developers to pull data from Microsoft Pulse into Microsoft’s own Power BI tool or other business intelligence software. Previously it was only possible to use the API with broadcast-specific technologies.”

The news isn’t good for Bing, with Pulse gaining popularity as a crowdsourcing resource among such organizations as CNN, CNBC, the Aspen Institute, and the Clinton Global Initiative. It is meant to be versatile and targeted for broadcast, events, market research, and classroom use. Dropping Bing from the name may indicate that Pulse is moving forward, and leaving Bing in the dust.
Chelsea Kerwin, December 22, 2015

Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph

 

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