http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2013-05-18T09:06:00ZGoogle skipped the skydivers at Google I/O 2013, but broke interesting ground in maps, music, social and search. Take our tour.http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-io-10-big-developments/240155051?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsIf you were expecting maybe a new Nexus 7 tablet, Android 4.x, Google Glass for $199 or even self-driving (or self-flying) cars, this week's keynote at Google I/O was a bit of a letdown. The presentation at San Francisco's Moscone Center was a three-hour endurance test for the live audience, which sat through a lengthy status report on Google's less flashy undertakings, including upgrades to the Google Play store, Chrome browser and OS, Google+ social network and the company's cash cow, Google Search. But even if audience members began to grow a little restless after, say, 120 minutes of demos and more demos, each was rewarded with a shiny (and very expensive) Google Chromebook Pixel. <P> Interestingly, Google didn't try to top the spectacle of its 2012 I/O event. There were no new tablet or phone announcements. No mysterioso consumer gear like the infamous Nexus Q, the media streamer that went MIA before it ever shipped. No bombastic Google Glass demos with skydivers descending onto the Moscone Center. Rather, the 2013 keynote ended on an earnest, relaxed tone, with Google CEO Larry Page waxing philosophic on an esoteric mix of questions from the audience. <P> Perhaps the biggest surprise was what the keynote didn't contain. In the weeks preceding the event, tech rumors hinted that Google would use the keynote to debut an updated Nexus 7 tablet, one with a higher resolution display, faster processor and a rear-facing camera. But said product never materialized. Nor did a new version of of Android -- not even a relatively minor, version 4.3 update -- that some Google watchers had expected. <P> Google Glass? Nothing new there hardware-wise. Maybe that's no surprise though, considering the flood of media attention that Google's prototype computing eyeglasses have gotten recently. When <em>Saturday Night Live</em> has <a href="http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-randall-meeks/n36353/" target="_blank">fun at your expense</a>, it may be time to give the PR effort a rest, at least temporarily. However, Facebook and Twitter announced Glass apps. <P> Another interesting aspect of the 2013 keynote: Google focused more on Chrome than Android, highlighting its efforts to add sophisticated capabilities to the former, while giving the latter relatively little attention. <P> Why the lack of Android and Nexus news? It's possible that Google is planning separate events for upcoming releases of these products, which are mainstream enough to warrant standalone media events. In fact, the techie developments highlighted at the 2013 keynote, such as some pretty interesting upgrades to Google+ and Chrome, might have gotten little media love (outside of the tech press) had Google devoted much of the event to Android and Nexus. <P> Check out our visual tour for more detail on the 10 most interesting announcements at Google I/O 2013.Google is adding a personalized, crowdsourced sensibility to Maps. When you click a spot on a map -- a hotel, for instance -- Maps zeroes in on that location and shows relevant information, such as similar establishments nearby and transportation options to get there. It also incorporates more Yelp-like features, including business reviews with star ratings, photos and directions. Maps is more tightly integrated with Google+ too. For instance, if you're looking for a restaurant, it'll show eateries recommended by your Google+ pals. The overall presentation of the new Google Maps is pretty slick and a nice improvement. But will it convince more folks (beyond tech nerds) to give Google+ a try? <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>The merger of Google Earth, a free app for exploring just about every square kilometer of the planet, and Google Maps is a work in progress. Google used the I/O keynote to trumpet its latest bit of Maps-Earth collaboration. Maps' new Earth View feature, for instance, lets you view cities rendered in 3-D -- a boon to tablet-toting travelers traversing new places. You'll need a WebGL-enabled browser like Google Chrome to use Earth View, however. (Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 doesn't have native WebGL support, but <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/30/4165204/microsoft-bringing-webgl-support-internet-explorer-11-windows-blue" target="_blank">rumors suggest</a> the upcoming IE 11 might change that.) In addition to Earth View, Maps' new Carousel feature provides easy access to the full gallery of Google imagery, including Street View, photo tours and business images. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>Spotify and Pandora have a new (and scary-big) competitor in <a href="http://play.google.com/about/music/" target="_blank">Google Play Music All Access</a>, a streaming service that offers unlimited listening to millions of songs in the Google Play library for $10/month, or $8/month if you sign up before June 30. Apple undoubtedly will launch a rival subscription service too, as its iTunes business model seems increasingly stodgy in the era of always-connected mobile devices and all-you-can-eat music plans. <P> Google also announced <a href="http://googledevelopers.blogspot.com/2013/05/introducing-google-play-game-services.html" target="_blank">new services for game developers</a>, as well as a special Samsung Galaxy S4 (sold exclusively in the Google Play store) with the same UI as Google's Nexus devices. One more thing: in an effort to get Google Apps, Nexus tablets and Chromebook laptops into the classroom, the <a href="http://developer.android.com/distribute/googleplay/edu/index.html" target="_blank">Google Play for Education</a> service will provide a place for developers to offer apps to schools. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>Google's dominant search platform is the cash engine that funds its side projects, some of which develop into something big (e.g., Android) and not so big (Nexus Q, Google Health and so on). <P> However, the ways in which we use search are evolving, and search tools must evolve to meet our needs. Case in point: Google is adding <a href="http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-multi-screen-and-conversational.html" target="_blank">spoken queries and answers</a> to the desktop version of its Chrome browser, a Siri-like (only better) feature that users of Android, iPhone and iPad devices already enjoy. In addition, Google Search's <a href="http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/search/knowledge.html" target="_blank">Knowledge Graph</a>, a summary box of relevant information on the search results page, now does a better job of providing answers to questions related to original queries, Google says. It also supports more languages, including Polish, Turkish and traditional and simplified Chinese. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>Google Now, the personal assistant app for Android and iOS devices, is adding new reminders that nudge you at the appropriate time or place. For instance, if you create a reminder to buy milk and bread, and you happen to be in a grocery store, Google Now will remind you. And if you create a reminder to catch a train, Google Now will (figuratively) tap you on the shoulder and tell you it's time to head to the train station. It sounds both fascinating and maybe a little creepy. It'll be interesting to see how well mainstream users take to Google Now's assistant-like skills. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>It's hard to believe that Google+, the search giant's answer to Facebook, is two years old. Google continues to tinker with its social media platform, and its latest efforts are noteworthy. For instance, Google+'s new multi-column layout, which varies from one to three columns, depending on the resolution and orientation (landscape or portrait) of your device, is visually appealing. And Google+ now scans posts and automatically adds hashtags to your stream, making it easier to browse related content. Granted, these aren't the kinds of jaw-droppers that will create a mass exodus from Facebook, but Google+ is certainly becoming an innovative place to hang. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>Hangouts, the video-chat service embedded in Google+ and Gmail, is now a free standalone app available at Google Play, the Chrome Web Store and Apple's App Store. Conversations can include text, photo-sharing and live video too. Hangouts' new-found independence and multi-platform design should help it compete with Skype, the 800-pound behemoth of the VoIP world. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P>Google used the I/O keynote to tout Chrome's under-the-hood enhancement, including support for <a href="http://blog.webmproject.org/2013/05/vp9-codec-nears-completion.html" target="_blank">VP9 video compression</a>, a next-gen codec that promises faster video streaming, and the requestAutocomplete API for faster digital wallet payments. It also showed off <a href="http://www.thehobbit.com/middle-earth/" target="_blank">tech demos</a> such as "A Journey Through Middle-Earth," which delivers an interactive and immersing gaming experience for mobile users. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>Google+ just got some pretty cool upgrades to its photo management toolkit. It can automatically enhance photos by adjusting brightness, contrast, saturation and other factors. It can animate a series of photos that you upload, or stitch together family portraits and panoramas from a series of single images. Thumbnail strips highlight your best photos and de-emphasize (fade out) any duplicate, blurry or other poor images. And Google+ offers free automatic backup (up to 15 GB, shared with your Google Drive and Gmail accounts) of images at full resolution. Or you can back up an unlimited number of pics at standard (2048 pixels) size. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>Speaking in soft, whispery tones brought on by his ongoing battle with <a href="https://plus.google.com/+LarryPage/posts" target="_blank">vocal cord paralysis</a>, Google CEO Larry Page ended Google's three-hour keynote with several interesting -- and often provocative -- remarks, such as wondering why people are so keen on keeping their medical records private. (Just a day earlier, Page had gone public with details of his voice affliction.) He also suggested that technologists should have a safe place -- the Free Nation of Google, perhaps? -- where they can "try out some new things" without being encumbered by governmental rules and regulations. Whether or not that ever happens, it's a great concept for a sci-fi action thriller. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/internet/google/google-io-day-1-music-maps-search-social/240154984">Google I/O Day 1: Music, Maps, Search, Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-hits-up-close/240155039">Google I/O: 3 Hits, Up Close</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/google-io-3-misses/240155061">Google I/O: 3 Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/news/social_networking_consumer/google-gets-5-smart-changes/240155023">Google+ Gets 5 Smart Changes</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/business/google-io-wheres-android/240155015">Google I/O: Where's Android?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-apps-to-microsoft-office-365-10-l/240154989">Google Apps To Microsoft Office 365: 10 Lessons</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/google-glass-socially-awkward-americans/240154978">Google Glass 'Socially Awkward,' Americans Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/quickview/googles-software-defined-network-take-a/3326">Google's Software-Defined Network: Take A Look</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-ceo-recovering-from-vocal-cord-pa/240154898">Google CEO Recovering From Vocal Cord Paralysis</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/google-combines-storage-for-gmail-drive/240154799">Google Combines Storage For Gmail, Drive, Photos</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/google-io-android-chrome-not-merging/240154709">Google I/O: Android, Chrome Not Merging</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsung-galaxy-s-4-11-clever-tricks/240153554">Samsung Galaxy S 4: 11 Clever Tricks</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/telecom/voip/6-skype-alternatives-worth-considering/240153014">6 Skype Alternatives Worth Considering</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362">10 Best And Worst Cellphones Of All Time</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/googles-10-best-gags-pranks-and-easter-e/240151036">Google's 10 Best Gags, Pranks And Easter Eggs</a> <P>2013-05-15T10:51:00ZLocation analytics can help retailers seek and destroy "zombie" emporiums, unprofitable retail outlets.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-finds-zombie-stores/240154933?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/slideshow-unexpected-big-data-uses-use/240144221"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/925/image1_tn.jpg" alt="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" title="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Not all business locations are ideal, of course, and it's not uncommon for retail chains to open, and later close, unprofitable stores. For instance, a company, intent on growing as quickly as possible, may expand into areas that aren't a good fit. Alternatively, a chain's merchandise may be behind the times or simply unappealing to shoppers. </p> <P> Location analytics software can help retailers can make smarter store-selection decisions, said Simon Thompson, director of commercial solutions for <a href="http://www.esri.com/">Esri</a>, a Redlands, Calif.-based developer of location analytics and map-based visualization software. <P> Poor site selection is an ongoing problem for retailers. Rapid expansion was an ambitious, if sometimes misguided, strategy for many retail chains prior to the global recession of 2009. The end result was often "zombie" stores that were either unprofitable or underperforming. <P> "When retail was growing by 6% to 8% per year, (retailers) believed that if you just plopped down a store, somehow it would be successful," said Thompson in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. <P> "They were going for growth and scale," he noted. "One of the things that occurred is that many of those stores never had the sales or market potential to make them successful." <P> <strong>[ Want to know how data analysis helps banks rile fewer customers while trying to stop credit card fraud? <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/did-you-really-buy-a-snowmobile-big-dat/240154667?itc=edit_in_body_cross"> Did You Really Buy A Snowmobile? Big Data Knows</a>. ]</strong> <P> According to Thompson, there are essentially two types of zombie stores: "The zombie stores which are essentially dead, like many of the malls in America. They're in the wrong place, they've got the wrong tenants and they're not relevant to the consumers' expectations of today," he said. "And then there are stores which are ... on profit life support. They're not doing anywhere near as well as they could." <P> In business since 1969, Esri originally targeted mostly government, public utility and military sectors. It expanded its reach in the 1990s, however, adding commercial enterprises such as oil and gas production, banking, real estate and retail to the mix. <P> Location analytics may not be new, but it has the potential to offer businesses what Ventana Research CEO and chief analyst Mark Smith calls "location intelligence," a combination of geographic context and maps with business intelligence applications. <P> "Information about location or geography can improve the quality of actions, decisions and responses to opportunities, and enable organizations to understand more about their customers," Smith wrote in a <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/channels/location-intelligence/articles/new-generation-of-location-analytics/311467">March 2013 article</a> for <em>Directions Magazine</em>, which covers geospatial technology. <P> According to an Esri <a href="http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/esri-location-analytics-for-bi.pdf ">white paper</a> on location analytics, the fusion of business intelligence (BI) and geographic information system (GIS) technology can help organizations visualize and analyze key information through "smart" maps. The goal is to discover patterns and trends that the organizations might have missed via conventional BI tables and charts. <P> In addition to providing what Directions Media (publisher of <em>Directions Magazine</em>) editor-in-chief and vice publisher <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/authors/joe-francica/121701">Joe Francica</a> calls "an alternative method" to synthesize data, location analytics offers the potential to incorporate unstructured data types with geospatial information, such as social media streams and sensor readings, into business analysis. <P> OK, but how does all of this relate to the problem of zombie stores? Well, Esri says its location analytic tools can help retailers avoid a formulaic approach to site selection, and other pitfalls. <P> "It's geo-enrichment, having more information on top of the information that you have, using geography to connect that together," said Thompson. "Companies are trying to integrate bricks and clicks, sales data, social media, searches -- all of these components. That's really driving interest in (Esri) as a platform." <P> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1863526/"><em>Bar Rescue</em></a>, a reality show on Spike TV, uses Esri's location analytics software to help bar owners save their failing businesses. <P> It's important to note that not all underperforming stores need to be shuttered. "Sometimes it's not necessarily moving your location," Thompson noted. "It's changing your focus in your location because you understand it better." <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-13T14:00:00ZOrganizations need to plan for the new generation of Internet-enabled devices that may be located anywhere in the world.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/internet-of-things-wakeup-call-for-enterprises/240154763?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/more-pioneers-of-cloud-computing/240151032"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/964/Cloud-Computing-Pioneers_promo.jpg" alt="9 More Cloud Computing Pioneers" title="9 More Cloud Computing Pioneers" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">9 More Cloud Computing Pioneers</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->In a little over a decade, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things">Internet of Things</a> has evolved from academic concept to business reality, albeit one that's still very much a work in progress. Coined at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's <a href="http://www.autoidlabs.org/about-us/page.html">Auto-ID Lab</a>, the term originally referred to the concept of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging of objects in the physical world.</p> <P> <p>The website of the Cambridge Auto-ID Lab, one of seven global researcher centers studying automatic identification of supply chain objects, offers a particularly <a href="http://www.autoidlabs.org.uk/">cogent explanation</a> of how enterprises might benefit from the Internet of Things (IoT): "Put a tag -- a microchip with an antenna -- on a can of Coke or a car axle, and suddenly a computer can 'see' it. Put tags on every can of Coke and every car axle, and suddenly the world changes. No more inventory counts. No more lost or misdirected shipments. No more guessing how much material is in the supply chain -- or how much product is on the store shelves."</p> <P> <strong>[ Could the Internet of Things replace baseball umps? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/processors/baseball-meets-internet-of-things-bye-ba/240152409?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Baseball Meets Internet Of Things: Bye, Bad Umpires?</a> ]</strong> <P> As more devices become Internet-enabled -- everything from field sensors to set-top TV boxes to home thermostats -- the time has come for enterprises to implement IoT principles to gain greater insights into their operations, says Phil Gerskovich, senior VP of new growth strategies for <a href="http://www.zebra.com/">Zebra Technologies</a>, a billion-dollar global company best known for its industrial printers. "The IoT is really about how devices become network-aware, and what you do with them," Gerskovich told <i>InformationWeek</i> in a phone interview. <P> For instance, a very good reason to put devices on the Internet is to make the data they generate accessible to multiple applications. "It could be the temperature in your house with a <a href="http://nest.com/">Nest thermostat</a>, the temperature in the back of a truck carrying strawberries from the field, or one of our thermal printers, which could be accessible to multiple enterprise applications," Gerskovich explained. <P> Several emerging factors are making Internet-connected devices more attractive to enterprises, he added, including increased availability and lower costs of network-enabled hardware; rapid growing of wired and wireless Internet access; better tools for remote management of devices; and a broader range of local, remote and cloud-based applications that communicate with Internet-capable hardware. <P> These developments will have big data implications for enterprises, as commonly used devices such as barcode printers, RFID readers, and temperature-sensing devices join the IoT. "It's going to create an order of magnitude more information that's available to enterprise applications," said Gerskovich. "It will give enterprises much more granular information about where everything is that's important to them." <P> That's often not the case today. "When you look at a typical commercial enterprise that's buying goods, they frequently have way less information about the status of the goods in their supply chain than they would if they ordered something from an online retailer and shipped it to their house," Gerskovich noted. <P> By implementing an IoT strategy across its supply chain, he pointed out, a business could get instantaneous information about where its goods are, and know the condition they're in. "Are the strawberries at the right temperature? And if not, when did they go bad? Organizations will get a tremendous return on investment when that happens," said Gerskovich. <P> In fact, this instant awareness is one of the IoT's more alluring promises. "Whether it's durable goods, heavy machinery, apparel, or even perishables ranging from food to pharma, a decade from now, people will take it for granted that you will be able to know where everything is, at all times," Gerskovich predicted. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-13T11:50:00ZIndiana University researchers use data feedback in flight to guide NASA's ambitious airborne survey of Earth's polar ice. But bring a barf bag.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/nasa-polar-ice-flyover-one-bumpy-big-data-project/240154755?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/slideshow-unexpected-big-data-uses-use/240144221"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/925/image1_tn.jpg" alt="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" title="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" class="img175"/></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --><p>Earth's polar regions aren't particularly hospitable to computers or humans. Building an advanced data management and storage system -- one that operates on bumpy flights in frigid weather, no less -- can be a formidable task. </p> <P> Doing so, in fact, is akin to building "a supercomputer that can fly," said Richard Knepper, manager of a campus bridging and research infrastructure team for Indiana University's (IU) Research Technologies, a cyber-infrastructure and service center. <P> Knepper has a lot of experience in this area. For the past four years, his team at IU has provided IT support for one of several research groups participating in NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, an ongoing effort to help scientists study global climate change by collecting radar data on Earth's polar ice sheets. <P> <strong>[ Analytic proof that business trips take a toll? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/travel-stress-quantified-using-big-data/240154241?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Travel Stress Quantified Using Big Data</a>. ]</strong> <P> The IU team provides data management services for the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center led by the University of Kansas (KU). <P> In a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>, Knepper discussed the challenges of processing large amounts of data in real time aboard research planes, many of which fly bumpy, 12-hour missions over vast ice sheets covering Antarctica, Chile and Greenland. <P> The CReSIS team provides radar technology that measures physical interactions of ice sheets in polar regions. IU researchers are responsible for storing and processing multiple terabytes of data collected by these radar systems, both in flight during the missions, and later on the ground. CReSIS "has a computer that turns the analog signals into digital signals, and then we provide a storage solution that captures and verifies (data) as it comes off the instrument," said Knepper. <P> The data management system provides some processing capability in the plane, as well as additional processing on the ground for more in-depth analysis. <P> Knepper's team tested a new in-flight data copy system, one that allows real-time data processing and archiving, during a research flight last fall to Antarctica. In addition to saving time and money, the system gave researchers immediate access to their data, allowing them to determine in flight which ice sheets needed closer examination. <P> Falling prices of solid state drives (SSDs) have helped the IU team improve its processing and storage systems. "What we built last fall, and what we've reconfigured for the spring mission, is something we couldn't have done two or three years ago," Knepper said. <P> He added: "In the future, data reads are going to go up. We're looking at a field mission next fall that will collect half a petabyte of data. So we have to be prepared to collect and manage 500 terabytes, and have it be accessible to the team while they're working." <P> IU's system includes three servers, each with 24 solid state drives. SSDs function better than hard drives in harsh environments, particularly when planes are stored outside overnight in subzero temperatures. <P> The IU system includes a fiber channel array that does use mechanical drives for data backups, however. <P> An Operation IceBridge mission isn't for the easily nauseated. <P> "Most people describe it as gut-wrenching. It can be pretty wild," said Knepper. "When you're on one of these airplanes, it's not like a commercial flight. They're doing 30-degree bank turns. They fly in very bad weather sometimes." <P> One of the aircraft used is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_P-3_Orion">P-3</a>, a propeller-driven plane that "tends to have quite a bit of shock and vibration," he added. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-13T09:06:00ZBetter data analysis helps banks rile fewer customers while trying to stop credit card fraud.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/did-you-really-buy-a-snowmobile-big-data-knows/240154667?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/slideshow-unexpected-big-data-uses-use/240144221"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/925/image1_tn.jpg" alt="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" title="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" class="img175"/></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --><p>Have you ever charged something expensive -- and perhaps out of the ordinary for you -- only to have the transaction rejected by the bank? Not only do these "false positives" annoy consumers, they worry credit card issuers, who fear their customers might switch to a competitor's card. </p><p>Recent improvements in real-time fraud detection and streaming analytics are helping to reduce false positives, according to Doug Clare, VP for fraud solutions at FICO, the provider of analytics and decision-making products that's perhaps best known for its credit-scoring service. <P> For banks, managing credit card fraud is a delicate balancing act, Clare told <em>InformationWeek</em> in a phone interview. "If they want to, they can stop all fraud by declining every transaction, or they can prevent zero fraud by approving all of them," said Clare, a 25-year FICO veteran who's managed the company's fraud products for the last five years.</p> <P> <strong>[ Beware of fraud when buying apps. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/application-security/google-play-hit-by-one-click-billing-fra/240152070?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Google Play Hit By One Click Billing Fraud</a>. ]</strong> <P> Some 9,000 banks use FICO's <a href="http://www.fico.com/en/Products/DMApps/Pages/FICO-Falcon-Fraud-Manager.aspx">Falcon</a> predictive analytics software for fraud prevention. Falcon "is kind of the original streaming analytics application," said Clare. "It looks at transactions as they fly by. It records certain characteristic information about transactions -- things like velocity, different spending types, and favorites in terms of where you shop and spend." <P> Falcon's neural network models allow it to predict if a particular transaction is fraudulent. It also looks for activities that are out of character for you as a customer. "If you never go to a casino, but all of a sudden you have a $500 withdrawal at a casino at two in the morning, that might be out of character for you," Clare explained. <P> As the economy has gradually improved over the past two to three years, FICO's bank customers have begun focusing more on making life easier for their card-carrying clientele, and that means fewer charge rejections. <P> "While you never have a fraud conversation without talking about preventing losses, most of the conversations now start and end with 'enhancing the customer experience' or 'improving the customer experience,'" said Clare. <P> This process involves finding ways to enhance the accuracy of Falcon's analytics, as well as honing the banks' communications skills with their customers. "If banks can more reliably get in touch with the consumer, and do that in real-time or near-time basis, they may be willing to approve a suspicious transaction," said Clare. <P> For this to happen, however, the line of communication between banks and their customers must be open and immediate, she noted. "The big banks have big call centers, and they're monitoring transactions. If something comes up that's suspicious, they'll decline it -- or they may approve it and call you," said Clare. "Everybody's gotten that phone call, 'Did you make this transaction?' Those calls are initiated typically (because) the Falcon score has indicated some level of risk." <P> You might find you're getting fewer of those phone calls, however, as financial institutions opt for alternative means of reaching out, including email, text message and even via mobile apps. "If you're a Bank X customer, you might have the Bank X mobile banking app, which provides a context for real-time alerts," Clare said. "If we can drive the message to the consumer that way, and try to validate the transaction, it drives down the cost of the call." <P> And that might be what banks find most appealing about those email, text and mobile app notifications: they cost less than having call center employees contact you via phone. And they're far less intrusive than phone calls. <P> As Clare sees it, these new methods help prevent fraud, reduce losses and allow banks to decline fewer transactions. <P> Then again, if you decide to charge a $5,000 diamond necklace while traveling in Kyrgyzstan, don't be surprised if the transaction is rejected.2013-05-11T13:15:00ZWindows 8 has left a lot of folks fuming. Can Windows Blue win them back?http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/8-things-microsoft-should-fix-in-windows/240154570?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsMicrosoft has been busy lately defending Window 8's honor, and for good reason. The din of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-are-pc-people-out-of-touch/240009279">user gripes</a>, focused mostly on the new operating system's tile-oriented Modern interface, hasn't lessened much since Windows 8 launched last October. Industry analysts have dumped on the new OS too, claiming it bears <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">some of the blame</a> for weak PC sales worldwide. <P> But is Windows 8 really so bad? This won't come as a surprise, but Microsoft thinks it's pretty good, if you'll just give it a chance. The company recently <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/07/julie-larson-green-at-the-wired-business-conference.aspx">confirmed that its Windows 8 update</a>, code-named "Windows Blue," is slated for release later this year. A public preview of Windows Blue will debut at the <a href="http://www.buildwindows.com/">Microsoft Build Developer Conference</a> in San Francisco at the end of June. <P> Redmond is a bit less forthcoming about Windows Blue's new and updated features, which is the subject of the slideshow that follows. So what can we expect? "[Blue is] an opportunity for us to respond to the customer feedback that we've been closely listening to since the launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT," said Tami Reller, chief marketing and financial officer of the Windows division, in a <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/06/windows-8-at-6-months-q-amp-a-with-tami-reller.aspx" target="_blank">May 7th Q&A session</a> with Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc. Well, perhaps "feedback" is a friendly word for "grievances." <P> Whatever the case, we'll find out in a few weeks just how responsive Microsoft is to Windows 8's critics. <P> Microsoft claims it has sold more than 100 million licenses for Windows 8, up from 60 million in January, and that there are now more than 2,400 certified Windows 8- and Windows RT-certified devices. And Windows 8's acceptance in the marketplace, in terms of license sales, is on par with that of Windows 7 after its debut, the company says. But as <em>InformationWeek</em> associate editor Michael Endler <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">makes clear</a>, there are many more PCs in the world today than when Windows 7 arrived at the end of 2009. To match its predecessor's market share growth, Windows 8 would need to sell significantly more licenses than Windows 7. <P> So is Windows doomed? Hardly. Even with the anti-Windows 8 uproar, there's no indication that enterprises are ditching the Windows platform. However, given that many businesses are still in the process of upgrading to Windows 7, there's a good chance they may bypass Windows 8 -- and perhaps even Windows Blue -- altogether and hold out for Windows 9. Consumers, however, may find iPads and Android tablets tempting alternatives to Windows-based laptops and tablets, and that has Microsoft worried. <P> Here are 8 things that Microsoft might fix in Windows Blue.<a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Rumor</a> has it that Microsoft may bring back the Start menu -- or is it the Start button? -- to the Desktop UI in Windows 8. The distinction between "Menu" and "Button" may seem pedantic, but it matters a lot. Modern UI haters, particularly those unhappy with Windows 8's half-based desktop, would prefer the return of a Windows 7-style <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/the-start-menu-overview" target="_blank">Start menu</a> for easy access to folders, programs, settings, not to mention the venerable search box (above) for finding files. (The Start button, which is also missing from Windows 8, refers to the Windows icon in the lower right corner of Windows 7 and its antecedents.) <P> If the Start menu returns to Windows Blue, wonderful. But if it gets only the Start button, which doesn't launch the Start menu but rather directs users back to the Modern UI -- as some reports say it will -- Microsoft will have missed a golden opportunity to appease its Windows 8 critics -- well, some of them, anyway. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>Windows 8 comes with plenty of free apps, and you'll <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">find plenty more</a> in the Windows Store. Unfortunately, many Windows 8 users have found that these apps have limited functionality compared to the desktop programs they've used for years. Skype users, for instance, have <a href="http://community.skype.com/t5/Windows-8-from-Windows-Store/App-for-Windows-8-are-really-bad/td-p/1236600">griped about the confusing interface</a> and lack of features of the Modern UI version of the Microsoft-owned VoIP app. And Window 8/RT's Calendar, Mail and People apps have <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/are-the-windows-8-mail-and-calendar-apps-good-enough-for-windows-rt-7000007244/" target="_blank">taken their licks</a> for being underpowered and oversimplified. And while that's fine for mobile apps, PC users want more. To be fair, Microsoft recently <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/windowsexperience/archive/2013/03/25/the-mail-calendar-and-people-apps-are-getting-better.aspx" target="_blank">beefed up the capabilities</a> of these three apps, but their initial shortcomings show the complexity of developing a single UI and set of apps for mobile and desktop users. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>Why does Windows 8 come with <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/olivnie/archive/2013/03/02/windows-8-internet-explorer-10.aspx" target="_blank">two versions of Internet Explorer</a>, both of which are named Internet Explorer 10? Well, probably because Windows Store apps don't run on the Windows desktop, at least not without a third-party utility making it happen. As a result, the Modern UI gets its own Metro-style, touch-optimized, full-screen version of IE, while the desktop gets a traditional version designed for mouse/keyboard use. <P> Confused yet? There's more. Add-ons that work in desktop IE, such as browser extensions and toolbars, don't work in the touch-friendly Modern version. And tabs work differently in the two versions too. Oh, and if you select another program, such as Google Chrome, as your default browser in Windows 8, you'll see only the desktop version of IE 10. Yikes! Perhaps this all made sense in the early planning stages of Windows 8 (after a few beers), but from a usability perspective, it's a train wreck. Windows Blue is a good opportunity to set things straight. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>Modern UI-style apps, by default, take up the entire screen. This makes sense on a diminutive tablet display, but it's a waste of valuable screen space on a 15-inch (or larger) desktop/laptop display. Think about it: Do you really need a full-screen weather app? There are ways in the Modern UI to <a href="http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/place-two-windows-side-by-side-in-windows-8.html" target="_blank">position two windows side by side</a>, but they're clumsy and not very intuitive. And if you want to run a Modern-style app in a desktop window, you'll need a third-party utility like Stardock's <a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/modernmix/" target="_blank">ModernMix</a> to make it happen. Hopefully Windows Blue will make it easier to resize and move Modern apps around the screen, and perhaps even let us move them on the desktop. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>Window 8's <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/charms" target="_blank">Charms bar</a>, which slides in and out of view along the right side of the screen, provides fast access to essential tools such as search, share and settings. It's not very flexible, though. You <a href="http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-desktop/can-we-disable-the-charms-bar-in-windows-8/292abaea-d0f7-42a2-b33c-0a97db56adde" target="_blank">can't disable it</a>, for instance, or move it to another screen location that works better for you, such as the left side. How about a bit more flexibility in how we use Charms, Windows Blue? <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>The Modern UI has a pop-up clock that appears with the Charms bar, but at the opposite end (lower left corner) of the screen. For a permanent clock tile, however, you'll need to download a third-party app like the free <a href="http://jujubasoftware.com/windows-8/clock/" target="_blank">Jojuba Software Clock</a>. Windows Blue should add a live tile that shows the time and date without any swiping, hovering or tapping. A clock is one of those basic UI elements that you don't miss until it's gone. (Sniff.) <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>Let's say that Microsoft is having a hard time selling Windows 8 to enterprises, many of which don't want the headaches and expense of retaining their employees to learn the Modern UI. To make Windows Blue more appealing to its sizable corporate user base, Microsoft could make its slick, tile-based interface optional, thereby simplifying the upgrade path for many organizations. <P> There are several reasons why this is unlikely, however -- including the fact that Windows 7 remains a popular choice among enterprises, many of which are in the process of migrating to the OS. And if you've just migrated to Windows 7, you're not even considering Windows 8 -- Modern UI or not. Furthermore, the Modern UI is the cornerstone of Microsoft's (perhaps misguided) strategy of providing a single UI for its desktop and mobile products. Bottom line: If you make the Modern UI optional on your flagship OS, you're messing with your grand plan for mobile/desktop domination. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>Windows Blue, like its predecessor, may very well strive to be all things to all people -- and perhaps more so. Microsoft's <a href="http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/06/windows-8-at-6-months-q-amp-a-with-tami-reller.aspx" target="_blank">Tami Reller</a>, chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, boasts that Blue "will deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance." <P> Well, a "broad array of form factors" sure sounds like a nod to the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">rumored 7- or 8-inch Windows tablets</a> that are expected soon. And a new generation of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">hybrid Windows 8 slates</a> and other devices are starting to appear. <P> Intel CEO Paul Otellini recently said his company's new line of Atom mobile processors could power Windows 8 tablets priced as low as $200, an entry-level market that Microsoft needs to enter for its mobile strategy to succeed. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/what-microsoft-windows-8-license-numbers/240154345">What Microsoft Windows 8 License Numbers Don't Say</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/8-windows-8-apps-under-25/240154177">8 Windows 8 Apps Under $25</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/acer-reveals-windows-8-hybrid-tablets/240154151">Acer Reveals Windows 8 Hybrid Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-adoption-limps-on/240153971">Windows 8 Adoption Limps On</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-device-choices-baffle-buyers/240150267">Windows 8 Device Choices Baffle Buyers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/4-ways-microsoft-could-improve-windows-s/240154422">4 Ways Microsoft Could Improve Windows Store</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/bill-gates-ipad-users-frustrated/240154235">Bill Gates: iPad Users 'Frustrated'</a>2013-05-07T10:45:00ZStartup Versium Analytics assembles detailed profiles of consumers and businesses to help marketers hone their pitches.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-firm-chronicles-your-online-offline-lives/240154321?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/5-big-wishes-for-big-data-deployments/240153214"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/981/Big_Hadoop_01_tn.jpg" alt="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" title="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>There are traces of your existence everywhere, both online and off. Much of this disparate data, including your email addresses, credit rating, vehicle make and model, and whether you prefer gardening to scuba diving, is publicly available, but marketers may not always know where to find it.</p> <P> <a href="http://versium.com/">Versium Analytics</a>, a Redmond, Wash., startup founded last year, has gathered up these digital crumbs -- or data points -- on more than 240 million customers and 20 million businesses. This "LifeData," as the company calls it, contains billions of bits of information derived from your real-life actions. Versium indexes and analyzes the information, which it provides to its enterprise customers. <P> This big data includes both online and offline information in about 500 attribute fields, which "really help define who a person is," said Versium CEO Chris Matty in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. <P> Combined with an enterprises' existing data, Versium's LifeData and analytic models can deliver the actionable insights that "can be very powerful in predicting behavior and understanding purchase propensity," said Matty. <P> <strong>[ Do you know how your TV-watching habits influence the ads you see? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/business-intelligence/tivo-research-analytics-mines-big-tv-dat/240154206?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Tivo Research Analytics Mines Big TV Data</a>. ]</strong> <P> A 20-year veteran of the tech industry, Matty has held executive positions at numerous startups, including dotcom pioneer InfoSpace. <P> "From the get-go, we've brought into the organization a significant volume of data from an entity that had been collecting information going back 10 years," he said. "So we were able very quickly to have a large, critical mass of data. And we were profitable just a few months in, licensing these information pieces out." <P> The company's ATLAS database contains billions of records on consumers and businesses. In addition to making this information available to third parties, Versium builds its own applications on top of its data platform. <P> For marketers, this type of information can help fill in the blanks. A major mobile carrier, for instance, might be privy to some of your personal details, such the brand of cellphone you own, how many phone minutes you use each month and the number of customer service calls you make. But Versium promises a lot more stuff, such as whether you're socially active, a frequent Twitter user or are inclined to hit "like" often on Facebook. <P> "The real value in all this big data is the insights that can be derived (from it). LifeData provides a new, unique lens toward understanding consumer behavior," Matty added. <P> Matty acknowledged that other companies are doing data analytics with similar data sets. However, he believes Versium's approach makes it unique, and therefore compelling, to organizations. <P> "Our analytics solution is our heavy focus," he said. "While there are a number of analytics companies that will go in and say, 'We'll help you analyze your log files, or analyze your enterprise data,' we bring a different element in that we analyze the combined set." <P> A university, for instance, might use Versium's software to optimize its fundraising effort. "They would upload, say, two years of historical donation data," information that Versium would then analyze, segment and append with information from its LifeData platform, Matty explained. <P> "We'll append (the university's) data with our LifeData and look for attributes and signals that indicate a higher propensity to fall into one of the different donation levels," he said. <P> Once the computer model is trained, the university can use this information to optimize its marketing campaign. For instance, people likely to be generous donors might receive a friendly call from a high-ranking university official. <P> "The next group down, you'll invite to a wine-tasting at one of the halls," said Matty. <P> Versium currently has about 30 customers licensing its data, including Constant Contact, an online marketing firm. Other customers, which Matty declined to name, include "well-known consumer package goods brands" and major mobile carriers, he said. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-06T10:36:00ZHoarding information, or storing enterprise data in the wrong places, can open your company to legal liability. But culture change won't be easy.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/software-platforms/data-hoarding-how-to-stop/240154185?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/5-big-wishes-for-big-data-deployments/240153214"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/981/Big_Hadoop_01_tn.jpg" alt="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" title="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Data management is a never-ending struggle for enterprises, particularly when employees store work data in personal accounts on cloud storage services. This so-called <a href="http://www.isaca.org/Knowledge-Center/Research/ResearchDeliverables/Pages/Data-Leak-Prevention.aspx">data leakage</a>, combined with the problem of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/are-you-a-data-hoarder/240149328">data hoarding</a> inside the enterprise firewall, can spell trouble for organizations, especially in legal matters.</p> <P> According to Kevin Cochrane, chief marketing officer of <a href="http://www.opentext.com">OpenText</a>, a Waterloo, Ontario-based provider of enterprise information management (EIM) software, every source of enterprise content should be completely under management's control, and hoarding must be disallowed. <P> Increasingly, however, that's not the case. "People are losing control of their information, and employees are starting to save all of their enterprise information elsewhere," said Cochrane in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. <P> So what should enterprises do? "They need to wake up and take a look at all the sources of information that people are hoarding, and where they're hoarding them," Cochrane advised. <P> <strong>[ Do you know what data to analyze, what to back up and what to dump? <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/dont-confuse-big-data-with-storage/240152455?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Don't Confuse Big Data With Storage</a>. ]</strong> <P> The problem of saving too much information -- a growing issue in the era of big data -- can come back and bite an organization during the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/business-intelligence/when-big-data-meets-legal-discovery/240151181">discovery phase</a> of a lawsuit, for instance. <P> One of OpenText's customers is pipeline transport company <a href="http://www.enbridge.com/">Enbridge</a>, which operates in a highly litigious industry. It's a prime example of an organization that must keep every piece of digital content under corporate control, Cochrane said. <P> "When a lawsuit does occur, discovery is key," he noted. Companies "need to ensure they have only those records necessary to defend themselves against a lawsuit, and absolutely nothing more." <P> Implementing such a strategy means two things: data hoarding is not allowed, and all work-related emails, documents and other digital information must be stored inside the enterprise firewall. Establishing and enforcing such a policy can prove challenging, however, particularly when it requires employee behavioral changes. <P> Enbridge turned to OpenText's <a href="http://www.opentext.com/2/global/enterprise-information-management.htm">EIM software</a> to ensure compliance. "They had to drive a program of change, to make sure that people understood that if a piece of information wasn't critical to making a decision, it needed to be removed," said Cochrane. <P> The policy essentially requires employees to decide whether each piece of digital information they receive is worth saving or not. If it's worth saving, it goes in "Folder A." If not, "Folder B." <P> "Just because you like that presentation, just because you had a fond memory of that email you received, that doesn't cut it in today's world," Cochrane said. "If it was truly insightful information, and someone reviewed it in a meeting, and a decision was made based on that, then it needs to go in Folder A, which means it gets classified." <P> But what if you take no action? Well, the information goes away permanently. "By default, if you do nothing, everything will get wiped clean," added Cochrane. <P> There can be no exceptions to this rule. It's important that everybody adheres to this policy, even the corporate chiefs in the <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/c-suite.asp">C-suite</a>. <P> "All email that hasn't been declared is gone. It can't be found on any disk, anywhere, even if you get a forensic specialist," said Cochrane. "And that's how you change the culture of a company. Make sure it's Job #1. It's enforced in the C-suite ... and everyone is compliant. And you've got to make sure the policies and procedures are iron-clad, and are well-understood by everybody." <P> Once the technology component is in place, the biggest challenge to implementing such a system is the organization's culture, Cochrane noted. <P> "Probably today you sent a number of emails, and traded a couple of documents that are sitting on your desktop," he said. "You're created critical information that you're not necessarily declaring as being a record or not." <P> Certainly, the OpenText solution isn't the only way to solve the problem of data hoarding and leakage, but it is an intriguing -- if somewhat draconian -- solution. <P> So what's it going to be: Folder A or Folder B? <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-03T09:56:00ZIn April's Boston Marathon bombing, the key suspect's name, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had multiple spellings on U.S. intelligence watch lists.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/software-platforms/how-foreign-names-trip-up-terrorism-databases/240154159?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/5-big-wishes-for-big-data-deployments/240153214"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/981/Big_Hadoop_01_tn.jpg" alt="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" title="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have many tools at their disposal to fight terrorism. But the most basic of mistakes, often the result of human error, can have deadly consequences. A suspected terrorist's name, for instance, may be spelled differently on various watch lists, an error that can make it difficult to identify and track a potentially dangerous individual.</P> <P> Carl Hoffman, founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.basistech.com/">Basis Technology</a>, an 18-year-old text analytics software company based in Cambridge, Mass., sees this as a serious problem that needs to be addressed right away. <P> "Watch lists play a very important role in national security. We have an obligation to implement them as accurately as we can, and to build information systems that minimize the chance of human error," Hoffman said in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. <P> He singled out two major watch lists as being particularly problematic. One is issued by the U.S. Treasury Department's <a href="http://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/offices/Pages/Office-of-Foreign-Assets-Control.aspx">Office of Foreign Asset Control</a> (OFAC); the other is the National Counter Terrorism Center's Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, also known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_Identities_Datamart_Environment">TIDE</a>. <P> "Both of those watch lists have serious architectural problems -- problems with the way the lists are implemented," said Hoffman, who stressed that he was speaking strictly from a linguistic and technological perspective. <P> <strong>[ Want to know how the healthcare system handled the Boston Marathon bombing? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/boston-hospital-cio-reflects-after-bombi/240153643?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Boston Hospital CIO Reflects After Bombing</a>. ]</strong> <P> As an example, Hoffman used the case of Nigerian citizen <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Farouk_Abdulmutallab">Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab</a>, popularly known as the "underwear bomber." Abdulmutallab was convicted of trying to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. <P> "His name was placed on the TIDE watch list, and his name was present on other lists as well," said Hoffman. "But later when he became a subject of scrutiny, people who were looking for him were unable to find his name." <P> Why? "He had a very complex name, and an Arabic name," Hoffman recalled. "And when you translate a name from Arabic, as in the case of Abdulmutallab, into our writing system, that's a great opportunity for errors to be introduced." <P> When investigators and analysts translate names from a foreign language, there may be multiple translations. "And attempting to keep track of all the different spellings of a foreign name can lead to failed queries, and to look-ups being missed ... as definitely happened in the Abdulmutallab case," said Hoffman. <P> A similar situation may have occurred in last month's Boston Marathon bombing, where the key suspect's name, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, had multiple spellings on U.S. intelligence watch lists. <P> In January 2012, Tsarnaev's flight reservation for a six-month trip to Dagestan and Chechnya triggered a security alert to U.S. customs authorities, according to an April 24 article in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/us/tamerlan-tsarnaev-bomb-suspect-was-on-watch-lists.html"><em>The New York Times</em></a>. <P> But his trip didn't set off a similar alert on the TIDE watch list "because the spelling variants of his name and the birth dates entered into the system -- exactly how the Russian government had provided the data months earlier -- were different enough from the correct information to prevent an alert," the <em>Times</em> reported. <P> Hoffman declined to speculate on the Tsarnaev case, saying it's too early to take a position on an ongoing investigation. He did say, however, that there are smarter methods of placing foreign names on watch lists, such as entering them in their original language, as well as in English. <P> "If you look at the Treasury Department's OFAC list, the only way a name goes on that list is after it has been translated into our writing system, namely the letters A through Z," said Hoffman. <P> "You have an opportunity to precisely select the name that you're looking for, even if that name is in Chinese, Arabic, Persian or whatever language. And then your database entry can capture that name, both in its original spelling, and (in) ... English." <P> The solution, Hoffman believes, is better implementation of software technology that exists today. <P> "You can't go blaming the analysts, investigators and cops," he said. "The burden lies with the information architects. And they need to know that it's possible to build watch lists and systems that index and catalog names, and to do it in a way that is multilingual." <P> He added: "Is the terrorist supposed to spell his name correctly when he's purchasing his plane ticket? Are investigators who've never heard the name of the guy, or who are hearing a tip over a telephone, supposed to know to spell a name like Abdulmutallab or Tsarnaev?" <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i> <P>2013-05-02T12:12:00ZMicrosoft's Surface Pro and Surface RT tablets, despite their merits, aren't exactly selling like hotcakes. Here's what Microsoft might do to change that.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-ways-microsoft-could-improve-surface/240154051?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsWhen it comes to tablets, Microsoft is the scrappy underdog. The company shipped a combined 900,000 units of its Surface RT and Surface Pro slates in the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest global estimates from research firm IDC. Most of those were Surface Pro units -- the business-oriented model that runs legacy Windows programs -- that just began shipping in February. The numbers were good enough to earn Microsoft the 5th spot in IDC's list of the Top 5 tablet vendors, but a closer look at the Surface stats shows a less upbeat scenario. <P> For instance, IDC reports that combined shipments (from Microsoft and its hardware partners) of Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets in the first quarter totaled just 1.8 million. Remember, half of those were Surface tablets. Apple, by comparison, shipped 19.5 million iPads in Q1, and Samsung shipped 8.8 million of its various tablet models. To be fair, Microsoft's 5th place spot isn't bad considering the Surface's newness, and IDC reports that Redmond is in the process of widening the tablet's distribution. <P> Microsoft's tablet strategy faces several hurdles, however, including a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">troubling lack of interest</a> from both consumers and <a href="http://www.pc-tablet.com/19708-samsung-windows-8-rt-tablets-germany-report/" target="_blank">OEMs</a> in the ARM-based Windows RT platform. From a U.S. consumer's perspective, the Surface RT's $499 entry-level price may simply seem too high, particularly when competing large slates like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch and Google Nexus 10 start at $269 and $399, respectively, albeit with less storage (16 GB each vs. 32 GB for the Surface RT). Apple's older iPad 2 starts at $399, and its 4th-generation full-size model is $499 and up. <P> If it's true that the Surface Pro is selling but the more iPad-like Surface RT isn't, what should Microsoft do? Rumors have <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-blue-rumors-rts-demise-risky-app/240151963">swirled for weeks</a> about the fate of Windows RT, many with an apocalyptic bent. Despite the fact that RT is a well-designed tablet OS -- ignore the relative dearth of apps for a moment -- its Windows Lite architecture is a big migraine from a marketing perspective. Perhaps it needs an identity -- or at least some UI changes -- that distinguish it from Windows 8. When store clerks have to explain the difference between Microsoft's two identical-looking tablet OS's, well, nothing good can come from that. <P> We've come up with 10 steps that Microsoft might take to boost interest in the next generation of Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets. Some suggestions are based on current rumors; others are inspired by current trends in the marketplace. <P> If you were Microsoft, what would you do?A funny thing happened right around the time Microsoft launched its 10-inch Surface slates. Consumers decided they really, really like smaller slates, which cost less, are easier to carry and hold, and do pretty much their same thing as their larger sibs. Apple's 7.9-inch iPad mini is a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/ipad-mini-eating-ipads-lunch/240153978">bona fide</a> hit, and the 7-inch Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire have found receptive audiences too. For Microsoft's mobile strategy to work, it badly needs a 7- or 8-inch Surface in the game. Not surprisingly, Redmond is planning to launch a smaller slate later this year, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323741004578415661035812902.html" target="_blank">reports</a>. If true, would Surface's optional Type Cover and Touch Cover keyboards shrink as well? <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>Windows RT has a very limited implementation of the traditional Windows Desktop, which runs just one program: a preinstalled copy of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 RT. That's it: You can't install any other apps there. This makes the Desktop feels like a weird appendage, one that somehow managed to survive Windows' evolutionary upheaval. And that's pretty much the case. Desktop will stick around until Microsoft ships a Windows 8-style (i.e. Metro/Modern UI) version of Office. When will that happen? Perhaps when the next version of Office arrives, which could be far off. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>System software always gobbles more than its fair share of storage, but nowhere is its gluttony more acute than on the Surface RT and Surface Pro. According to <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Surface/en-US/storage" target="_blank">Microsoft</a>, the 32-GB Surface RT has about 15 GB of available space for user content; the 64-GB Surface Pro has 30 GB of free space. In other words, more than half of the devices' advertised storage capacity is unavailable before you open the box. <P> This shortcoming seems more troublesome for users of the 64-GB Surface Pro ($899), which is really a full-fledged Windows laptop with a detachable keyboard, touchscreen and stylus. Think about it: A $1,000 PC (including keyboard) with a measly 30 gigs of usable storage? Microsoft may want to boost that figure, or drop the 64-GB model and make the 128-GB unit (89 GB of available space) the low-end Surface Pro. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>The angle of the Surface's kickstand is not adjustable. This may not be a big deal on the Surface RT, particularly if you use the device mostly as a handheld, iPad-style tablet. But since the Surface Pro is a full Windows laptop, it really could use an adjustable screen. Without one, you'll find yourself adjusting your body (e.g., hunching over) quite often to view the screen at the ideal angle. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>Early reviews of the Surface Pro, even the favorable ones, griped about the device's <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">so-so battery life</a>, which ranged from 2.5 to 4.5 hours, depending on usage. Not terrible, perhaps, but also not on par with the 6-hour (or longer) lifespan of similarly priced Ultrabooks like the Acer Iconia W700. <P> A solution may be coming soon, however, according to some <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2027486/microsoft-surface-pro-may-get-battery-extending-cover.html" target="_blank">industry watchers</a>. In a <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/18063g/i_am_panos_panay_with_the_surface_windows_8_pro/" target="_blank">Reddit Q&A session</a> in February, Panos Panay, a Microsoft corporate vice president working on Surface, said the company went with a smaller battery to keep the Surface Pro thin and light (under 2 pounds). When asked if Redmond had plans to offer an extended battery, or perhaps even a keyboard cover with a built-in battery, Panay replied: "That would require extending the design of the accessory spine to include some way to transfer higher current between the peripheral and the main battery. Which we did." Intel's new Haswell chip (more on this later) will help boost battery life too. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>The Surface's front- and rear-facing cameras, both 720p shooters, are yawn-worthy. Sure, the front cam is perfectly adequate for Skype chats, but what good is the rear unit? Yes, many critics have griped that rear cameras and 10-inch slates aren't a good match. (And if you've ever tried shooting video with a full-size iPad, you know there's a lot of truth there.) But if rumors are true of a 7-inch to 8-inch Surface, Microsoft should put a quality shooter on the smaller Surface's backside. At the very least it should match the iPad mini's 5MP rear-facing cam. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>Windows RT devices come with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 RT, which includes <a href="http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/home-and-student/office-home-student-rt-FX103790095.aspx" target="_blank">tablet-optimized versions</a> of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. What's missing? Outlook, of course, but that may change soon. Paul Thurrott of Supersite for Windows reported last month that <a href="http://winsupersite.com/windows-rt/what-s-happening-outlook-rt" target="_blank">Outlook for RT exists</a>. However, it's unclear how or when Microsoft will release it. The addition of Outlook could help make the Surface RT -- and the Windows RT platform in general -- more appealing to longtime Office users, both business and consumer. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P>OK, this is more of a Windows 8 gripe, but it applies to the Surface as well. The Modern UI is aesthetically pleasing, but it definitely needs work. For instance, how do you close a Modern UI app? There's a way to do this, but novice users won't learn without doing a little research. Similarly, the Charms bar doesn't also appear when you scroll to the right side of the screen. (Hint: try the lower-right corner.) <P> Sure, tech-savvy users know these navigational tricks, but that's beside the point. Windows 8 lacks visual clues to help everyday business users master its new UI. And for enterprises, this means expensive, time-consuming retraining for employees. There's room for hope, though. The <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">next version of Windows</a> may very well address some of these UI shortcomings. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>Intel is announcing its 4th generation of Intel core processors, code-named "Haswell," on June 3. The new chip design promises better power management and all-day battery life for Ultrabooks, including Intel-based hybrids like the Surface Pro. If Haswell delivers as promised, it could help Microsoft boost the Surface Pro's mediocre battery life, thereby fixing one of the tablet's major shortcomings. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>A number of developments may bring lower Surface prices. First off, a smaller Surface model would likely be priced in the $200 to $300 range to compete with the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD, iPad mini and other slates. And some <a href="http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/04/11/7-inch-microsoft-surface-rumored-for-production-later-this-year/" target="_blank">reports</a> have Microsoft reworking its Windows OS tech specs to allow lower-resolution displays, and perhaps even lowering its Windows licensing fees to attract more hardware manufacturers to its tablet platform. <P> The Microsoft Store recently cut prices of Windows 8 devices (not including the Surface Pro). Of course, lower prices may simply be a way to clear out old inventory, or to boost interest in the tepidly received Windows 8. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124">8 Ways Microsoft Could Save Windows 8</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-restoring-the-start-button/240153170">Windows Blue: Restoring The Start Button Isn't Enough</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/ipad-loses-share-to-android-windows-tabl/240153587">iPad Loses Share To Android, Windows Tablets</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-eyes-outlook-for-rt-office-for/240152380">Microsoft Eyes Outlook For RT, Office For iOS?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">Windows Blue: What We Know</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a>2013-04-29T09:58:00ZAccess to large, relevant data sets is the biggest problem facing business intelligence and data analytics instructors and students, new survey finds.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-professors-want-your-data-sets/240153785?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/20-top-masters-degrees-for-big-data-analytics-professionals/240145673"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/934/IntroImage_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs" title=" Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Pssst. Hey, got a few petabytes of data to spare? Your local university just might need it. </p> <P> The biggest challenge in training the next generation of data scientists is finding large data to teach students real-world skills. That's a key finding of the latest State of Business Intelligence survey conducted for <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/software-platforms/teradata-offers-free-big-data-training/240144987">Teradata University Network</a>, a Web-based training program for students seeking careers in data-oriented professions. <P> The survey, the third State of Business Intelligence study since 2009, polled professors at 243 universities in 43 countries, as well as students at 96 universities. It was conducted by a trio of academics, including Xavier University associate professor Thalini Ariyachandra, who discussed the survey results via telephone with <em>InformationWeek</em>. Bill Franks, chief analytics officer for Teradata's global alliance programs, joined in the call. <P> Although the world is awash in big data, 45% of professors say the top challenge to teaching BI and data analytics is gaining access to large data sets, the survey found. The second biggest challenge is finding students with prerequisite skills (39%); third is finding qualified or available instructors (37%). <P> <strong>[ Want to know about other concerns with big data in schools? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/education/policy/big-datas-opportunities-responsibilities/240149065?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Big Data's Opportunities, Responsibilities For Education</a>. ]</strong> <P> Well, if there's so much data out there, why can't universities use it? <P> "We want the kind of data sets that exist in companies, so we can give students some practical, real-world experience," said Ariyachandra. "And getting access to that kind of (data) is still something that is challenging." <P> "Universities have some samples of data, but it's a challenge to locate pools of large data that you can get access to," added Franks. "A lot of companies are hesitant to give that data out, and it can take quite a bit of effort to anonymize it if you do." <P> The problem, while significant, isn't exactly new, however. <P> "I'm an analytics professional by training. I have a master's degree in statistics. In school -- this was years ago, so none of the data was as big as it is now -- the data you used for exercises was very small and artificially clean," Franks recalled. <P> The study also shows that more students are focusing on business-oriented analytics professions, such as business analyst or IT professional. However, only 16% of students surveyed are considering careers as data scientists. <P> On the plus side, more schools are adding data science to marketing and statistics courses. <P> "More academics are providing depth in the kind of statistics and advanced predictive analytics type of skills being offered in courses," said Ariyachandra. "There are more programs in place than two years ago, and there's definitely a lot going on, with academia trying to meet demand for (data scientists)." <P> For instance, businesses are looking for graduates with practical, hands-on experience with big data sets. Said Ariyachandra: "For academics, the problem is, how do we provide that?" <P> According to a 2011 study by the <a href="http://news.dice.com/2011/09/09/data-scientist-a-cool-new-job-title-essential-position/">McKinsey Global Institute</a>, the U.S. could face a shortage of up to 190,000 data scientists by 2018. <P> This shortage is part of a larger trend: the dramatic increase in the use of analytics in business, Franks noted. <P> "Some are calling their programs 'predictive analytics,' some are calling them 'data science,' some are calling them 'data mining,'" he said. "But at the end of the day, all the programs are oriented toward the same general principle: we need people who can go out in industry and help (organizations) analyze their data." <P> Introductory information systems courses at business colleges are now incorporating analytics, as well as providing a fundamental understanding of BI, added Ariyachandra. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-04-29T09:06:00ZDedicated graph analytics appliance from Cray subsidiary YarcData looks for hard-to-find relationships in big data.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/graph-analytics-the-other-big-data/240153757?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/5-big-wishes-for-big-data-deployments/240153214"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/981/Big_Hadoop_01_tn.jpg" alt="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" title="5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">5 Big Wishes For Big Data Deployments</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Most big data solutions today focus on "the search problem." That's according to Arvind Parthasarathi, president of <a href="http://www.yarcdata.com/">YarcData</a>, a Cray subsidiary based in Pleasanton, Calif. "The issue is finding the right answer to a question. It's what we call 'search,' and that's what Hadoop to everything else does very effectively," said Parthasarathi in a phone interview with <i>InformationWeek</i>. </p> <P> But there's another side to big data, one that Parthasarathi calls "discovery." "Discovery is not about finding the right answer to a question," he said. "It's about seeking the right question to ask." <P> Graphs, of course, are ubiquitous in government, commerce and science. They're very useful in visualizing relationships and patterns that might otherwise remain hidden in massive amounts of data. YarcData sells an enterprise-ready big data appliance called Ureka (as in, "Eureka, I've found it!"), a standalone box built for enterprises that use graph analytics to tackle discovery-related issues. The company sees a market here, as graph analysis of big data can bring commodity, x86-based hardware to its knees -- a problem that Ureka is designed to solve. <P> <strong>[ How do you translate huge volumes of data into useful information? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/smb/ebusiness/5-data-sources-for-visualization-beginne/2401520470?itc=edit_in_body_cross">5 Data Sources For Visualization Beginners</a>. ]</strong> <P> The technical problem involves <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locality_of_reference">locality of reference</a>, an esoteric term that refers to data fields being in close proximity to each other. "Graphs have no locality of reference," Parthasarathi pointed out. "There's almost no relation between proximity and relation," he added. "Think of data as being spread out across a football field. You could be on the 50-yard line, and suddenly go all the way to the goal line to get one piece of data." <P> This poses a problem for today's x86 systems, which have processors that are significantly faster than memory. Ureka, by comparison, has a graph accelerator processor and a shared memory model. Its XMT technology runs 128 hardware threads on a chip. "This allows us to deal with this locality of reference issue on the graph," Parthasarathi explained. "Imagine ingesting the entire football field into memory, and then being able to travel anywhere to anywhere without a performance penalty. That's our secret sauce." <P> To a computer network, the Ureka appliance appears as just another Linux server, albeit one with up to 512 terabytes of memory onboard. "The good news for enterprises is that we're not trying to replace anything. Every one of our customers has Hadoop, relational data warehouses and data appliances," said Parthasarathi. "[Those traditional big data tools] are great for search," he added. "We're augmenting them for discovery." <P> Parthasarathi acknowledged that Ureka isn't the only solution for graph analytics. "Graphs have been around for ages, and there are lots of software approaches to graphs," he said. "But the main problem with them is that they don't scale. I can show you a really nice demo about graph analytics. But the moment I start putting in any real data -- like a normal enterprise's data -- I'm suddenly going from a response time in minutes to days." <P> YarcData recently announced winners of its <a href="http://www.yarcdata.com/News/press/press04042013.php">$100,000 challenge</a>, in which contestants demonstrated real-world uses of graph analytics to solve big data problems. <P> First prize ($70,000) went to Dr. Brady Bernard, Andrea Eakin, and Dr. Ilya Shmeulevich at the Seattle-based <a href="https://www.systemsbiology.org/">Institute for Systems Biology</a>. Their entry researched more than 25 different types of cancers, as well as thousands of patients, to gain insight into biological networks that are disrupted or altered within a given cancer type, according to YarcData. The entry also identified potential drugs that could be repurposed to treat the given cancer. <P> YarcData is optimistic that Ureka will help solve other big data discovery problems as well. "We're seeing use cases in everything from cybersecurity to finding new cures for cancer, to patient treatment and personalized medicine, to new trading strategies for financial firms," said Parthasarathi. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-04-25T11:06:00ZWill Apple's 5th-generation iPad be a bore or have innovations galore? We'd like to see five rumors come true.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/5-apple-ipad-5-wishes/240153565?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsJuts how popular are Apple iPads? Announcing its fiscal 2013 second-quarter <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2013/04/23Apple-Reports-Second-Quarter-Results.html">results</a> on April 23, Apple said it had sold 19.5 million iPads in Q2, up from 11.8 million in the same quarter a year ago. Apple didn't subdivide its tablet sales, however. So it's unclear if the iPad Mini, which debuted just seven months ago, is proving more popular than the larger, full-size iPad. <P> Recent analyst projections suggest this might be the case. NPD DisplaySearch reported in February that tablet panel shipments in January 2013 <a href="http://www.displaysearchblog.com/2013/02/smaller-tablet-pcs-to-take-over-in-2013/">"shifted dramatically" toward the smaller 7- to 8-inch sizes</a>. <P> "As we noted in December, Apple had planned to sell 40M iPad Minis (7.9") and 60M iPads (9.7") in 2013," wrote analyst David Hsieh on his DisplaySearch blog. "However, the reality seems to be the reverse, as the iPad Mini has been more popular than the iPad." <P> IDC reached a similar conclusion last month. "One in every two tablets shipped this quarter was below 8 inches in screen size. And in terms of shipments, we expect smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013 and beyond," said IDC tablet analyst Jitesh Ubrani in a statement. "Vendors are moving quickly to compete in this space as consumers realize that these small devices are often more ideal than larger tablets for their daily consumption habits." <P> Of course, this doesn't mean that full-size tablets are pass&#233;. And there's no indication that Apple will focus its efforts on the iPad Mini at the expense of the more mature, 9.7-inch model. The 5th-generation iPad is expected to arrive this fall. Cook, in Tuesday's conference call, said some iPad sales are probably cannibalizing Apple's Mac business. A regular refresh of the full-size iPad makes sense to keep customers from jumping ship to potentially more innovative competitors. <P> Soon, a more distinct division might develop between large and small tablets. Some hardware upgrades, in fact, already seem questionable on larger slates. NFC for tap-and-pay shopping? The 9.7-inch iPad seems a bit cumbersome for that task. A better rear-facing camera? Again, the tablet's size and weight make the device a clumsy point-and-shoot or video camera, even if Apple shrinks its dimensions a bit. <P> What new features would you like to see in a full-size iPad? Our slideshow covers the hottest rumors to date. Under-the-hood improvements are always welcome, but Apple engineers must walk the tightrope of boosting processing power and other capabilities while maintaining a battery life of about 10 hours. <P> Dig into our slideshow and let us know what you want in the iPad 5 by using the comments section. <P> <font size="-2">Image sources: top half, apple.com; bottom half: CiccareseDesign.com via MacRumors.com</font>The 5th-generation iPad might have a trimmer look. Two weeks ago, French tech site <a href="http://www.nowhereelse.fr/ipad-5-blanc-photo-82098/">Nowhereelse</a> reported that one of its Chinese contacts had sent it photos of the new iPad's front panel (top photo). The image shows a slimmer slate with a narrower, iPad Mini-style side frame. The result, if the image is legit: A lighter, less bulky device that retains its predecessor's 9.7-inch display. <P> Earlier reports lend credence to Nowhereelse's furtive pics. In January, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable source of Apple scuttlebutt, said the next-gen iPad would be slimmer than the 4th-gen model and would have a lighter, full-aluminum shell, according to the <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/apple-ipad-5-rumors-features-be-significantly-lighter-slimmer-release-date-q3-2013-report-1020390">IB Times</a>. Kuo's supply chain contacts also said the new iPad would be about 15% thinner and 25% lighter than its predecessor. <P> <font size="-2">Image source: <a href="http://www.nowhereelse.fr/ipad-5-blanc-photo-82098/ipad-5-facade/">Nowhereelse</a></font> <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/new-ipad-to-be-thinner-lighter-report/240153227">New iPad To Be Thinner, Lighter: Report</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-looking-for-tim-cook-replacemen/240153327">Is Apple Looking For Tim Cook Replacement?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/iphone-5s-likely-evolutionary-not-revolu/240151374">iPhone 5S Likely Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-losing-war-of-words/240151065">Is Apple Losing War Of Words?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/tablets/mac-as-a-tablet/240151114">Mac As A Tablet?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-iphone-5s-best-and-worst-rumors/240150387">Apple iPhone 5S: Best And Worst Rumors</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-after-steve-jobs-10-hits-and-misse/240008271">Apple After Steve Jobs: 10 Hits And Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/iphone-ipad-configuration-files-security/240150606">iPhone, iPad Configuration Files Security Hole Shown</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/apples-top-20-public-apologies/240008177">Apple's Top 20 Public Apologies</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/android-tablets-pushing-aside-ipad-idc/240150571">Android Tablets Pushing Aside iPad: IDC</a>Each iPad upgrade has gotten a new processor, and the 5th-gen model should get one, too. But which Apple-designed system-on-chip (SoC) can we expect? The 4th-gen iPad has the A6X, a 1.4-GHz, dual-core CPU with a quad-core graphics processing unit (GPU). However, given the bad blood between Apple and Samsung, which manufactures the 32-nanometer (nm) A6X, changes might be in store. <P> Earlier this month, the <a href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2013/04/133_133715.html"><i>Korea Times</i> reported</a> that Apple might ditch Samsung and go with the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as the builder of its upcoming A7 processors. Taiwanese media have reported similar claims as well. <P> However, KGI Securities' Kuo says Apple will stay with Samsung for the new A7X, reports <a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2013/04/18/ipad-5-estimated-to-be-15-thinner-25-lighter-than-current-ipad/">MacRumors</a>. <P> <font size="-2">Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_A6X_chip.jpg">Wikipedia</a>.]</font> <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/new-ipad-to-be-thinner-lighter-report/240153227">New iPad To Be Thinner, Lighter: Report</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-looking-for-tim-cook-replacemen/240153327">Is Apple Looking For Tim Cook Replacement?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/iphone-5s-likely-evolutionary-not-revolu/240151374">iPhone 5S Likely Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-losing-war-of-words/240151065">Is Apple Losing War Of Words?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/tablets/mac-as-a-tablet/240151114">Mac As A Tablet?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-iphone-5s-best-and-worst-rumors/240150387">Apple iPhone 5S: Best And Worst Rumors</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-after-steve-jobs-10-hits-and-misse/240008271">Apple After Steve Jobs: 10 Hits And Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/iphone-ipad-configuration-files-security/240150606">iPhone, iPad Configuration Files Security Hole Shown</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/apples-top-20-public-apologies/240008177">Apple's Top 20 Public Apologies</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/android-tablets-pushing-aside-ipad-idc/240150571">Android Tablets Pushing Aside iPad: IDC</a> <P>The full-size iPad has had the same starting price of $499 and the same storage of 16 GB since it began shipping in 2010. (The older iPad 2 starts at $399.) Isn't it time for a spec bump? After all, flash memory is <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/ibm-flash-storage-hits-tipping-point/240152747">a lot cheaper</a> than it was three years ago, and Apple can afford to be bit more generous. A humble suggestion: Keep the price at $499 but include 32 GB of storage. We're not saying this <i>will</i> happen. But it should. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/new-ipad-to-be-thinner-lighter-report/240153227">New iPad To Be Thinner, Lighter: Report</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-looking-for-tim-cook-replacemen/240153327">Is Apple Looking For Tim Cook Replacement?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/iphone-5s-likely-evolutionary-not-revolu/240151374">iPhone 5S Likely Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-losing-war-of-words/240151065">Is Apple Losing War Of Words?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/tablets/mac-as-a-tablet/240151114">Mac As A Tablet?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-iphone-5s-best-and-worst-rumors/240150387">Apple iPhone 5S: Best And Worst Rumors</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-after-steve-jobs-10-hits-and-misse/240008271">Apple After Steve Jobs: 10 Hits And Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/iphone-ipad-configuration-files-security/240150606">iPhone, iPad Configuration Files Security Hole Shown</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/apples-top-20-public-apologies/240008177">Apple's Top 20 Public Apologies</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/android-tablets-pushing-aside-ipad-idc/240150571">Android Tablets Pushing Aside iPad: IDC</a> <P>Rumors of Apple using Sharp's innovative <a href="http://www.sharpusa.com/ForHome/HomeEntertainment/LCDTV/igzo.aspx">IGZO technology</a> for iPad screens <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/01/12/rumor_sharps_igzo_display_didnt_make_the_cut_for_apples_third_gen_ipad.html">predate the 3rd-gen model</a>. IGZO is an acronym for Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide, a transparent compound semiconductor that promises significant power savings when displaying still images, according to Sharp. It also enables screens to have much higher resolutions, and it can show images when the power is turned off. <P> So is Apple going IGZO? British tech blog <a href="http://blog.tactus.com/featured/new-ipad-5-rear-shell-leaked/">Tactus</a> recently predicted the 5th-gen iPad would have an IGZO screen but offered no supporting evidence. At CES 2013, Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White called Apple a "prime candidate" to adopt IGZO, according to <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/01/08/sharp-hypes-igzo-displays-apple-called-a-prime-candidate-to-use">Apple Insider</a>. Overall, there's not enough evidence at this time to say the next iPad will have an IGZO screen. However, future tablets from Apple, and its competitors, might very well incorporate the technology. <P> <font size="-2">Source: <a href="http://www.sharpusa.com/ForHome/HomeEntertainment/LCDTV/igzo.aspx">Sharp</a>.</font> <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/new-ipad-to-be-thinner-lighter-report/240153227">New iPad To Be Thinner, Lighter: Report</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-looking-for-tim-cook-replacemen/240153327">Is Apple Looking For Tim Cook Replacement?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/iphone-5s-likely-evolutionary-not-revolu/240151374">iPhone 5S Likely Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-losing-war-of-words/240151065">Is Apple Losing War Of Words?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/tablets/mac-as-a-tablet/240151114">Mac As A Tablet?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-iphone-5s-best-and-worst-rumors/240150387">Apple iPhone 5S: Best And Worst Rumors</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-after-steve-jobs-10-hits-and-misse/240008271">Apple After Steve Jobs: 10 Hits And Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/iphone-ipad-configuration-files-security/240150606">iPhone, iPad Configuration Files Security Hole Shown</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/apples-top-20-public-apologies/240008177">Apple's Top 20 Public Apologies</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/android-tablets-pushing-aside-ipad-idc/240150571">Android Tablets Pushing Aside iPad: IDC</a>In Apple's earnings chat on April 23, CEO Tim Cook pretty much quashed rumors of the 5th-gen iPad making its debut in the spring or summer. He said Apple was working on "some really great stuff" that would arrive in the fall or some time next year, Reuters <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-unlocks-more-cash-investors-010245101.html">reports</a>. Earlier <a href="http://branch.com/b/apple-to-begin-iphone-production-this-quarter#bHsmMAGtDfY">rumblings</a> suggested an April or May launch for the next-gen iPad, predictions that now seem highly unlikely. Citing Taiwan-based supply chain sources, <i>Digitimes</i> recently reported that volume <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130409PD212.html">production of the new full-size iPad will begin in July or August</a>. Yes, that's from <i>Digitimes</i> -- not always the most reliable source of Apple gossip -- but the report does sound credible, particularly in light of Cook's remarks. <P> <font size="-2">Image source: Apple.</font> <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/new-ipad-to-be-thinner-lighter-report/240153227">New iPad To Be Thinner, Lighter: Report</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-looking-for-tim-cook-replacemen/240153327">Is Apple Looking For Tim Cook Replacement?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/iphone-5s-likely-evolutionary-not-revolu/240151374">iPhone 5S Likely Evolutionary, Not Revolutionary</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/is-apple-losing-war-of-words/240151065">Is Apple Losing War Of Words?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/tablets/mac-as-a-tablet/240151114">Mac As A Tablet?</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-iphone-5s-best-and-worst-rumors/240150387">Apple iPhone 5S: Best And Worst Rumors</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-after-steve-jobs-10-hits-and-misse/240008271">Apple After Steve Jobs: 10 Hits And Misses</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/iphone-ipad-configuration-files-security/240150606">iPhone, iPad Configuration Files Security Hole Shown</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/apple-macintosh/apples-top-20-public-apologies/240008177">Apple's Top 20 Public Apologies</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/android-tablets-pushing-aside-ipad-idc/240150571">Android Tablets Pushing Aside iPad: IDC</a>2013-04-22T10:58:00ZU.S. intelligence agencies use semantic analysis software to find potential security threats from massive volumes of incoming data.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/military-uses-big-data-as-spy-tech/240153309?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/spy-tech-10-cia-backed-investments/240142519"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/912/01_extra_tn.jpg" alt="Spy Tech: 10 CIA-Backed Investments" title="Spy Tech: 10 CIA-Backed Investments" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Spy Tech: 10 CIA-Backed Investments</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>The planning that led up to last week's terrorist attacks in Boston is still largely a mystery, although more details are slowly becoming known. The fact that the Boston Marathon bombings occurred, however, show the daunting challenges that military and law enforcement officials face in preventing terrorist attacks.</p> <P> U.S. military intelligence analysts regularly sift through vast and varied data sets, including a big data-style mash-up of email, cellphone records, newspaper articles, video clips and audio snippets of phone conversations. <P> One way to simplify this painstaking process is via software that uses machine-learning technology and semantic analysis algorithms. These tools can help analysts, who may be deluged by too much data, by using detailed graphs and other visualization features to make massive volumes of information easier to study. <P> <a href="http://www.modusoperandi.com/">Modus Operandi</a>, a Melbourne, Fla., software company that primarily serves the U.S. military and intelligence community, specializes in tools that combine semantic capabilities with defense sector systems. <P> The company has been around for nearly three decades, but 10 years ago it began focusing on semantic technology -- very simply put, tagging and describing data -- and applying it to what's now referred to as big data analytics. Semantic tags give meaning to unstructured data, thereby making it easier for computers and humans to understand it. <P> <strong>[ Learn more about technology's role in investigating the Boston terrorist attacks. <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/government/boston-bombers-cant-elude-citys-tech-inf/240153256?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Boston Bombers Can't Elude City's Tech Infrastructure</a>. ]</strong> <P> In a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>, Modus Operandi president Richard McNeight and VP and chief scientist Dr. Eric Little discussed the complexities of managing disparate military databases, and how semantic technology can help intelligence analysts find critical information quickly. <P> Modus Operandi's Wave Exploitation Framework (Wave-EF), for instance, is a product suite that identifies and tags concepts and relationships in unstructured data. It feeds this information to analysts' tools for correction and visualization. The company's software also allows analysts to explore data via a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_wiki">semantic wiki</a>. <P> "The analyst is looking for something very specific -- a place, person, time or event," said McNeight. "It's very difficult to search and parse that document and determine if it matches the (analyst's) search criteria." <P> Data graphs are also essential to presenting varied information in an easy-to-understand manner. <P> "When we take in this raw data, we build models around (it), and these models are called ontologies," said Dr. Little. "The ontologies capture entities and relationships, and allow you to build things into (data) graphs." <P> Graphical presentation of large data sets, often via maps, diagrams, or other visual tools, is a good way to reduce complexity. "It allows your average user to quickly see things they wouldn't have been able to," said Dr. Little, who added that traditional means of analysis, such as manually scanning multiple spreadsheets or documents, are far less effective. <P> For national security reasons, Modus Operandi officials were unable to reveal specific details of how intelligence agents use their software. However, McNeight did say the U.S. Air Force is using one of the company's applications to analyze email. "It's fully deployed on a 24/7 basis," he noted. <P> In addition, Modus Operandi is involved in joint exercises with the U.S. Army and Marine Corps to evaluate and improve its big data tools. And the U.S. Navy is testing the company's software with a mix of data types, including full motion video, provided by other tech vendors. <P> "There may be eight to 10 other companies that we work with, and we're working to integrate their data streams into our semantic wiki," said McNeight. <P> Big data presents an intriguing challenge for military intelligence, particularly with the rapid growth of machine sensors generating lots of information. <P> "The more data we have out there, the harder it is to find anything useful," said Dr. Little. "So a lot of what we're aiming our gun barrels at here has to do with the problem of scalability of these systems over different kinds of heterogeneous data." <P> <i>Attend Interop Las Vegas, May 6-10, and learn the emerging trends in information risk management and security. Use Priority Code MPIWK by April 29 to save an additional $200 off All Access and Conference Passes. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 300+ exhibiting companies, and the latest technology. <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for Interop today</a>! </i>2013-04-22T10:57:00ZStartup Tranzlogic brings big data-style analytics like those used by giant retailers to small and midsize merchants.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-for-momandpop-shops/240153335?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/20-top-masters-degrees-for-big-data-analytics-professionals/240145673"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/934/IntroImage_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs" title=" Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>The owners of the local pizza parlor down the street probably don't pore over sales data to learn nitty-gritty details about their customers, but a Southern California startup is hoping to change that. <a href="http://tranzlogic.com/">Tranzlogic</a>, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Westlake Village, tracks a merchant's credit card transaction data, identifies key traits of the retailer's best customers and delivers that data back to the merchant via a Web portal. </p> <P> What kind of information does it track? Demographic, economic, geographic and psychographic details, Tranzlogic VP Anthony Aker told <i>InformationWeek</i> in a phone interview. "The cardholder is under 35, he's married, has no kids &#8230; and he's making approximately this income," said Aker, describing the type of information that Tranzlogic provides merchants. <P> What exactly is this ominous-sounding "psychographic" data? It's information about customers' personal preferences based on their shopping habits, such as whether they prefer sporting events to museums, or would rather stay home than go on vacations. <P> <strong>[ Are retailers ready to manage the data deluge created by a mobile customer base? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-helps-retailers-target-mobile-c/240152281?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Big Data Helps Retailers Target Mobile Customers</a>. ]</strong> <P> A potential privacy violation? Not so, Aker said. "We're not returning back to the merchant personally identifiable information," he explained. "We're not saying to [a] restaurant, for example, that Anthony Aker came in here and spent $25 on April 15. But what we can say is that [the restaurant] had a $25 transaction on April 15, and here's some valuable customer information about that transaction." <P> Tranzlogic starts by taking a merchant's credit card processing data. "We bump it up against various data repositories and in the process identify -- and de-identify -- the cardholder," said Aker. <P> By partnering with credit bureaus and accessing public data repositories, Tranzlogic can build customer profiles, which it provides to businesses. "Census data, survey data -- this stuff is out there," said Aker. "We aggregate it and build customer profiles, and then match those profiles to credit card numbers." <P> Tranzlogic licenses its technology to credit card-processing companies, which in turn offer it as a value-added service to their small and midsize business customers. "[These credit card processors] are essentially service providers," said Aker. "They are hungry to differentiate themselves through technologies such as ours." He estimated that approximately 10,000 merchants currently use the Tranzlogic system. <P> Aker and his Tranzlogic co-founders, CEO Charles Hogan and CTO Dave Watkins, launched the company at the end of 2012 after extensive beta testing with a small number of clients. The company thus far has partnered with "smaller, more entrepreneurial" credit card-processing firms such as Signature Card Services, but it is in talks with bigger industry players as well, Aker said. <P> Although Tranzlogic's technology might not fit the classic high <a href="http://www.gartner.com/technology/topics/big-data.jsp">volume-velocity-variety</a> definition of big data, it does show what information retailers can glean by analyzing data sets already at their disposal. <P> In essence, Tranzlogic is offering smaller merchants the type of data analysis that giant retailers have been doing for some time. "Target and Walmart have the resources to spend hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars on this type of research," said Aker. "They have departments for these things." <P> It's a different story with smaller retailers. "Some are not doing it because they can't afford it," Aker noted. "Some are not doing it because it's not even on their radar." <P> Merchants access the Tranzlogic service via a Web browser. "They don't have to download any software to their point-of-sale system, or to their credit card processing terminal," Aker said. The Web portal provides access to reporting and business intelligence tools, as well as to raw data and other features, including a localized "heat map." "I want to know where my customers are coming from, [so] I can pull up a map and it's going to be shaded according to sales or transaction counts," he explained. <P> As for its competition, Aker said that Tranzlogic has only a "couple of indirect competitors" at this time. "There are some big companies that are doing things that are similar, but not the same. Their approach is more industry-comparison as opposed to specific information about that business." <P> <i>Companies want more than they're getting today from big data analytics. But small and big vendors are working to solve the key problems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Analytics Wish List</a> issue of InformationWeek: Jay Parikh, the Facebook's infrastructure VP, discusses the company's big data plans. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-19T11:30:00ZDataSift now streams real-time social data to Splunk's analytics software for the enterprise.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/splunk-datasift-team-up-for-big-data-analytics/240153233?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsDataSift, a social data software startup, has announced a strategic partnership that integrates its real-time social media feeds with Splunk's log management and analytic systems. The alliance makes DataSift the first social data platform to stream data directly into Splunk Storm and Splunk Enterprise, the companies said. <P> Splunk's enterprise software captures, indexes, and analyzes machine-generated real-time data. It organizes the information in a searchable repository and provides a Web-based interface for generating reports, alerts, visualizations and graphs. The company's cloud-based <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/application-optimization/splunk-adds-cloud-based-systems-monitori/240006385">Splunk Storm</a> helps enterprises monitor applications running on public cloud platforms. <P> DataSift, on the other hand, delivers real-time social data, such as feeds from Twitter, MySpace and Klout, to data warehousing and BI platforms. Its big data tools, including <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/datasift-tools-help-nontechies-mine-social-web/240006287">Push and Query Builder</a>, are designed to help business managers mine and filter feeds from social sites. <P> <strong>[ Prescriptive analytics tells you what will happen, along with when and why. Read more at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/prescriptive-analytics-and-big-data-nex/240152863?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Prescriptive Analytics And Big Data: Next Big Thing?</a> ]</strong <P> The new partnership integrates DataSift's cloud-based service with Splunk Storm Cloud, Splunk Enterprise or a mixed environment in the enterprise. By correlating DataSift's social data with Spunk's operational data (Web logs, metrics, events and so on), organizations can examine what social media users are saying about their operations and then use this actionable intelligence to improve customer engagement or gain brand awareness. "The integration with DataSift is useful across industries and segments for any enterprise using Splunk, [particularly those with an online presence]," a DataSift spokesperson told <i>InformationWeek</i> via email. <P> The retail and CPG (consumer packaged goods) industry could benefit from an integrated DataSift-Splunk solution, the companies said. "Retail and CPG are great use cases because a company can finally connect the dots between who is not just clicking on the website, but also purchasing [products] as well," wrote the DataSift spokesperson. <P> For instance, a company could match social behavior with information from a variety of sources, including point of sale (POS), loyalty and click data. This would enable a retailer that's promoting itself online, particularly in social media, to "connect the dots" by combining real-time social streams with internal data, according to DataSift. <P> "The DataSift platform's ability to feed Splunk Storm and Splunk Enterprise enables companies to collect and run analytics on terabytes of social data within minutes," said DataSift founder and CTO Nick Halstead in a statement. "This unique combination of powerful cloud solutions is a great example of the best in big data." <P> "Organizations that are able to assess the impact of social media are better positioned to capitalize on new business through social or viral promotions," added Bill Gaylord, Splunk senior vice president of business development, in a statement. <P> DataSift's competitors include <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/thebrainyard/news/240143789/gnip-touts-big-data-partnerships">Gnip</a>, a Boulder, Colo.-based startup that also delivers social data feeds to enterprise customers. In December Gnip touted its big data partnership with a number of tech industry heavy-hitters, including Splunk, IBM and EMC Greenplum. <P> Splunk's competitors in the cloud-based log management market include the San Francisco-based <a href="http://loggly.com/">Loggly</a>, and <a href="http://www.sumologic.com/">Sumo Logic</a> in Mountain View, California. &#9; <P> Reuters <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/us-sumologic-customers-idUSBRE93G0RZ20130417">reported</a> earlier this week that Splunk plans to add 2,000 customers, although no timetable was given. The smaller Sumo Logic currently has between 85 and 90 clients, including Netflix and Progress Software, and hopes to end the year with around 600 customers. <P> IT organizations will spend nearly $55 billion on big data products and services by 2016 -- more than double the $27 billion spent in 2011, according to research firm Gartner. <P> <i>Social business isn't just about connecting employees and customers to "collaborate better" wherever they are, from whatever device. It's about delivering real value to businesses, to the tune of $1.3 trillion annually. In this E2 webcast, <a href="http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=596157&s=1&k=C19214333006DAFF78458612325DA07E&partnerref=ELJ">How Social Business Drives Value</a>, you&#8217;ll see how Thomson Reuters, a multinational media and information firm based in New York City, rolled out a social intranet to its 60,000 employees for driving innovation, aligning everyone to the company strategy, and generating more revenue. It happens April 30. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-19T11:06:00ZWindows 8's coming-out party was a bust. How should Microsoft revive its flagging Windows franchise?http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/8-ways-microsoft-could-save-windows-8/240153124?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsMicrosoft's bold new Windows 8 has been a bust so far. Featuring a radical makeover -- the first truly new interface since Windows 95 arrived nearly two decades ago -- Windows 8 isn't exactly inspiring consumer or enterprise users to upgrade from earlier versions. Nor is it spurring them to buy new PCs. According to IDC, worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter of 2013 fell nearly 14% from the same period a year ago -- the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">biggest decline</a> since the research firm began tracking PC sales in 1994. And if you think IDC's math might be bad, think again; Gartner pegged the sales drop at a slightly-less dreadful 11.2%. <P> Windows 8 isn't solely to blame for lagging PC sales, but it doesn't seem to be helping, either. Its anemic launch contrasts greatly with Windows 7's debut, which boosted third-quarter 2009 sales of Windows PCs <a href="https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/pr_091105a/" target="_blank">by 49%</a> year over year, according to The NPD Group. <P> So is Windows 8 really that unappealing, or are other factors to blame? To be fair, PC sales likely would have lagged anyway, with or without Windows 8. Consumers are flocking to tablets, a market that Windows' new touch-oriented Modern UI is designed to infiltrate, and one where Microsoft is conspicuously absent. Rather than replace or upgrade their old Windows PCs, people are snapping up iPads and Android slates for entertainment, email and Web browsing. <P> As for enterprise users, they're in the process of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/tell-me-again-why-rush-into-windows-8/240151839">upgrading to Windows 7</a>, which retains the traditional desktop user interface and is less expensive than Windows 8, particularly when you add in the cost of retraining staff to use the latter's new interface. <P> Microsoft, it seems, has a dilemma on its hands. The market is unhappy with Windows 8, which is better suited to multi-touch tablets than mouse-and-keyboard PCs. The addition of touchscreens to laptops and desktop PCs could help Windows 8's chances, but it's unclear how touch would improve the traditional computing experience, particularly for business users who spend most of their day inside Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. <P> The next Windows upgrade will be telling. Will Microsoft stay the course and continue to tinker with the Modern UI, hoping that its sizable customer base sees the virtue of Windows' new look and feel? Will it bring back the old Windows 7-style desktop, at least for PCs? Or will it drop the old interface entirely and force its customers to adopt the Windows 8's Modern UI, warts and all? <P> Our slideshow explores eight steps that Microsoft could take to revive its flagging Windows franchise. What do you think Microsoft should do? Add your take below.After a few minutes with Windows 8's touch-centric Modern UI, it's pretty obvious that Microsoft was focusing more on tablets than PCs. The bright and bold motif -- with its oversize finger-friendly tiles and frustrating, where'd-it-go Charms Bar on the right side of the screen -- is great for touch but confusing and clumsy for mouse and trackpad users. <P> Why not let users decide at setup whether to run the Modern UI? This level of customization might make Windows 8 more appealing to Microsoft's enterprise customers, many of whom would rather run the conventional desktop user interface on their legacy PCs. Then again, without the Modern UI, Windows 8 doesn't offer many advantages, aside from faster performance, over Windows 7. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Windows 8 has style, but often at the expense of usability. Many key features are hidden from plain sight. How do you turn off your PC? Well, mouse over to the Charms bar, click Settings, then Power, and then Shut Down. Need to find a file on your PC? Go to Charms/Search/Files. Sure, a quick tutorial will reveal these secrets, but a few more visual clues might make the Modern UI a bit less intimidating to long-time Windows users. Another plus: More clues might lower employee training costs for enterprises making the leap to Windows 8. <P> Recent reports suggest the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-blue-what-we-know/240152012">next Windows upgrade</a> -- known either as Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue -- will include several usability enhancements, such as making the venerable Control Panel accessible from the Modern UI, rather than from the desktop only. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Windows 8 retains the desktop UI from past versions -- but it's a maimed version that results in an abysmal user experience. Microsoft's boneheaded decision to kill the Start menu, for instance, has led to a screen-jumping nightmare for PC users who live inside the desktop. Want to find a program, search for a file or turn off your PC? Hop over to the Modern UI, please. <P> Clearly, this is bad interface design, and Microsoft would be wise to reinstate the Start menu in Windows Blue. Third-party utilities such as IObit's free <a href="http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php" target="_blank">Start Menu 8</a> can help alleviate Win 8's desktop shortcomings, but users shouldn't have to install outside apps to enjoy basic functionality. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Here's another rumored feature of Windows Blue: The ability to bypass the Modern UI altogether and boot directly to the desktop. This shortcut would please long-time PC users who have little interest in learning new ways of doing things. But it could also hamper Microsoft's grand plan to provide a single UI for mobile and desktop devices. <P> Another concern: Would developers be less motivated to write apps for Microsoft's Windows Store if PC users are able to boot to the desktop, which won't run Modern UI-style programs? And if users avoid Windows 8's new interface, why should they upgrade at all? <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Here's an unlikely scenario: Microsoft cries "mea culpa" and admits it erred in slapping a tablet-centric interface on a PC operating system. Its penance: Starting with Windows Blue, PCs without touchscreens will run a slightly modified version of <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows7/products/features/aero" target="_blank">Aero</a>, the desktop UI from Windows Vista and XP, by default. Windows 8 tablets will use Modern UI. Users of hybrid devices, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro and Lenovo Yoga, will choose one or the other. Everyone is happy. Well, everyone but Microsoft, which why this scenario is improbable. <P> Microsoft's mobile strategy depends on the ubiquity of the Modern UI. If you're comfortable with Live Tiles on your PC, the odds are good you'll buy a Windows-based tablet or smartphone. Making the Modern UI optional on desktop PCs essentially neuters this strategy. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Perhaps the real reason people aren't snapping up Windows 8 devices is that they're confused by Microsoft's two-prong strategy. For instance, the ARM-based Windows RT operating system looks identical to Windows 8, but it won't run legacy Windows software. But Windows 8 does. Who has the time to learn the difference? It's easier to avoid Windows 8 entirely than to make sense of this marketing muddle. <P> Microsoft could simplify matters by killing off the slow-selling Windows RT and focus solely on Windows 8. This strategy could backfire, however, if Microsoft cedes the sub-$500 tablet market to Apple, Amazon, Google and others. Could Windows 8 run on low-end slates? Intel CEO Paul Otellini says the chipmaker's upcoming "Bay Trail" Atom processors could result in Windows 8 touch devices priced as low as $200, CNET <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57579935-92/windows-8-touch-devices-to-drop-to-$200-says-intel-ceo/" target="_blank">reports</a>. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Windows PC manufacturers were miffed when Microsoft introduced its own Surface Pro and RT tablets. And for good reason. For the first time, Microsoft decided to compete directly with its hardware partners -- OEMs -- who already face razor-thin margins in a highly competitive PC market. <P> Bad vibes, of course, aren't responsible for <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">tepid sales</a> of Windows 8 machines. However, a chilly relationship between Microsoft and its OEMs isn't good for business. As a gesture of goodwill, Microsoft could terminate its tablets and refocus its attention solely on developing Windows software. The move might inspire HP, Lenovo, Dell and the rest of the PC gang to push Windows 8 and RT more aggressively. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>Here's a contrarian idea: Microsoft ignores its critics and doubles down on the Modern UI. Via generous financial incentives, Microsoft sways developers to stock the Windows Store with plenty of multi-touch apps, thereby making the Windows 8/RT platform a worthy competitor to iOS and Android. Future versions of Windows do away with the desktop entirely. And enterprises don't mind because Microsoft continues to support and upgrade Windows 7, which they prefer anyway. <P> This scenario has serious flaws, most notably the fact that it undercuts Microsoft's unified-interface strategy for Windows PCs, tablets and smartphones. And it would make lots of long-time Windows users very, very angry. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING:</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-did-not-cause-pc-sales-slump/240152856">Windows 8 Did Not Cause PC Sales Slump</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pc-market-bleeds-windows-8-tablet-fix-ne/240152706">PC Market Bleeds: Windows 8 Tablet Fix Needed</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-tablets-why-microsoft-must-sla/240152511">Windows 8 Tablets: Why Microsoft Must Slash Prices</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/client/microsoft-windows-8-security-software-la/240152554">Microsoft Windows 8 Security Software Lacks Teeth</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/smb/hardware-software/microsoft-dangles-windows-8-office-2013/240152430">Microsoft Dangles Windows 8, Office 2013 SMB Bundle</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/operating-systems/windows-8-doubt-3-ways-touch-wont-help/240152445">Windows 8 Doubt: 3 Ways Touch Won't Help</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsofts-influence-fading-fast-gartner/240152342">Microsoft's Influence Fading Fast: Gartner</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/productivity-applications/windows-8-doubt-4-ways-to-sway-pc-people/240152307">Windows 8 Doubt: 4 Ways To Sway PC People</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-pro-repairs-will-cost/240152279">Microsoft Surface Pro Repairs Will Cost You</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-8-momentum-sputters/240152051">Windows 8 Momentum Sputters</a> <P>2013-04-15T11:47:00ZPredictive analytics tells you what will happen; prescriptive analytics tells you what to do about it.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/prescriptive-analytics-and-big-data-next-big-thing/240152863?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/20-top-masters-degrees-for-big-data-analytics-professionals/240145673"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/934/IntroImage_tn.jpg" alt=" Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs" title=" Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Big Data Analytics Masters Degrees: 20 Top Programs</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Predictive analytics predates big data, of course, but the two complement each other nicely. According to Gartner, more than 30% of analytics projects by 2015 will provide insights based on structured and unstructured data. </p> <P> Being tipped off to the future is always helpful, but what's the best course of action once you get a prediction? That's where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prescriptive_analytics">prescriptive analytics</a> comes into play. An emerging technology that goes beyond descriptive and predictive analytics, prescriptive tools recommend specific courses of action and show the likely outcome of each decision. <P> To its proponents, prescriptive analytics is the next evolution in business analytics, an automated system that combines big data, business rules, mathematical models and machine learning to deliver sage advice in a timely fashion. <P> One of these proponents is <a href="http://www.ayata.com">Ayata</a>, an Austin, Texas, developer of prescriptive analytics software. The company began as a research and development effort 10 years ago in Toronto, Canada, and incorporated in 2009. Its customers today include such major tech players as Cisco, Dell and Microsoft. <P> <strong>[ Learn more about <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-datas-surprising-uses-from-lady-gaga-to-cia/240144221?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</a>. ]</strong> <P> With predictive analytics, "I tell you what will happen, and I leave it up to you to figure out what to do with it," said Ayata CEO Atanu Basu in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. "But if you knew what to do with it, you wouldn't be in this predicament, anyway." <P> <em>Prescriptive</em> analytics, by comparison, addresses a broader set of questions. <P> "It answers what will happen, when it will happen and why it will happen," said Basu. "And then (it tells you) how to take advantage of this predictive future." <P> Despite its potential, prescriptive analytics is barely a blip on the business analytics radar screen. According to Gartner, it's used by only 3% of organizations today. "And in that 3%, we are talking mostly structured data, mostly numbers," Basu added. <P> The rapid expansion of unstructured data -- including video and audio feeds, machine data and social media streams -- may create a growth market for prescriptive analytics. And leading big data vendors are touting the technology as well. <P> IBM, for instance, released a brief <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VtETirgVn9c">promotional video</a> last year that called prescriptive analytics "the final phase" in business analytics. The video also mentioned IBM's fledgling efforts with prescriptive software in the areas of smart grids and traffic control. <P> As Basu sees it, the IBM video "is a ringing endorsement of what we have been doing." <P> In addition to tech firms, energy companies are showing interest in prescriptive analytics. "Oil and gas is looking into it very heavily," said Basu. The technology, for instance, could help petroleum companies predict and prevent failures of electric submersible pumps that extract oil from the ground, both onshore and off. <P> Prescriptive analytics is based on a mathematical discipline called operations research (OR), which works in conjunction with business and domain rules frameworks. <P> "Operations research is what UPS uses to get you the right package at the right time," Basu said. "That's one of the reasons why UPS trucks only make right turns." <P> In "<a href="http://www.ayata.com/pdfs/articles/2013-03-analytics.pdf">Five pillars of prescriptive analytics success</a>," a recent article he wrote for trade magazine <em>Analytics</em>, Basu emphasized the critical importance of a synergistic relationship between OR and business rules. He also claimed that prescriptive analytics is crucial to the development of the Internet's big data-focused future. <P> "For the Internet of Everything (or the industrial internet) to reach its true potential, prescriptive analytics -- and the resulting decision automation -- has to play a pivotal role," he wrote. <P> An automated system that not only predicts events, but also suggests courses of action, is better suited to today's industrial (rather than consumer) markets, said Basu. <P> "There could be several consumer applications, but we're staying with the industrial market today for obvious reasons ... the value of the decisions are much higher," he added. <P> Returning to his oil industry example, Basu pointed out that a failed electric submersible pump could cost a company vast sums of money in a very short time. <P> For instance, if a busted pump means a loss of 2,000 barrels per day, and the price of oil is $100 per barrel, the company is losing $200,000 daily. <P> "So the impact (of prescriptive analytics) is immediate, and the value is immediate," Basu noted. <P> <i>Companies want more than they're getting today from big data analytics. But small and big vendors are working to solve the key problems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Analytics Wish List</a> issue of InformationWeek: Jay Parikh, the Facebook's infrastructure VP, discusses the company's big data plans. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-15T10:31:00ZA toe-in-the-water approach to big data makes more sense than jumping in with both feet, says CEO of IT management software firm ManageEngine.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-start-small-think-big/240152887?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/information-management/new-yorks-32-story-data-fortress/240151545"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/968/Intergate-Manhattan-Data-Center_01_tn.jpg" alt="New York's 32-Story Data 'Fortress'" title="New York's 32-Story Data 'Fortress'" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">New York's 32-Story Data 'Fortress'</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Big data presents harried IT departments with a new set of challenges, many of which go beyond the logistical headaches of implementing a new data management platform. According to Raj Sabhlok, president of <a href="http://www.manageengine.com/">ManageEngine</a>, an enterprise IT management software company, IT has gone from having not enough data to too much data. <P> "If you go back 10 years or so ago, there was a lack of data from an IT perspective. We didn't have enough information about the systems, the network, the applications," said Sabhlok in a phone interview with <i>InformationWeek</i>. "But now, everything has been instrumented. We're in a situation where your applications, systems, and devices are all generating alerts, events, and logs. Collectively [it's] what's known as machine data." <P> And that's good news, right? Isn't more data better? Not necessarily. <P> "What most of our customers are finding is that the data's just not helping them," said Sabhlok. "First off, they are struggling with maintaining what they have. So when you throw something like big data at them, it's a big overwhelming." <P> <strong>[ It's important to know what big data to keep and what to dump. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/dont-confuse-big-data-with-storage/240152455?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Don't Confuse Big Data With Storage</a>. ]</strong> <P> In addition to ensuring the availability, performance and security of an organization's systems and applications, IT typically assumes the task of supporting big data initiatives within the enterprise. "Companies are trying to answer questions that will enhance and optimize their business, and (they) do that by sifting through historical data," Sabhlok said. <P> Big data also can help enterprises explore the effectiveness of their in-house IT organizations. But too often this deluge of information from multiple sources doesn't deliver pragmatic, immediate benefits. "Give me something that's actionable, something that I can cull and filter through all the various data sources &#8230; within my organization," said Sabhlok. <P> Rather than undertaking a full-blown big data project, Sabhlok suggests trying "little data" first, a topic he addressed in a recent <i>Forbes</i> <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/rajsabhlok/2013/04/11/if-big-datas-too-scary-try-little-data-its-free/">blog entry</a>. "This doesn't have to be a full-on big data project," Sabhlok told <i>InformationWeek</i>. <P> Organizations need to look closely at the reporting capabilities of their existing tools, which can uncover actionable data. "We want to leverage what's already there," said Sabhlok. "And that's what I mean by 'little data' strategies. A lot of the information you need is there, and with a little bit of manipulation you can get some big results." <P> Security is one area where this pragmatic approach can pay off, Sabhlok said, by letting IT know when there's a suspicious event that requires immediate action. "They need to have some sort of advance warning when, for example, a sales rep in New York has logged onto the corporate network. But this rep is logging on at 3 o'clock in the morning &#8230;from an IP address in Russia," he said. <P> If an IT organization has multiple sources of data but no tools to correlate that information to provide actionable insights, that is potentially a huge problem, Sabhlok pointed out. <P> Customers -- and vendors too -- tend to focus on the bells and whistles of a big data system rather than on its reporting capabilities. They should spend more time learning the mundane yet practical details, such as what data the system will collect and how easily this information can be exported to, say, CSV files or relational databases, Sabhlok advised. <P> "You need to understand the reporting capabilities and make sure they can answer the questions you need to enhance your business," he said. <P> <i>When it comes to database deals, customers -- not vendors -- now have the advantage. Find out the results of our new Database Technology Survey. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/040813?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">State Of Database Technology</a> issue of InformationWeek: Oracle has refreshed its midrange and high-end Sparc servers, but that may not help its bottom line. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-10T15:39:00ZUniversity workshop featuring experts in ontology, the study of the nature of existence, will try to answer how the military can extract info.http://www.informationweek.com/government/security/military-intelligence-tries-to-tame-data/240152675?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/slideshow-unexpected-big-data-uses-use/240144221"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/925/image1_tn.jpg" alt="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" title="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Military intelligence involves the collection of a wide variety of data, the management of which poses challenges to government agencies responsible for curating, storing, analyzing and sharing this often-sensitive information. <P> Can <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology">ontology</a>, an esoteric study of the nature of existence, and computer science combine to help manage military data? An April 18 workshop at the University at Buffalo (UB) will explore this big data conundrum, as well as related topics. <P> The one-day "Ontologies for Information Integration" <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2013/04/012.html">event</a> will include presentations from experts in ontology and military intelligence, according to workshop co-organizer Barry Smith, a UB professor and director of the <a href="http://ncor.buffalo.edu/">National Center for Ontological Research</a>, which provides ontological services to a variety of organizations, including the U.S. Department of Defense. <P> For ontology researchers, military intelligence is an intriguing challenge. The U.S. Army, for instance, uses a cloud-based system called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DCGS-A">Distributed Common Ground System-Army</a> (DCGS-A) to collect, process and distribute large amounts of data from myriad sources. <P> <strong>[ The military intelligence cloud is about to get bigger. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/cloud-saas/military-plans-multi-exabyte-storage-clo/240152481?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Military Plans Multi-Exabyte Storage Cloud</a>. ]</strong> <P> "It's a gigantic, big data monster &#8230; which they try to put all their data into, particularly (information) pertaining to things like terrorist movements in Afghanistan," Smith told <em>InformationWeek</em> in a phone interview. As a data management platform, however, DCGS-A is far from perfect. <P> "As you can imagine, this data is very heterogeneous," said Smith. "It includes things like weather and disease data, and (information) about meetings, weapons and so forth. And it comes from many different sources, which means that it's practically impossible to search, in any sensible way, by the usual retrieval procedures." <P> Government officials have tested various strategies to make this data easier to manage, but more work is needed. "I'm part of an attempt to demonstrate that ontology can help to retrieve data from this cloud store," Smith said. <P> The DCGS-A challenge involves structured data, but one where the "structures are very different from one case to the next," Smith explained. <P> One database, for instance, might include information about people with certain skills. "In that database, the heading for people would be something like 'P,'" said Smith. "And then you have another database, which is about people and their addresses. And in that database, the heading for people might be something like 'Person.'" <P> And then a third database might include data about people's organizations. Its heading for people might be "human beings." <P> Not surprisingly, this lack of consistency spells trouble. <P> "You and I know that a person is a human being, but a computer doesn't know that," Smith said. "Ontology &#8230; gives you a smaller set of labels so that you can tag those data headings using common labels, and thereby merge the data in ways that prove useful for retrieval and analysis." This approach shares common ground with the proposed <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data--semantic-web-love-at-first-terabyte/240142561">semantic Web</a>, a framework that would extend Web principles from documents to data. <P> "In essence, all you're doing is tagging data and giving it a description of what it is," Cambridge Semantics chief technical officer and semantic Web guru Sean Martin told <em>InformationWeek</em> in November. <P> According to Smith, researchers are developing ontologies to address the information integration needs of military and other complex government projects. One such undertaking is the development of a next-generation air traffic control system, a massive project that requires input from government and commercial entities, including the U.S. Air Force, weather agencies and international airlines. <P> "The idea is to get rid of the control towers, and the air traffic control will take place inside the cockpit," said Smith. Air traffic control would be managed via "a gigantic network of computers inside airplanes, rather than what we have at the moment &#8230; a point-to-point messaging system between people in towers and human beings in cockpits," he said. However, the project's global scope presents many challenges, including the fact that airlines outside the U.S. have different ways of classifying weather phenomena and other data. <P> <i>Companies want more than they're getting today from big data analytics. But small and big vendors are working to solve the key problems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Analytics Wish List</a> issue of InformationWeek: Jay Parikh, the Facebook's infrastructure VP, discusses the company's big data plans. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-08T09:25:00ZA large part of big data management is knowing what data to analyze, what to back up and what to dump, says disaster recovery expert.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/dont-confuse-big-data-with-storage/240152455?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/slideshow-unexpected-big-data-uses-use/240144221"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/925/image1_tn.jpg" alt="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" title="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> How much big data should your organization save? And how much should you back up? <P> Big data plays an important role in today's business world, but it's not up there with mission-critical applications that are essential to an organization's day-to-day operations. That's according to Michael de la Torre, VP of product management for <a href="http://www.sungardas.com/">SunGard Availability Services</a>, an IT services company that provides, among other things, disaster recovery services. <P> Always remember that not all data has equal value, de la Torre advised. And in most cases, big data is just another business application. <P> "For most companies it's more of a business-critical app," de la Torre told <em>InformationWeek</em> in a phone interview. "It really doesn't need to be up all of the time -- but you're going to lose business opportunities if it isn't up and running." <P> This isn't to say, however, that big data doesn't matter. On the contrary, de la Torre sees big data as the next generation of business analytics. <P> "You have all this non-structured or minimally structured data. There's a lot of it. And it's coming from different sources that you would typically think are outside of the business warehouse," he said. "As such, you need new tools and techniques to get value out of that data." <P> And part of that decision-making process is figuring out what information needs to saved, and what is expendable. <P> "Don't just save everything to save everything. That makes very little sense," said de la Torre. <P> <strong>[ Confused by the buzz around data analytics and visualization? See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/smb/ebusiness/5-data-sources-for-visualization-beginne/240152047?itc=edit_in_body_cross">5 Data Sources For Visualization Beginners</a>. ]</strong> <P> For instance, social media streams -- a classic big data example of high volume, velocity and variety--don't necessarily need to be hoarded for eternity. But other forms of big data may provide great value many years down the line. <P> "When you think about social (media), so much of the value of that data is that it's very time-dependent. It's very volatile, and it loses its value almost immediately," de la Torre said. "Other data such as weather, where you're doing long-term correlations, will potentially remain viable for years." <P> OK, so all big data isn't created equal. But what's worth saving? <P> One solution is to store summary data from a particular time period or event, along with a small amount of anecdotal information. That's better than "saving a million logs," de la Torre advised. "Do you need the summary, or do you need all the detail?" <P> Obviously, the summary data method is more cost effective and easier to manage than the save-everything approach. It also works with sensor-generated information, a big data category that includes data from field equipment in remote locations. <P> "Manufacturing companies figured this out a long time ago. You don't store the data from spinning equipment," said de la Torre. "You don't want to pay for the bandwidth costs. You don't need all that data." <P> The solution: "Put an expert system in place. And ultimately that's what big data is: an expert system that makes meaning out of data," he added. <P> Like many data professionals, de la Torre believes the term "big data" is mostly marketing hype. "It's advanced business analytics using new sources of data," he noted. "And somebody said, 'Hey, let's call it big data.'" <P> While it may not be a mission-critical app, big data can provide a lot of value to organizations. For instance, it can help companies find "interesting ways to use their proprietary data, and to create business opportunities from it," said de la Torre. <P> For more of de la Torre's insights on big data backup, read his February 2013 Data Informed article, "<a href="http://data-informed.com/six-points-to-consider-for-disaster-recovery-and-big-data/">Six Points to Consider for Disaster Recovery and Big Data</a>." <P> <i>This Interop webcast, <a href="http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=596213&s=1&k=E308F9769B6C8616AF9925D72F2E2817&partnerref=jdpl">Data Centers Then And Now</a>, will explore how the requirements are changing, have changed, current data center trends, and what needs to change moving forward to meet future business needs. It happens April 18. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-06T09:06:00ZFrom clamshell to multitouch, these cellphones made their mark -- for better or worse.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/10-best-and-worst-cellphones-of-all-time/240152362?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_AuthorsIn case you haven't heard, the cellphone celebrated its <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/wireless/cell-phone-inventor-talks-of-first-cell/240152236">40th birthday</a> this past week. In its brief lifespan, the mobile phone has had an enormous impact on human society, including in developing regions where the personal computer remains prohibitively expensive. <P> How big of an impact? There are 6.8 billion mobile cellular subscriptions worldwide this year, according to the <a href="http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2013.pdf" target="_blank">United Nations' International Telecommunication Union</a>. To put that number in perspective, that's nearly as many subscriptions as there are people on earth (more than 7 billion). <P> Of course, this doesn't mean that cellphone technology has reached its limits of innovation. Far from it, in fact. Those of us who live in areas with so-called advanced 4G LTE mobile networks still suffer from the occasional dropped call, spotty reception or poor audio quality. <P> The mobile industry can do better, which is precisely what 85-year-old Martin Cooper, the retired Motorola engineer better known as the "father" of the cellphone, said in an <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22020666" target="_blank">interview last week with the BBC</a>. The technology exists to improve coverage and capacity of cellular networks, but wireless carriers thus far have focused on speed instead, Cooper opined. <P> Although the cellphone was invented in 1973, it didn't emerge as a viable commercial product until the 1980s. Early mobile handsets were expensive, heavy and bulky; they were luxury items enjoyed by the privileged few. There's an iconic scene in the 1987 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/" target="_blank"><em>Wall Street</em></a> where ruthless corporate raider Gordon Gekko, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-15/motorola-ends-28-year-run-spawned-by-gordon-gekko-s-shoe-phone-.html" target="_blank">standing on the beach in his bathrobe</a>, is chatting on his 2.5-pound Motorola DynaTAC, the first commercially available wireless phone that cost a cool $3,995. <P> At the time of the movie's release, the scene conveyed Gekko's wealth, power and arrogance: "Wow, he's on the beach, talking on a phone ... with no wires!" Twenty-six years later, the massive, shoe-sized DynaTAC looks laughably oversize and about as technologically advanced as an 8-track tape player. And with the majority of the human race now possessing smaller, cheaper and far more capable mobile phones than the one used by the diabolically greedy Gekko, the device's elitist aura is a distant memory as well. <P> The cellphone went mainstream in the '90s, and manufacturers began rolling out a wide variety of handsets designed to be both functional and fashionable. In honor of the cellphone's 40th birthday, we've decided to spotlight the best and worst mobile phones from the past two decades. <P> You might have used one or more of these phones in its heyday. Others you might have forgotten -- or wish you had.The legendary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_StarTAC" target="_blank">Motorola StarTAC</a> was the first clamshell flip phone, although earlier handsets such as Motorola's MicroTAC did have a partial flip design. The StarTAC was a big hit with consumers, who loved the device's petite size and ergonomic design, despite its initial $1,000 price tag. The black-clad StarTAC had a good run -- Motorola reportedly sold about 60 million of them -- before fading away in the early 2000s. Inspired by the <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1677708_1677825,00.html" target="_blank">Star Trek communicator</a>, the venerable flip phone is still around; although it's gradually being replaced by the far more capable, and increasingly inexpensive, smartphone. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a> <P>Early efforts to build a fashion-forward handset didn't always succeed. Siemens' <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xelibri" target="_blank">Xelibri</a> line, for instance, was a design abomination that almost certainly would have made Richard Blackwell's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Blackwell" target="_blank">Worst Dressed List</a>, had one existed for cellphones. <P> Featuring eight oddly shaped handsets that never quite caught on with either the couture crowd or the rest of us, the Xelibri series vanished after a brief two-year run. Strangely enough, nobody wanted cellphones shaped like digital thermometers, powder compacts and other peculiar designs. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a>Tech writers today love to dump on the BlackBerry, and understandably so. The once-hip handset, a pre-iPhone favorite revered for its powerful email capabilities and well-designed physical QWERTY keyboard, now seems hopelessly outdated, despite valiant efforts by its manufacturer to give it a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-z10-my-first-week/240151664">modern makeover</a> in an increasingly Android- and iOS-dominated world. <P> But to paraphrase Shakespeare, we come to praise BlackBerry, not bury it. In its mid-2000s heyday, the BlackBerry was so popular among business users in the U.S. that it earned the nickname "CrackBerry" for its seemingly addictive qualities. The once-great handset also helped smartphones gain acceptance as secure communications devices in the enterprise. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a>Four years before Apple merged the iPod with the cellphone, Nokia unveiled a hybrid device of its own. The N-Gage was a mobile phone/portable game console built for the Game Boy crowd. Sadly, it failed on both fronts. As Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N-Gage" target="_blank">recounts</a>, the N-Gage made a poor gaming device, in part because its buttons (note the right-side keypad) were designed primarily for phone use. And the handset's clunky design, which some critics referred to as a "taco," made the N-Gage one of the ugliest smartphones known to humankind. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a> <P>The flip phone reached its artistic zenith with Motorola's sleek and slim Razr, the thinnest clamshell of its time. Reigning supreme in the mid-2000s -- right before the smartphone went mainstream -- the Razr was a minimalist beauty well-suited for talk and text. As the decade progressed, Motorola released updated versions of the Razr, including models with touch-capable external displays. There was even a <a href="http://www.bornrich.com/entry/motorola-launched-its-motorola-razr-v3-in-pink/" target="_blank">hot pink version</a> that 15-minute celebs like Paris Hilton couldn't resist. But despite Motorola's efforts to keep the flip phone relevant, the Razr faced declining sales as consumers switched to more feature-rich devices. In 2011, the Razr brand was resurrected for a new line of Motorola's Android-based Droid phones. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a>Two years before the iPhone's debut, Apple and Motorola teamed up to launch the world's first mobile phone to integrate an iTunes music player. Featuring a candy bar design (popular at the time) and a 176- by 220-pixel display, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Rokr" target="_blank">Rokr E1</a> suffered several shortcomings that made it unappealing to iTunes aficionados. For instance, it could load only 100 songs at a time, and it lacked wireless transfer or high-speed USB, according to Wikipedia. The next version of the Rokr, the E2, ditched iTunes for RealPlayer, and also supported more music formats. The Rokr line played on for a few years but never quite found its pitch, particularly after Apple released the iPhone in 2007. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a> <P>The iPhone revolutionized the smartphone market and was an immediate hit with consumers. Its long list of innovations, starting with its huge (for 2007) 3.5-inch multitouch color display, exposed the hard-to-use clunkiness of just about every smartphone that came before it. And the iPhone's App Store, which opened in 2008, brought an app-oriented culture to mobile devices that thrives to this day. <P> Perhaps the best example of the iPhone's influence is the imitators it has spawned, most noticeably Google's Android platform, which has surpassed the iPhone in global market share (and arguably influence as well). Recent iPhone upgrades may seem less than inspired, but that's probably because Apple got the smartphone right the first time. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a>A clean, minimalist design works well in consumer tech. Apple, obviously, has done very well with that motif. But practicality and usability always trump beauty, a tech rule that Bang & Olufsen didn't quite grasp when it launched its crazy-expensive Serene phone in 2005. With its retro, rotary dial-inspired keypad, <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/bang-olufsen-serene-unlocked/4505-6452_7-32161243.html" target="_blank">oddly positioned camera</a> and limited feature set, the Serene was a very hard sell at $1,275. CNET's 2006 review of Bang & Olufsen's pricey faux pas summed it up beautifully: "The Serene is more suited to be showcased in a museum rather than carried around in your pocket." <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993 ">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a>The first Android phone debuted in 2008 -- just a year after the iPhone's arrival -- but Google's mobile OS was a slow starter, chugging along with incremental improvements and sales. Early Android phones strove to mimic the iPhone's elegance, power and usability, but never quite pulled it off until Samsung's Galaxy S series came along. The Galaxy S III, released in spring 2012, was arguably the first Android handset to surpass the iPhone in some areas. Its 4.8-inch HD display made the iPhone 4S's 3.5-inch screen look puny and outdated; it had 4G LTE (the iPhone 4S didn't); and it had innovative (if somewhat gimmicky) features like <a href="http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxys3/sbeam.html" target="_blank">S Beam</a> for wireless file sharing. The S III continues to sell well, and has helped establish Samsung as Apple's top rival in the global smartphone market. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a>Perhaps it's unfair to dump on Nokia's <a href="http://www.developer.nokia.com/Devices/Device_specifications/X5-01/" target="_blank">X5-01</a>, which debuted in China in 2010. A perfectly decent feature phone with a slider QWERTY keyboard and a 2.36-inch, 320 x 240 display, the X5-01 has an undeniably unique design. If you love boxes, squares and game boards -- and believe your phone should resemble one -- this handset's for you. But if you find the X5-01 hideous to behold, well, you're certainly not alone. <P> <strong>RECOMMENDED READING</strong> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/facebook-home-wraps-android-in-social/240152272">Facebook Home Wraps Android In Social</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-ios-7-delayed-but-new-iphone-wont/240152172">Apple iOS 7 Delayed, But New iPhone Won't Be</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/samsungs-galaxy-mega-phablets-may-go-too/240152135">Samsung's Galaxy Mega Phablets May Go Too Far</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/steve-jobs-shaped-next-two-iphones/240152095">Steve Jobs Shaped Next Two iPhones</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-storage-options-how-to-choose/240151993">Smartphone Storage Options: How To Choose</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/windows-phone-gains-at-blackberrys-expen/240152021">Windows Phone Gains At BlackBerry's Expense</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/smartphone-battery-life-back-to-the-futu/240151953">Smartphone Battery Life: Back To The Future</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/blackberry-ships-1m-z10s/240151894">BlackBerry Ships 1M Z10s</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/t-mobiles-iphone-5-by-the-numbers/240151689">T-Mobile's iPhone 5 By The Numbers</a> <P> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/android-malware-infects-activists-phones/240151714">Android Malware Infects Activists' Phones</a> <P>2013-04-04T14:08:00ZBut some retailers may not be ready for the big data deluge as consumers migrate to mobile devices.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-helps-retailers-target-mobile-customers/240152281?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/slideshows/big-data-analytics/slideshow-unexpected-big-data-uses-use/240144221"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/925/image1_tn.jpg" alt="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" title="Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA" class="img175"/></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Big Data's Surprising Uses: From Lady Gaga To CIA</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Cisco's 2012 Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast <a href="http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?articleId=888280">predicts</a> that nearly 19 billion network connections will be operational by 2016 -- nearly 2.5 connections for every human on earth -- up from 10.3 billion in 2011. Not surprisingly, the rising popularity of mobile devices, specifically smartphones and tablets, is driving that explosive growth. <P> Billions of mobile devices generate enormous volumes of data. In fact, Cisco estimates that global IP traffic will be 1.3 zettabytes within three years. (One zettabyte equals 1,099,511,627,776 gigabytes.) By any definition, that qualifies as big data. <P> But many retailers aren't prepared to manage this explosion in mobile-generated information, argues Brian Lent, cofounder and chief technical officer of Medio, a provider of predictive analytics products for the mobile industry. Before launching Medio in 2004, Lent served as director of information technology at Amazon.com, and also started three other venture-backed startups. <P> <strong>[ Data from mobile health apps might soon be helping heart patients. Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/mobile-wireless/ucsf-heart-disease-study-to-use-mobile-a/240151945?itc=edit_in_body_cross">UCSF Heart Disease Study To Use Mobile Apps</a>. ]</strong> <P> Without real-time analytics and data scientists, big data is just a storehouse of dusty bits, Lent told <em>InformationWeek</em> in a phone interview. "You can collect and store a lot of data efficiently," he said. "But if you don't know how to take that data, do analytics on it, and put it into operational use, you don't get the real value out of it." <P> Retailers need to develop predictive models to identify and monetize mobile customers, said Lent, as well as develop effective promotions and incentives to retain customers and reduce churn. He agrees with the popular assertion that <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/opinion/keen-technology-data">data is the oil of the 21st century</a>. "That's a premise that I've lived and breathed for a couple of decades," he said. "I can't think of any better industry than mobile as to where that's epitomized." <P> And with mobile shopping emerging as the next evolution in commerce, retailers must focus on collecting and analyzing a valuable new set of data. "Technologies like Hadoop, which are clearly in the big data space, are critical," he said. "But it's the real-time component -- in our case, with predictive analytics -- that makes big data actionable." <P> Retailers, he noted, should take several steps to achieve this, such as designing mobile tools, including Android, iOS, and HTML 5 apps, that enable rich data collection. <P> "One of the most valuable lessons I've learned over my career is that if you don't log each and every click or event, you can't reinvent that information," Lent said. "So make sure you have a very comprehensive way to instrument your apps with a simple SDK, (and then) log the data and pull it into a big data structure." <P> The right set of predictive models can help retailers retain customers, in part by allowing them to deliver relevant ads, offers, and promotions, he noted. "The only way to do that in a balanced fashion is with what we call closed loop optimization, meaning that as the user clicks on the mobile app, and then the data is logged, we produce a recommendation," he said. <P> Customer information and predictive analytics are only two-thirds of the data science experience, said Lent. The third component: human experts. "We call them the 'pink unicorns' of the industry. These are the data scientists, the predictive analytic scientists. They're the ones, in a given industry like retail, who need to constantly adopt new technologies and tune analytics for that industry," he said. <P> Lent sees big data become more of a marketing matter than a technical issue, one that falls under the purview of a corporation's chief marketing officer (CMO) rather than its chief information officer (CIO). <P> "The CMO is going to be spending more IT dollars because the CMO, in marketing areas, is driving a lot of the demands for big data," he said. <P> <i>Companies want more than they're getting today from big data analytics. But small and big vendors are working to solve the key problems. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">Analytics Wish List</a> issue of InformationWeek: Jay Parikh, the Facebook's infrastructure VP, discusses the company's big data plans. (Free registration required.)</i>2013-04-03T11:45:00ZGE's Industrial Internet Quests challenge global experts to create new algorithms to improve air travel and healthcare.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/ge-contests-shoot-for-innovation-via-crowdsourcing/240152216?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/government/information-management/new-yorks-32-story-data-fortress/240151545"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/968/Intergate-Manhattan-Data-Center_01_tn.jpg" alt="New York's 32-Story Data 'Fortress'" title="New York's 32-Story Data 'Fortress'" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">New York's 32-Story Data 'Fortress'</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for slideshow)</span> </div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>General Electric (GE) has announced the winners of two contests that showcase the power of crowdsourcing to solve complex, big data-style problems. Battling for $600,000 in cash prizes, data scientists and developers from 58 countries submitted more than 3,000 ideas to help solve challenges facing the air travel and healthcare industries.</p> <P> Working in conjunction with Kaggle, a San Francisco-based analytics company that specializes in globally crowdsourced competitions, as well as Alaska Airlines and Ochsner Health System, GE launched its first two "Industrial Internet Quests" in November 2012. <P> The contests also served as a testing ground for enterprises that may be considering crowdsourcing as an alternative to the traditional approach of solving thorny technical problems in-house. "The idea of doing everything yourself -- inside one building in one part of the world -- you're only going to get so many answers so fast," said Bill Ruh, vice president of GE&#8217;s Software and Analytics Center, in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. "Open collaboration with customers, developers, and others you don't know will help us go faster." <P> <strong>[ New brain research initiative will require unprecedented data processing power. Read more at <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/government/information-management/obama-brain-mapping-project-tests-big-da/240152129?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Obama Brain Mapping Project Tests Big Data Limits</a>. ]</strong> <P> Contestants in GE's Flight Quest competition received two months of flight information from the United States' National Airspace System. The data included flight takeoff and arrival times, origin and destination cities, weather and wind facts, and latitude and longitude at frequent interim waypoints during flights. The participants used this data set to develop algorithms to better predict flight arrival times at runways and gates. The average error in predicted arrival time is 7 minutes. The winning Flight Quest algorithms showed a 40% improvement over that industry benchmark, according to GE. <P> Details on the first-phase winners are available <a href="https://www.gequest.com/c/flight/details/winners">here</a>. <P> A second phase of the Flight Quest challenge has just gotten underway. "Now we up the game a little bit," said Ruh. "We're trying to give the pilots more insight about the routes and allow them to make smarter decisions." <P> In Hospital Quest, participants devised ways to reduce the estimated $100 billion wasted annually by inefficient healthcare. The 1st place winner was Aidin, a Web application designed to improve the hospital discharge experience. Information on the winning Hospital Quest projects is available <a href="https://www.gequest.com/c/hospital/details/winners">here</a>. <P> While Flight Quest attracted more of an international group of contestants -- 4 of the top 5 prices went to participants outside the U.S. -- Hospital Quest drew more interest from U.S.-based technologists. "Maybe that reflects that the healthcare problem may be more of a localized issue, and aviation is a global problem -- people self-selecting which problems to deal with based on their interests," Ruh surmised. <P> In additional to providing insights into the effectiveness of crowdsourcing, the Industry Internet Quests may also offer big data benefits to GE and other enterprises. "We are one of the biggest data companies in the world. We collect an enormous amount of data," said Ruh. <P> For instance, GE has 12,000 gas turbines. A single sensor on one of those turbines generates 500GB of data each day. "That's just one sensor, and there are 20 sensors on a gas turbine," Ruh added. "We're trying to figure out how you collect all that, and how to get value out of it. We're on that journey today." <P> Crowdsourcing, it appears, may soon play a significant role in global research projects. "This is the way of the future. It's not so much about the collection of data, but about the algorithms that act on (the data) to give you insight," said Ruh. "We see these (contests) as one key part of open collaboration. <P> <i>Attend Interop Las Vegas May 6-10 and learn the emerging trends in information risk management and security. Use Priority Code MPIWK by March 22 to save an additional $200 off the early bird discount on All Access and Conference Passes. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 300+ exhibiting companies, and the latest technology. <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register today</a>! </i>2013-04-01T10:50:00ZBrace yourself for a data-centric universe with sensors everywhere, says Pervasive Software's CTO.http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/the-age-of-data-ubiquity-sensors-spread/240151991?cid=RSSfeed_IWK_Authors<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/healthcare/electronic-medical-records/7-big-data-engines-look-to-reinvent-medi/240144641"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/930/Opener_image_tn.jpg" alt=" 7 Big Data Solutions Try To Reshape Healthcare" title=" 7 Big Data Solutions Try To Reshape Healthcare" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> 7 Big Data Solutions Try To Reshape Healthcare</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <p>Mike Hoskins, by his own account, has been starting and running software companies for nearly 35 years. The chief technical officer of Pervasive Software, an Austin, Texas, provider of data management and analytics products, <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-datas-wild-west-period-stars-hadoop/240006652">Hoskins</a> has lived through several technology eras -- including the big iron, enterprise-focused 1970s, the rise of software tycoons in the 80s, and the Internet boom of the 90s. </p> <P> So what's next? An era that Hoskins calls the "age of data ubiquity," one in which a new generation of nimble, data-centric apps exploit massive data sets generated by both enterprises and consumers. <P> "What we're seeing right now is the end of the era of software. Hardware had its 20- to 30-year run. Software had its 20- to 30-year run," said Hoskins in a phone interview with <em>InformationWeek</em>. <P> <strong>[ Are you missing chances to connect with customers? See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-data-meet-long-data/240152019?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Big Data, Meet Long Data</a>. ]</strong> <P> "The data ubiquity challenge brings out more of the dimensions of big data, because it's not just about these huge, fat pipes that giant companies have," Hoskins noted. "It's the fact that data is central to all of our existences, whether we're a giant enterprise or an individual person." <P> The rise of mobile applications is a good example of this trend. "They are very thin skins representing some data asset behind the scenes," Hoskins said. <P> The era of data ubiquity poses a new set of challenges to software developers, however. "The Internet has caused a Cambrian explosion of new life forms, new applications, new data-centric APIs," Hoskins noted. "Literally thousands and thousands of new APIs are born every month." <P> This proliferation of data sources, and the explosion of user data they generate, could "break the back" of today's software industry. "It's not just one pipe with an enormous data feed coming out of my transaction database," Hoskins said. <P> Sensor data, in fact, may pose the greatest challenge. <P> "We are instrumenting the universe," said Hoskins, referring to what's often called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things">Internet of Things</a>. <P> "Your old refrigerator was a dumb refrigerator. Your new refrigerator is a smart refrigerator," he said. "It's a digital asset aware of itself. It records time, temperatures, vibrations. It records the electricity it's consuming. It's connected to the Internet as an IP device." <P> And this process of <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/peripherals/the-internet-of-pointless-perilous-thing/240146146">digitizing the world's physical objects</a> may prove the defining element of the age of data. "All the objects in the world are going to become alive and Internet-connected in a way that they weren't before," said Hoskins. <P> In addition to the connected devices we use today -- smartphones, tablets, PCs and very soon <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/apple-iwatch-vs-smartwatches-past-and-pr/240148629">wristwatches</a> -- sensors attached to or embedded in other physical objects will generate data as well. <P> "The plant in my house is going to be instrumented, and it's going to tell me when it's dry and needs to be watered," predicted Hoskins. "And maybe it will be able to turn on the sprinkler when it knows it's thirsty and needs water." <P> Of course, there's a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/news/big-data-analytics/big-datas-dark-side/240151599">dystopian element</a> to this view of an instrumented physical world, particularly one that involves sensor-enabled humans. <P> "We are going to have instruments built into ourselves," Hoskins predicted. "When we walk into a hospital, we're going to be self-identified, and they're going to know us." <P> Too creepy and Orwellian for your tastes? Well, Hoskins argues that one of big data's best attributes is that it can improve humans' decision-making abilities. "Would I like to know an hour before I have a heart attack that I'm going to have a heart attack? Of course I would," he said. "For thousands of years, decisions have largely been the province of human experts who were not that expert in some cases, and who relied on their emotions and intuition." <P> In the future, however, mountains of data crunched by advanced algorithms will enable us to make timelier and more accurate decisions, Hoskins predicted. <P> <i>Attend Interop Las Vegas, May 6-10, and learn the emerging trends in information risk management and security. Use Priority Code MPIWK by April 29 to save an additional $200 off All Access and Conference Passes. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 300+ exhibiting companies, and the latest technology. <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for Interop today</a>! </i>