"Today was the last day of Strata/Hadoop World in NYC, a show that just keeps growing. If I gathered up all of the emails, press releases and briefing notes related to the event this year, I'd probably need a Hadoop cluster to chug through it. Writing a post per news item would be impossible. In fact, even a news roundup would likely end up being a laundry list of announcements, and I'm betting it would be pretty tedious to read.Hadoop and Big Data, "Stratafied" | ZDNet
Far more valuable, and hopefully not too pretentious, would be to synthesize what I've heard, read and seen into a short list of trends that came out of the show and, in some ways, sum up where the analytics industry is right now. So here goes...Strata/Hadoop World NYC 2013...in four simple themes."
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Hadoop and Big Data, "Stratafied" | ZDNet
Check the full article for a summary of some key themes from the just-completed Strata/Hadoop World NYC event. I'll add a fifth theme: the incredible and disruptive (e.g., to traditional independent software vendors) power of the open source community in all things big data
NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide, Snowden documents say - The Washington Post
The smiley face is a nice touch
“The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and interviews with knowledgeable officials.”
Steam rises to 65 million active users, eclipsing Xbox Live | The Verge
Snapshot from a vibrant PC gaming market
"Steam now has more than 65 million active accounts. The figure marks a 30 percent rise in players over the last year. The video game digital-download platform also boasts daily peak concurrent users of more than 6 million."Steam rises to 65 million active users, eclipsing Xbox Live | The Verge
Facebook Hums Along, Eyes Phase Two - Businessweek
From a related summary in the WSJ, "Facebook shares, which initially rose as much as 15% in after-hours trading, later lost those gains as Facebook executives discussed the results with analysts and investors. The shares fell about 1.6% from a 4 p.m. closing price of $49.01."
"On Wednesday Facebook far exceeded expectations when it reported its quarterly earnings. The company made $2.02 billion in revenue (investors expected $1.91 billion), 49 percent of which came from mobile. Its monthly active users grew 18 percent over the last year to 1.19 billion. Every day 728 million people use Facebook, with 507 million people logging onto mobile.Facebook Hums Along, Eyes Phase Two - Businessweek
The company did sneak in one ominous tidbit: its growth among American teenagers has flattened, and the company is actually losing users among younger teens. The company said it wouldn’t be regularly updating investors on what was going on with young users, because the numbers may not be reliable."
#Googlewinseverything (Part 1) | LinkedIn
Google analysis and projections by Jason Calacanis
"In this piece, I’m going to explore the following:#Googlewinseverything (Part 1) | LinkedIn
a) What are Google’s most ambitious projects?
b) What our world will look like in 10 and 20 years if Page & Co. execute at (just) their current level
c) What the ramifications are for startups, investors, the media, journalism, government, education, privacy, freedom and humanity"
Bitcoin Pursues the Mainstream - NYTimes.com
From a bitcoin business brief
"“I’m confident you will see major worldwide retailers adopting systems built on bitcoin,” said Jim Breyer, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and early Facebook investor who also served on the board of Walmart Stores for more than a decade.Bitcoin Pursues the Mainstream - NYTimes.com
Mr. Breyer is an investor in Circle Internet Financial, one of the host of start-ups trying to find a way to make bitcoin a widely adopted currency for retail payments. The company was started by Jeremy Allaire, a serial entrepreneur, and it aims to be a payment processing system for online and physical merchants, similar to the service PayPal offers online. Along with his venture firm, Accel Partners, and another called General Catalyst Partners, Mr. Breyer has invested $9 million in the company."
Second Surface as doomed as the first - Business - The Boston Globe
The succinct summary of a Hiawatha Bray Surface 2 review
"With its deep pockets, Microsoft can afford to lose the tablet wars. And I think it just did."Second Surface as doomed as the first - Business - The Boston Globe
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Don't Buy a Microsoft Surface, Buy This Instead | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
The Windows 8.1 tablet and hybrid markets are getting more interesting
"I'm not just talking about having Microsoft Office rather than the weird maroon that is iWork. I'm talking about calling up full desktop websites in Chrome, complete with add-ons and plugins. I'm talking about downloading a picture from a website into a real filesystem, annotating it in real Photoshop (not the crippled Photoshop Express), popping open two different Evernote windows and putting it all together in our content management system. All on a $349, convertible laptop-tablet."Don't Buy a Microsoft Surface, Buy This Instead | News & Opinion | PCMag.com
Intel In Talks to Hand Over Web TV Project to Verizon - Peter Kafka and Arik Hesseldahl - Media - AllThingsD
Still waiting to see which vendor can "crack the code" on Internet + TV
"If Intel does end up getting out of TV, it will mark the end of an odd chapter in the company’s history. In January 2011, Intel hired Erik Huggers, the executive who had headed up Web video for the BBC, and Huggers began working on a plan to create an Intel-branded pay TV service, using an Intel-built set top box.Intel In Talks to Hand Over Web TV Project to Verizon - Peter Kafka and Arik Hesseldahl - Media - AllThingsD
That was a big departure for a company that doesn’t have a media background or sell anything directly to consumers. And lots of tech companies that do deal with media and consumers, from Apple to Google to Sony, have considered pay TV over the Web but have yet to figure it out."
Hadoop is not enough for 'big data', says Facebook analytics chief | PCWorld
From one of many thought-provoking keynote sessions yesterday at the Strata NYC conference
"The Hadoop programming framework may be synonymous with the “big data” movement but it’s not the only tool companies need to derive insights from massive stores of unstructured information, according to Facebook analytics chief Ken Rudin.Hadoop is not enough for 'big data', says Facebook analytics chief | PCWorld
“There are a lot of commonly held beliefs about big data that need to be challenged,” with the first being that you simply adopt Hadoop and are good to go, Rudin said Tuesday during a keynote at the Strata + Hadoop World conference in New York. “The problem is that Hadoop is a technology, and big data isn’t about technology. Big data is about business needs.”
“In reality, big data should include Hadoop and relational [databases] and any other technology that is suitable for the task at hand,” he added."
Google Plus Aims to Become a Photo Storage and Editing Hub - NYTimes.com
Tangentially, also see Ahead of I.P.O., Twitter Alters Feed to Add Images (NYT)
"Google Plus has not come close to rivaling Facebook for social networking. But it is trying to carve out its own niche, as the place to go for photo storage, editing and sharing.Google Plus Aims to Become a Photo Storage and Editing Hub - NYTimes.com
At a news conference showcasing photographers’ work on Tuesday at a San Francisco gallery, Google Plus executives barely mentioned sharing and social networking. Instead, they focused on new photo and video services."
The Exciting $3 Trillion Promise of Open Data - Businessweek
Check here for the full McKinsey open data report
"McKinsey says it’s not enough for data to be open. It has to be “liquid,” which means easily accessible and usable. “Blended with proprietary data sets,” McKinsey writes, open data “can propel innovation and help organizations replace traditional and intuitive decision-making approaches with data-driven ones.”The Exciting $3 Trillion Promise of Open Data - Businessweek
Some companies are already seizing the opportunity. Climate Corp., a startup that is being acquired by Monsanto (MON) for $930 million, “combines 30 years of weather data, 60 years of crop yield data, and 14 terabytes of soil data—all from government agencies—for such uses as research and pricing crop insurance.”"
iPad Air Review by Walt Mossberg - WSJ.com
Lead paragraphs of Walt Mossberg's iPad Air review
"One reason for the phenomenal success of the iPad has been Apple's ability to pack speed and versatility into a thin, light body with long battery life. It doesn't do everything a laptop does, but for many common scenarios, it has replaced the laptop as its owners' go-to device. That's why the company has sold 170 million iPads in just 3½ years.iPad Air Review by Walt Mossberg - WSJ.com
Now, Apple is raising the bar. On Friday, it plans to start selling its fifth-generation full-size model, called the iPad Air, and this one significantly extends the iPad's advantages, at the same $499 base price of its predecessor. In a feat of design and engineering, Apple has slashed the iPad's weight by 28%, made it 20% thinner and 9% narrower, while increasing its speed and retaining the brilliant, 9.7-inch Retina display."
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Lighter and Faster, It’s iPad Air - NYTimes.com
Excerpt from an iPad Air review
"What you may not know is this: Those 6.4 ounces make all the difference when, as you recline while reading or watching a movie, you conk out and the iPad falls forward to bonk you on the nose. The Air won’t hurt you the way the old iPad did."Lighter and Faster, It’s iPad Air - NYTimes.com
Microsoft makes available its Azure-based Hadoop service | ZDNet
See Announcing Windows Azure HDInsight: Where big data meets the cloud on The Official Microsoft Blog for more details about the Azure version of Hadoop
"Microsoft's cloud-based distribution of Hadoop -- which it has been developing for the past year-plus with Hortonworks -- is generally available as of October 28.Microsoft makes available its Azure-based Hadoop service | ZDNet
Microsoft officials also are acknowledging publicly that Microsoft has dropped plans to deliver a Microsoft-Hortonworks developed implementation of Windows Server, which was known as HDInsight Server for Windows. Instead, Microsoft will be advising customers who want Hadoop on Windows Server to go with Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) for Windows."
Mystery Portland barge and San Francisco barge appear linked | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
The plot thickens
"The two barges – the one in Portland and the one in San Francisco – are owned by the same company.Mystery Portland barge and San Francisco barge appear linked | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
Moreover, a website that covers technology news has linked that company to the search engine giant Google."
Top Skype Exec Mark Gillett Departs Microsoft - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD
It has been just over two years since Microsoft completed its Skype acquisition
"According to an internal memo sent this morning to employees, top Skype exec Mark Gillett is leaving Microsoft. Sources said that Gillett — who is corporate VP for Skype, as well as its Lync communications product — has another job he is headed to, although the memo did not mention where he was going."Top Skype Exec Mark Gillett Departs Microsoft - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD
Apple’s Profit Falls Despite Higher Sales of iPhones - NYTimes.com
A pivotal quarter for Apple
"On Monday, Apple reported a profit of $7.5 billion for the fourth fiscal quarter, on revenue of $37.5 billion, down from earnings of $8.2 billion on $36 billion in revenue during the same period last year.Apple’s Profit Falls Despite Higher Sales of iPhones - NYTimes.com
Apple’s iPhone sales were up sharply, thanks in part to the introduction of new iPhone models last month. But iPad sales were flat, and Mac sales slowed down — and both of those devices brought in less revenue than a year ago."
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Google Should Buy Twitter Before The IPO | Uncrunched
Excerpt from a Michael Arrington post
"Frankly I don’t see Google+ as being any more successful than Google Video was in competing with YouTube. I might be wrong, there might be a real base of hard core Google+ users out there who start and end their day on Google+, but I just don’t see it making any kind of mark on our culture at all.Google Should Buy Twitter Before The IPO | Uncrunched
Twitter, on the other hand, is the only really massive social network where the network effect has really kicked in. It is less than Facebook in some ways, and better than Facebook in some ways.
Google needs to buy Twitter just like they bought YouTube."
Is Google building a hulking floating data center in SF Bay? | Internet & Media - CNET News
Google data center, Waterworld edition?
“This large structure, which is likely being built by Google, could be a floating data center. It is located on a barge just off Treasure Island, between San Francisco and Oakland.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Something big and mysterious is rising from a floating barge at the end of Treasure Island, a former Navy base in the middle of San Francisco Bay. And Google's fingerprints are all over it.”
Is Google building a hulking floating data center in SF Bay? | Internet & Media - CNET News
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