Showing posts with label google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label google. Show all posts

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Hack the LIME - the story about open-source AI

Leave it to a lawyer to spoil the fun!  Andrew Burt, a lawyer, and writer, recently wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review, which discusses the risks of open-source Artifical Intelligence (AI) models   The HBR post, "The AI Transparency Paradox," explains the dangers of making artificial intelligence models transparent.  On the one hand, businesses want to know how companies engineered their AI algorithms.  Is the AI algorithm too sexist, racist, and just not good?  For instance, in James Vincent's article, Google ‘fixed’ its racist algorithm by removing gorillas from its image-labeling tech, Google "fixed" its 2015 deep learning algorithm, which labeled humans as monkeys. I am sure the appropriate stakeholders at Google wanted to know how the algorithm was written and how can the developer fixed the inappropriate bias in the algorithm.

On the one hand, if Google opened its AI code to the open-source community, then the AI algorithms could be significantly improved.   On the other hand, as (our no-fun lawyer friend), Andrew Burt cautions businesses that they would be vulnerable if they opened their AI algorithms to the world, which includes bad actors like hostile governments.  Andrew uses the research paper titled, “Why Should I Trust You?” Explaining the Predictions of Any Classifier.  The paper is about the Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) algorithm.  Andrew then talks about a research paper. How can we fool LIME and SHAP? Adversarial Attacks on Post hoc Explanation Methods,  which was published in November 2019.  The document discusses a "novel scaffolding technique," which can be used to hack the LIME algorithm.  Is there a return on investment if companies made their algorithms more transparent?

Folks may argue that Google successfully made its TensorFlow machine learning (ML) platform open source without much impact.  Before the TensorFlow platform question can be answered,  the following terms need to be defined:
  • Machine Learning;
  • Deep Learning; and 
  • Artificial Intelligence.
According to Geeks for Geeks portal, "Machine Learning is a technique of parsing data, learn from that data, and then apply what they have learned to make an informed decision." Machine Learning includes supervised training where the machine builds the model on most of the data (70% to 90% of the complete dataset) and then test the data for accuracy with the remaining portion of the data.  Unsupervised training involves machine learning from the full dataset.  There is no testing of the data.

Deep Learning algorithms are a specific subset of Machine Learning algorithms, which are primarily composed of neural networks. A common use of deep learning algorithms is for image recognization.

Gartner defines Artificial intelligence (AI) is the application of "...advanced analysis and logic-based techniques, including machine learning, to interpret events, support and automate decisions, and take actions."

Gartner recommends several open-source Data Science and ML platforms, including TensorFlow, to develop ML-based solutions.    Does this mean Mr. Burt is incorrect?

Andrew Burt is correct because comprised algorithms, which are the core of all AI solutions, will cause businesses to make poor decisions and ultimately discredit the AI solution. The underlying technology, which enables to invoke the algorithm, pull the data, process the data, and reports the outcomes, can be open source.  The other critical piece of any AI solution is the data itself.   Sensitive data is never unless asked by law enforcement or regulatory agency.

In conclusion,  Andrew Burt is correct by bringing up valid points, but at the same time, the AI field is still pretty young.  I am a strong believer in open-source software, and I believe we will have open-source AI models available.  We will also have AI models that will validate other models using technologies like blockchain technologies.

NOTE: The video below is about the LIME algorithm, and please keep in mind researchers recently hacked this algorithm.

Monday, January 30, 2012

"Duck Sucker"

When I attended an ITIL class in 2008, I heard a term that perked my interest.  Initially I thought, can ITIL terminology really be unique and "cliche"?  Can "duck sucker" be a french word to describe complex IT service management?  I was brought back to reality like the "lego man" holding a Canadian flag.  The instructor described the term when someone throws a problem or issue over his or her cube and shouts out "Duck! Sucker." This term came to my mind after I read the Gartner paper called, " JavaScript: Past, Present and Future." According to the sharply dressed folks at Gartner, JavaScript is here to stay.  Therefore please don't complain that you cannot debug JavaScript properly or you are tired of your friendly neighborhood, Mr. Alert() function.  The reality is that with more JavaScript routines designed to detect your web browser enable this technology to stay. With web browser developers incorporate more JavaScript rendering capability and computing hardware getting faster and cheaper, it seems it is the right thing to do.  With Verizon and AT&T charging for data plans,  browser based apps will need to cache more information on the device rather than in the "cloud".  Frankly the way OMB and Google are promoting the cloud, it sounds like heaven because everyone will be happy using the cloud.   Folks get used to the word "Duck sucker" because the application developers will try to access devices through the device browser JavaScript calls and the device manufactures are going to build more powerful, smaller and expensive devices.   In the end, you and I, the general consumers, may have to duck those big bills.  There is a cost for a great user experience which is driven by the cloud.  So who is the real sucker in the mobile world? You and I are. :-(

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

2 days @Gartner Symposium

This is my second year at the Gartner Symposium IT/XPo in Orlando, Florida.  After the first two days of the symposium, I believe the mantra of the symposium is the three new pillars of technology which are the glued together by information.  The pillars are:
  1. Cloud Computing
  2. Mobile Computing
  3. Social Computing
At first you think this is just bunch of hype.  What can a bunch of research analysts know about cloud, mobile, or anything else in IT.  Are these Gartner analysts creating trends from pure ignorance?   The answer is,"No"  Companies like Amazon, Google and Apple are creating technologies which are extremely disruptive and are causing problems in a positive way.  Today Gartner mentioned Google and Apple as the innovators.  I believe Amazon should be in that group. Amazon built the EC2  before IBM can spell cloud.
Amazon's model tends rely on developing services which are off-shoots out of its book business.  The Amazon cloud was a game changer and now Amazon's Silk which is a cloud browser will change the way things are done on the mobile space.

I attended couple of mobile sessions today and coule of social media sessions today.  Did I learn anything from these sessions?  The answer is Yes.  Social media has a defined lifespan.  Mobile computing is going to take over and the concept of cloud brokers was introduced.

I personally believe that cloud will reduce costs in the long run and increase throughput. I also believe that mobile will allow users to be more immersed in the internet and social computing is not a IT phenomenon but rather a social one.

The thing that caught my ear was the case study they did about the financial organization and how they built visual tools.  They updated their processes to be more "agile" so that the customer is engaged more in the development process.  I am therefore waiting for Agile computing.  This is the next big thing.  Once these technologies are stablize and drive costs down, businesses will be looking for more agility from their IT since the users will be changing their needs based on their social network.






Friday, September 30, 2011

...I’ve just been fired over the phone ...

You must have heard, "Carol Bartz is fired". What?!!! Who is Carol Bartz? She is the ex-CEO of Yahoo! She was fired September 6, 2011. According to the pundits, Yahoo! is profitable however it is lagging to Google, Facebook and others. I think the fundamental problem is that Yahoo! used to compete with Google. Unfortunately it is morphing into a content provider like Slate.com, Forbes.com, WashingtonPost.com. Eventhough Yahoo! is profitable, they cannot keep up with the Google and Facebooks of the world. Here is a good example, Look at how Ms. Bartz tells the world that she is no longer the CEO of Yahoo!. She sends an email with the following:

To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol
Sent from my iPad
See the issue?  You may think it is the email.  True. Shooting an email to your ex-employees that you were fired has issues but I am not going there.  The issue I see is that it was sent from her iPad.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are evolving to companies which develop and disseminate content; and develop the software and hardware which dissemiinate content.  Facebook is not in the hardware business however they are creating waves by funding software projects which work around Apple's devices limitation on Flash.  Apple is not a content generator (not yet atleast) but they are the best content deliverer.  Google  is not a content generator but a content aggregator, content searcher and a content deliverer.  Facebook is a content generator, content aggregators, and a content deliverer.  Microsoft is pretty much all over the place with Bing, MSN.com, slate.com and others.

Yahoo! used to be know for the search engine however it has evolved in a purely a content provider.  Folks would agree that Yahoo! would be mentioned with companies like AOL (yes that same AOL),  What Yahoo! needs to do is get back in the hardware and software side of things.  Yes, Yahoo has a get great AJAX library however they need to something interesting like buy RIM and rebrand it with Yahoo! content.  I don't know if this is possible but a move like that would bring Yahoo back in the business.  In conclusion, I would have appreciated Ms. Bartz if her email stated the following:

To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol
Sent from my Yahoo! Tablet

Saturday, June 18, 2011

gCrack vs iCrack (Satire)

I don't know if you heard but Google and Apple are announcing couple of new products which are aimed specifically at the "partying" group.  Google's version is called gCrack and it will be in Beta release mode.  gCrack will only be given out by existing gCrack users.  The product is a graduate of Google Labs; and is manufactured in south america.  It is then distributed via its new partners in Mexico called gNarcos. According to the Google CEO, this is the best thing since sliced bread and Google is excited about it.  Other neat incentives with respect to gCrack are:
Meanwhile in Cupertino, CA, it is rumored that Apple has been working with its partners in developing iCrack.  It is a similiar product to gCrack.  Talking to unnamed sources within Apple, iCrack is far more expensive than gCrack since there is a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between iCrack users and Apple on the quality of iCrack.  Apple will back its iCrack product and guarantees that the users will be "high" when they use it.  Unlike gCrack, which does not guarantee the quality, iCrack is five times more expensive than gCrack.  Apple is also going to promise the following things with iCrack:
  • Create and track orders on iTunes
  • Purchase iCrack using Apple's exclusive iCrack app for its iPad and iPhone
  • Meet the iCartel (iCrack manufacturers) on iCrack using FaceTime.  
Interpol is concerned about this development since they claim gCrack and iCrack is nothing more than crack cocaine.  According to the Republicans, these crack products will help the US economy and bring jobs.  The Democrats say that these type of policies will increase the need for standardized health care and pump money in Medicare.  It looks like gCrack and iCrack are here to stay.  The real winner will be Google and Apple shareholders. It should also be noted that both companies see the crack addict will be ultimately the real winner because it will bring prices downs and the quality up.  The next big question is what will Facebook, Microsoft, IBM and Oracle do?  Are they going to get into the crack cocaine business?  

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Need to have an exit strategy

I believe it is time for me to get out of the business of IT. Here are the reasons:





  • Deer in headlights: I talk to some of my senior managers and they look at me as a deer in the headlights when I tell them about the innovations of Ruby on Rails or noSQL databases. On the other hand, if I was tell them about client server technologies of the late 1990s then we have a conversation. I see myself going down the same path in the next twenty years unless technology is outsourced.


  • Outsource IT: This brings me to the second point. IT is so commoditized. Within a couple of years, I won't need to worry about the operations part since most of this will be outsourced. I heard of government agencies outsourcing the whole Blackberry program to a third party vendor. WHAT?!!! All those jobs! I know this is a big part of the whole world we live in. Do I want my job outsourced in the next five years? I don't think so.



  • Open Source - innovating out of existence: As open source technologies rapidly evolve, more businesses are relying on market analysis and large vendors to recommend what their IT strategy should be. Should a CIO look at open source technologies to enable their IT strategy or look to proven technologies which could be legacy in the next five years? I would guess the latter. As Oracle, IBM, Microsoft and Google start putting cloud services, they are going to bring down costs and at the same time bring down the IT salaries. I believe the days of an Oracle DBA making a decent living are history. An Oracle DBA will make a similar salary as a typical engineer, which is 20% - 25% less then a typical IT staffer. These companies will also start filtering the Open Source technologies and the open source world will become an R&D lab. This is the best bet for any business since businesses don't have the time to update infrastructure every quarter.



What should I do then? I need to refine my customer relationship skills well enough to say, "Would you like fries with that?" ;-)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

I sound like a left wing donkey (aka Democrat)

I asked myself, "Will open source technologies ever fly?" after reading this article "Google asks US Patent Office Oracle Java patents". As businesses try to make a dollar or two from innovative minds who donated their "code" to better of man kind, I wonder if my children will enjoy the benefits of open source technologies. I don't know the answer but one of way of safe guarding these open source technologies is let government agencies take over the maintenance of open source software. I realize that I sound like a left wing "donkey" (aka. Democrat) but the open source community needs to address the bigger problem. How can brilliant works of engineering like Java, Ruby on Rails, Linux, Hadoop can be safe guarded from the hoards of entrepreneurs? I don't have a problem if a company like Cloudera and RedHat who make a living on supporting open source software. I however question when businesses fight the over basic fabric of open source software. Here is one idea we can look at:
  • Apache and other open source organizations should be care takers of open source. These organization should be funded by government agencies and they should be regulated by a UN organization.
My right wing friends may ask the question, "why should the government get involved in managing open source technologies. I answer by saying do you want human safety compromised over a business indicator flashing red. Since IT is being used to track and guide flights, manage energy grids, and control access to vital information, I say the government should be responsible for managing open source technologies. Government has so much red tape that it reduces efficiencies but the red tape also safeguards the things under its control from the economic and political moods.

Frankly if things don't change then I will start working Objective C, C#, and reduce my investment as a developer on open source technologies.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Places that I would like to work

As an information technologist, I often ask the question, "Where would be the ideal place for an information technologist to work at?" Here are some of the places I usually end up with (rather than bore you, the readers, with paragraphs of explanations, here are one liners):
  1. Amazon : - Can we say EC2. Love to play with it
  2. Apple : - I would love to work with their innovators. Time to build my CV called iCareer.
  3. Cisco : - Eventhough I am not a Network specialist. I like their CEO since he seems to have a vision. I could work on the SOA stack.
  4. Facebook : - They made PHP cool! They have the data and the advertisers. Ingredients for some great business apps. My JavaScript skills are pretty good.
  5. Google : - I am nervous about their CEO getting pushed out. They have some cool minds. I heard their Product Managers are worse than slave drivers. Unfortunately I don't have a Computer Science degree to apply their.
  6. IBM : - They have the technology unfortunately with my professional experience I will probably end up working with their consulting services. If I worked there, I would probably say this all the time, "Have you looked at Websphere or the Rational Toolset?"
  7. Microsoft : - They are known for building UI friendly and scalable solutions for medium sized companies. I am waiting for their "cloud" solution where every local and state governments will deploy their solution. If I worked there then I would be working on the .Cloud stack.
  8. Oracle : - They have it all. Out of all the companies, they look every intriguing. I would work for them if I didn't travel alot and get to build some enterprise level solutions.
  9. RedHat : - They are not as big as Oracle but they look promising. Their acquisitions have been quite good and they are always pushing open source. Guys, you need to get Apache Wave and build a Social Media platform.
  10. Salesforce : - Give me the cloud. Nothing like working for a guy called Benioff! Seriously though, they look good and promising.
  11. VCE : - Nothing like working for a company which is based on an agreement by three giants: Cisco, EMC and VMWare.
  12. VMWare : - Hey Rod (Johnson that is). Need a Java guy!
I didn't include:
  1. EMC : - I had a bad taste with their consultants. Documentum is overrated!
  2. SAP : - They are big and they are European. My french is rusty but would be interested in a strategic position there.
In all seriousness, they all look good however I don't want to be a consultant with them but rather be a solution architect and be involved in their strategic decision making process. Any takers?! ;-)

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

SOA will die!

I think Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) will die with the whole notion of Cloud computing. If you were to follow to the history of Google APIs (Application Programming Interface), you will notice that Google had quite a few XML based Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) web services in the 2003 - 2004 time frame. If you were to surf the Google Code base, you will notice that there aren't alot of web services enabled APIs. What does this mean?

I think with phenomenon like Cloud computing, there will be a decrease in system to system level integration. How many of us can say that Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) will make a come back? Maybe one or two handfuls around. The reality is that IT is evolving so fast that complexity of the accessible API is more simplified. Who would ever have thought that JavaScript is the favored scripting language to access APIs? It does make sense though. JavaScript is here to stay as long as the web browser (workstation or mobile). In this ever changing evolving IT world, services will be designed and developed using JavaScript. I am waiting for a JavaScript specifically for system integration. I like the JavaScript libraries that were built for Facebook and Google. Goodbye SOA and welcome to JSOA aka JavaScript Oriented Architecture in the cloud. I believe cloud will also cause the fall of the relational database management system (RDBMS) and rise to the Reduced HashMap. I will expound on this evolution in the data tier in the near future.

The image is taken from David Chou's blog entry, "Cloud Computing and the Microsoft Platform" at http://ht.ly/3ACCE

Friday, July 11, 2008

"We won't mention their name..."

Three weeks ago, I went to Microsoft Technology Center in Reston Virginia. I was part of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) team which listened to Microsoft's overall strategy for the next three years, how Microsoft licenses were distributed across the FAA, and listened to their product experts regarding their new products and got a tour of their facility. It was a long session and some parts were interesting. I was amused when their product experts tried to toute the web 2.0 capabilities like creating wikis and blogs on the new Sharepoint product however I asked them if they did any research why they decided to include web 2.0 capabilities in their products. They had good reasons for the wikis since Wikis have proven to be an excellent source of knowledge via Collaborative means. However they didn't give me a good reason why they included blogging software, I realized that big companies like Microsoft provide the "new" capabilities eventhough they don't know if it will ever be used by their customers. I found that very interesting.

The other thing that I thought was hilarious was that their whole staff was taking stabs at Google. Eventhough Google and Microsoft product and services slightly overlap, I didn't think Microsoft and their employee would truly hate Google. For instance, one presentator talked about email services and used Hotmail as an example. Then he stated their products work well Yahoo and other email providers including "the other email provider who is still beta". Then he interjected, "how long are they going to have beta anyway" If you don't know what I am talking about then check out Google Mail or Gmail which is still beta.

Microsoft also stated they are rewriting their whole stack of products to introduce cloud computing since "the other company is planning to expand into this realm." Amazon.com currently provides this service and I know one person who uses their backup service and he is happy with them.

Anyway it looks like Bill Gates new tarket is "the company" that neither he or Microsoft will mention its name. "Hey Bill, 'Google' is not a buzzword but it is simply a company you are jealous of"

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Is Microsoft really the dark side?

Unlike some of colleagues and friends, I have worked mostly with open source products and I like the open source world. Most of the technology is well built and there is a community of developers, testers and business sponsors who spend alot of time and money to get the product right. There seems to be a common understanding that open source technology is flexible enough where it can be customized to a certain requirement and they cost is minimal when working with Microsoft.

On the other hand, Microsoft tends to dictate when its new products and technologies are going to released. They also dictate how their products should be licensed and flexibility is minimal. As a technologist, they seem to black box all of their technology.

Here are some of typical complaints regarding Microsoft:
Not Best of Breed
I have heard people complain left and right that their product is not the best of breed. For example their SQL Server product line is not the best relational database and it is ideal for small to medium implementations.

Tie Their products to the Windows Operating System

A few years ago, the technology community was complaining that Microsoft tied their internet browser, the Internet Explorer, to the operating system and that is how they beat their competition in the internet browser space

They eye-gouge their customers with licenses and other products
More and more end users are complaining that Microsoft is clamping down on how licenses are tracked in their software. It's now ever harder to steal their software.

I admit that these are valid complaints and lately I have realized their products aren't that bad.

Things I like about Microsoft products:
Their products integrate well together. I used to take this fact for granted until I worked with Oracle suite of products. Oracle's products don't talk to other products but they don't even talk to each other.

Their products are easy to use.

Beginning with their Windows product line, Microsoft products are easy to use and they are visually appealing to their end users. Until three or four years ago, Java didn't have robust debugging in their various IDEs. I remember working with Visual Studio many years ago and I still remember that their debugging was the best. SQL Server has had a great Graphical User Interface (GUI) for many years. During this Oracle only provided SQL*Net.

Even though we complain Microsoft is being selfish and opportunistic as business. I have to say that they have never sacrificed their core capabilities which is:
their products are easy to use and their products integrate well with each other. It is true that their products aren't the best in the breed but at least theywork.

In the last year or two, I have been extremely disappointed in how Oracle products are built and how they work. All of Oracle's products are tied to the database product line. You look at their JMS implementation, their PL/SQL based web services, their ESB which is tied to their database, etc., and etc. Oracle is doing the same thing as Microsoft did. As Microsoft tied their products to their operating system, we see that Oracle is currently tying their products to the database. If I were a CIO or the CTO, I wouldn't buy anything from Oracle other than their relational database products.

Unlike Microsoft, IBM sells their products for an extremely high price. Their products work well, unfortunately I wouldn't trust IBM since their business practices are questionable.

The biggest competition for Microsoft is Google. I am still wondering what is Google. Google sells online advertising, they have a search appliance and bunch of software products which are good but they don't address any core requirement. They seem to create a buzz on how they market their products. For instance, remember how they created a buzz for their email capability. They gave email accounts via email invites which created a buzz. They are geniuses in viral marketing but they really don't have a product. What I mean by a product, if I were to liquidate Google then what would I sell. Their search technology, their online software and their advertising business and now their mobile software. According my sources in US Department of Justice, Google's Android software is currently used by alot hackers to hack into mobile phone. Things like this make wonder...Is Google really out there to improve our lives or just market themselves a higher profit margin.

Yahoo! - I like Yahoo!. I have been a loyal customer of Yahoo! from 1996. They categorize and sell information, information products and more. I really like their stuff and their product might suffer a little when Microsoft buys them but I would rather see Microsoft buy them than Google beat them.

In conclusion, I still prefer open source technologies but I now also appreciate the value of Microsoft. They are not that bad after all.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Can Oracle learn from Google?

I just read this article on Java Developers Journal (JDJ) that Oracle is looking to buy BEA. This should be interesting. If Oracle does buy BEA then Larry Ellison, Oracle CEO, and his company will have the Weblogic stack, Aqualogic stack and their supporting products. These products will have add to the Oracle collection which consists of:
  • Oracle Application Server,
  • Oracle Database technologies,
  • Oracle Fusion Ware,
  • PeopleSoft,
  • Stellent, etc., etc.,
However after working with Oracle's non-database technologies and hearing other voices in the developer community, Oracle's non-database products are not that great. Unlike Microsoft's products which emphasize user interaction and user experience, Oracle products don't integrate well and they are quite buggy. I don't know if Oracle needs to hire more effective product managers who can build better products. Like Google, it needs to promote innovation and creative. There are reasons why Google is the best company to work for. Among other benefits, Google offers free gourmet meals, 20 % of the work done is on personal projects. As these projects evolve into product ideas, Google inturn takes these ideas and produces great products. Here are some products they created:
  • Gmail
  • Google Talk
  • Google Reader
  • Google Map and other APIs
  • Google Labs
  • Google Apps
  • Google checkout
Most of these ideas were built on technologies they acquired like:
  • YouTube
  • Blogger
  • Keyhole (Google Earth)
  • Orkut
To please its shareholders and client base, Oracle simply acquires companies and their products however they don't spend much time in making their products "cool" or "nitch" after they acquire them. Larry Ellison, if you are reading this, learn from Google's model. Software is cool, fun and it meets business and user needs. If you forget cool and fun then what you end up with a boring, expensive and bulky products like Mainframe computers which eventually joined the dinosaurs in extinction.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Semantic Web


I came across a great talk on Semantic Web and Knowledge Representation on YouTube. The talk was given by Peter Patel-Schneider. In the presentation, he talks about:
  • the evolution of Semantic Web
  • various Semantic Web languages
  • benefits of Semantic Web
  • problems with the Semantic Web Vision.
After seeing the talk, I see the benefits and issues with Semantic Web theory however there are not applications or tools which process Semantic Web languages. I believe Mashups, Representational State Transfer (REST) web services, and Web 2.0 implementations is a good step towards the next generation of internet technologies. Semantic Web takes the approach of adding intelligence at the data tier while Web 2.0 takes the approach of enabling the user to intimately control the data or the rendering of data. I highly recommend Peter Patel-Schneider's talk.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

DITA - That's correct!

Today I was analyzing Java code for a refactoring effort. Before our team could refactor the code, we need to write unit tests to be sure we didn't break any functionality in the software. Unfortunately after looking at the code and asking other team members, I realized that the Java code was poorly designed. What does it mean that the Java code was poorly designed? Does that mean that the code didn't meet the software requirements or pass QA? No, it means that it will take alot of work to introduce new functionality into poorly designed Java code. The code is brittle, tightly coupled, not very reusable. It is always beneficial to design all software before it is developed because during the design process the requirements and the initial design could be analyzed for potential bottlenecks, brittleness, tight coupling, etc., etc. If the software is developed without any design then it is a linear process. The developer will write the code to meet the initial requirements however he or she does not take a step back to assess the developed code's resusablity and flexibility.

This is also true in writing documents. In high school and college, students are taught that they need to create an outline of their paper, then a draft and then the final copy of the paper. The paper meets the instructor's requirement like:
  • Write an essay about the Civil War
  • Write a technical paper on how to build a Lawn mover
  • Write a paper why Roe Vs. Wade is beneficial for the United States.
After the paper is written, the paper is graded on how well the student expresses his or her thoughts about the requirements of the paper. However if the instructor added another requirement that he plans to write a paper which is only comprised content from his students' papers then the paper writing process would be different. There would be discussions between the instructor and his students on what the instructor's paper is about and he plans to write the paper. This would also alter the students' approach to their papers. They would emphasize ideas and support their idea .This might restrict the flow and readability of the students papers To improve the flow of the paper, the students may choose to organize the information differently.

In the information age, every major organization is trying to mine data to give themselves an edge over their competitors. Companies like Google, Autonomy, Fast, Vivisimo, etc, etc offer products which offer search capabilities for unstructured data which is linearly, brittle and tightly coupled (just like this blog entry).

Yesterday I came across an XML standard which identifies the issue of linear writting and describes how to write reusable content. It is quite fascinating. The XML standard is called Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA). It uses ideas of inheritance and specialization. I don't know if DITA is the answer but it asks the right questions and it identifies the issues. Hope you enjoy the white paper (be warned that it is quite technical). If the white paper is too complicated then check out this power point presentation. Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Black Hole in the internet (A theory)

I like the PageRank theory which Google uses to rank web pages which it indexes. As I understand, a web page is given a higher rank when other pages (internal and external) link to that page. For example Page A exists on web site alpha and Page B, Page C and Page D link to Page A. Page C and Page D don't have any other references and they exist on web site gamma and Page B resides on web site alpha. By doing so, it is inferred that Page A is more valuable Page B, Page C and Page D. Page A has higher importance since they are referenced by Page B, Page C and Page D. This is ingenious because it may be assumed that if Page A did not exist then Page B, Page C and Page D cannot validate it's content through an reference (which in this case is Page A).

Therefore here is my theory: if there exists a web page called blackHole which:
  • has no links
  • is referenced by all web pages (directly or indirectly) as a link
  • is NEVER changed
  • is hosted on a server which is 100% reliable and it never slows down or goes down.
Implications of phenomenon are huge since:
  • the page called blackHole will get alot of hits from users and spiders
  • this could undermine the pageRank algorithym unless Google fugdes it to address this issue.
I call this phenomenon the cyber black hole. I would like to hear from people about this idea.

Search Engine Problem

Jargonaut, thank you for the link to CMCH Research. I did enjoy their Smart Search interface. It is very interesting but it also shows the underlying problem between various search engine. For example, in the CMCH Research Smart Search interface, I typed in "Why Children hate animals". I got the results:
  1. Google -

    animals politics law children peace hate - Animals - Newly ...

    Top Environmental News stories on global warming, wildlife, sustainable development, animals, nature, health, and more!
    www.care2.com/news/submitted/category/animals/animals+politics+law+children+peace+hate - 51k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

    Mitchell, Last Dinosaur Book, excerpt

    Why Children Hate Dinosaurs. Although our history of the dinosaur is over, ... the dinosaur may be the most publicized animal in children's lives. ...
    www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/532046.html - 22k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

    Fur Is Dead > Features > PETA’s New Comic for Kids - a Real-Life ...

    PETA will be there to greet any fur-clad moms and their children with their newest anti-fur leaflet-PETA Comics presents..."Your Mommy Kills Animals!" ...
    www.furisdead.com/momfur.html - 38k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

    Wondertime: First Pets: Wild Thing - and More Joys of Parenting ...

    Family Pets for Children - Wondertime unveils what children can learn from their first ... "I don't hate animals," I said. It was the idea of having a puppy ...
    wondertime.go.com/life-at-home/article/0806-first-pets-wild-thing.html - 24k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

    I hate Animal Planet! [Archive] - Pets Hub

    [Archive] I hate Animal Planet! Other Pets & Animals Forums. ... YOU SHOULDN'T HOLD CHILDREN THIS WAY, MUCH LESS WHEN TOSSING RAW MEAT TO A CROC 2.5 FEET ...
    www.petshub.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-36165.html - 46k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
  2. Yahoo! -
  • Why Do We Hate?
  • ... beings are animals, but we seem to be the only animals that hate enough to kill ... create nonjudgmental safe environments for children who so easily absorb and ...www.kuufnh.org/whyhate.htm - 21k - Cached
  • REDSKIN, A HATE WORD DEFINED page 1
  • Why Indian mascots are considered hateful, and the shameful history of the Redskin label. ... A REDSKIN IS AN ANIMAL ... slaughtered our children as you would ...www.iwchildren.org/redskinhate.htm - 19k - Cached
  • SFist: Why We Hate Racists
  • ... after running an opinion piece titled "Why I Hate Blacks," by a local 24-year ... Youâ€_ re an Asian male-white female couple with biracial children. ...sfist.com/2007/02/27/why_we_hate_racists.php - 88k - Cached
  • Why I hate vegetarians
  • ... day made me realise why I hate vegetarians. ... They are putting the welfare of animalschildren. ... Back to Animal Rights / Home ...www.maninnature.com/Management/ARights/Rights1w.html - 9k - Cached
  • HATE CRIMES
  • ... already faced the murders of, or assaults on, our children and loved ones. ... If we are willing to extend federal protections to animals, why not people? ...www.pflagupstatesc.org/hate_crimes.htm - 18k - Cached
  1. MSN -
  • Why I Hate Your Children 2

    In a previous badass article ( Why I Hate Your Children ) I completely demolished the bullshit ... 400 pound gorilla bitch and stayed thanks to your love of animals ...

  • Why I hate vegetarians

    Why I Hate Vegetarians People should not be bullied into giving up meat by humourless ... They are putting the welfare of animals before that of their children. Giving up meat and dairy has been linked ...

  • REDSKIN, A HATE WORD DEFINED page 1

    ... to you as one human to another, why the Native ... You slaughtered our children as you would slaughter the ... or to be free from your words of hate. We are treated like you treat the animals,

  • Why women hate sex.

    ... are Golden Toilets...Flush; Feminism Is Stupid; Pets Are Not Children ... lot of good work being done on homosexuality in animals. ... is mostly accurate, sure i have my own conclusions as to why women hate ...

  • Why Do We Hate?

    WHY DO WE HATE? Sermon given by Rev. Emily Burr on 5/7/06 ... Human beings are animals, but we seem to be the only animals that hate ... can help create nonjudgmental safe environments for children ...

  1. Ask Jeeves - Democrats Hate Children, But So Does Phil Parlock - Wonkette
    Democrats Hate Children, But So Does Phil Parlock ... [DU] Democrats Hate Children [Wonkette] ...
    www.wonkette.com/archives/democrats-hate-children-but-s...www.wonkette.com/archives/democrats-hate-children-but-so-does-phil-parlock-021497.php
    Newsgroups: alt.food.vegan, rec.sport.football.college, alt.animals.ethics.vegetarian ... Why would killing animals for my computer give you ...
    groups.google.com/group/alt.animals.ethics.vegetarian/m...groups.google.com/group/alt.animals.ethics.vegetarian/msg/d802d7375cf90061
    I have mixed feelings about children but hate isn't in the mix at all. ... why would people hate children, they were all once children, that ...
    surveycentral.org/survey/18886.html
    I love animals yet hate children. I dreamt again about stamping on the babies heads again last night, squashing them like watermelons and ...
    www.notproud.com/anger/anger743.php
    Do Palestinians Teach Their Children to Hate? ... staff blush: “We teach our children to respect life, while they teach that if you die ...
    www.ifamericansknew.org/stats/hate.html
  2. Vivisimo -
  1. Alta Vista
I looked at these results and realized that these links are not the right links. I wanted to see why certain children want to hurt animals rather than to play with the animals. Each reputable search engine gave me different answers. There was no consistence at all. The results across the board were not accurate nor precise. This makes me wonder if the user is really saving time. If I typed in the word "children" in various search engines, I get results related to children. This means that the results are more accurate and precise. This shows that queries directly hit search engine indexes and the indexes and page ranking are dependent are independent search algorithms. This is a typical problem of text based search engines (including Google). I believe there is a way to address this issue. Email me and I will let you know.