Visible Technologies, a privately held 75-person firm founded in 2003, believes the formation of communities in social media offers an opportunity for targeting better. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? There’s ample evidence that product matters in the blogosphere and the web in general – 2/3 or more of posts mention product names, and there is a rhythmContinue reading “TruCast Listens to Customers For You. You Learn, and Act”
Author Archives: Merv Adrian
Clearpace – Have Your Data and Archive it Too
Clearpace has a potentially lucrative question for you: how much of your data is really needed with any frequency at all? How much keeping it managed as if you needed it tomorrow cost you? What if you could take most of the 2 year old and older data out of your databases, compress it dramatically, putContinue reading “Clearpace – Have Your Data and Archive it Too”
ESPN’s Clutter Ruins French Open Coverage
I’ve been enjoying the French Open on the Tennis Channel. Thorough, intelligent coverage – candor and insight from commentators like John McEnroe, hours of coverage of early round matches. What a pleasure. Only one complaint – it’s not HD. So as we moved from Tennis Channel coverage to ESPN in the quarterfinals, I was excitedContinue reading “ESPN’s Clutter Ruins French Open Coverage”
Report Mining – Minimally Invasive BI
Every organization of any size has reports – usually too many, often largely unread, and typically a gold mine of information not available elsewhere without substantial investment of time and resources, even if the tools are available. Where existing reports are in place and in wide use – such as those accompanying packaged ERP, CRMContinue reading “Report Mining – Minimally Invasive BI”
Captive Analyst Bloggers: Break Free! You Have Everything To Gain In Your Links
I spend a fair amount of my time checking in on the blogs of people whose work I respect. Now that I am no longer an analyst at a big-brand firm, I do this more than I used to – and I can now recognize there is an insularity “on the inside” that one becomes unawareContinue reading “Captive Analyst Bloggers: Break Free! You Have Everything To Gain In Your Links”
Vista SP2: Seamless, Simple, but Search Still Lags
I’ve been talking here about the upgrade to Windows 7, which has been quite pleasant so far. It’s quicker, with some nice UI improvements, and other bits and pieces I’ll talk about in other posts before long, I suspect. But being the glutton for punishment I am, this evening before dinner I decided to tryContinue reading “Vista SP2: Seamless, Simple, but Search Still Lags”
Aster Data Systems: Specialty DBMSs Will Change the Market
In a market suddenly awash with new analytic DBMS entrants, Aster Data Systems differentiates itself with an aggressive posture: in-database computations, MapReduce integration and commodity hardware. Like several other firms I’ve talked to recently, the San Carlos-based vendor has a Big Customer (mySpace), a Recent Launch (May 2008) and a Core Team of Hotshots with industryContinue reading “Aster Data Systems: Specialty DBMSs Will Change the Market”
InfoSphere Streams Is A Game Changer
IBM has made it clear that InfoSphere Streams, the commercialized part of the System S research project that has been underway for some years, is a priority, and they are committing substantial investments to it. In fact, the release was hurried a bit, as I noted in my (hopefully) humorous post about naming for complex event processingContinue reading “InfoSphere Streams Is A Game Changer”
Adventures With Windows 7 – Smarter UI, [Confusing] Symantec Beta License
In the first post in this series, I talked about the install process for the Windows 7 RC. That is not what users will experience, so it’s only of marginal interest, except insofar as it shows whether the stuff “works.” Windows passed that test just fine. This time out, I’m exploring the user interface toContinue reading “Adventures With Windows 7 – Smarter UI, [Confusing] Symantec Beta License”
Adventures with Windows 7 – Installation of the RC
Microsoft made a Windows 7 release candidate (RC) available for download in May. RCs precede the ready to manufacture (RTM) stage, so there are still issues to fix and tweaks to be done. Microsoft has instrumented this version to phone home when users are online, and usage tracking gives them a chance to see interactionsContinue reading “Adventures with Windows 7 – Installation of the RC”