Final Paper Presentation

http://prezi.com/jwgzixmz2hdr/

Incubation Week video

From the Microsoft event I attended earlier in the month:

FandomU interview on Channel 9

~Jess~

Brain-Like Chip May Solve Computers' Big Problem: Energy

Discover magazine has an excellent article, for which I have included a link, that addresses the issue of energy efficiency in computing. As technology proliferates into developing regions of the world, energy consumption is a major issue. A researcher at Stanford University, Kwabena Boahen, has developed a "silicon wafer that provides the basis for a new neural supercomputer, called Neurogrid".
Below is an excerpt that introduces the fundamental shift in design philosophy.

"Traditional digital computers depend on millions of transistors opening and closing with near perfection, making an error less than once per 1 trillion times. It is impressive that our computers are so accurate—but that accuracy is a house of cards. A single transistor accidentally flipping can crash a computer or shift a decimal point in your bank account. Engineers ensure that the millions of transistors on a chip behave reliably by slamming them with high voltages—essentially, pumping up the difference between a 1 and a 0 so that random variations in voltage are less likely to make one look like the other. That is a big reason why computers are such power hogs."

"Scientists have found that the brain’s 100 billion neurons are surprisingly unreliable. Their synapses fail to fire 30 percent to 90 percent of the time. Yet somehow the brain works. Some scientists even see neural noise as the key to human creativity. Boahen and a small group of scientists around the world hope to copy the brain’s noisy calculations and spawn a new era of energy-efficient, intelligent computing. Neurogrid is the test to see if this approach can succeed."

If Neurogrid is successful, System Integration will be taken in a radically different direction, as new applications, and implementations, are introduced. No longer will energy availability be a limitation, and the integration of technology to new markets will fuel innovation.

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/oct/06-brain-like-chip-may-solve-computers-big-problem-energy

e2Campus integrates the Shibboleth platform

I saw this news article from Reuters newservice, and wanted to pass it along...

DENVER, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- From the show floor of EDUCAUSE 2009, Omnilert®
LLC today announced the release of e2Campus® version 3.1, the leading unified
emergency notification system for education. Most notably, the latest release
of the service integrates the Shibboleth® single sign-on platform. This
technology, combined with Omnilert's participation in the InCommon®
Federation, means that existing Shibboleth-enabled organizations will
immediately benefit from e2Campus' enhanced user management and single sign-on
convenience without additional integration.

Single sign-on capabilities enable users to leverage their home institution's
login credentials to jump from one secure online application to another
without having to set up and then remember multiple passwords for each
resource they use.

InCommon is a trust federation in which members like Omnilert agree to use a
standards-based authentication protocol (like that provided by Shibboleth) for
their interactions. InCommon participants agree on a set of shared policies,
processes, and technology standards. This greatly streamlines collaboration
among multiple organizations because federation members agree on shared
policies and processes once, rather than each time they sign a contract with a
new partner.

By the end of June, 2009, Penn State University and University of Maryland
Baltimore County (UMBC) finished collaborating with e2Campus on the initial
development of the InCommon interface. Today, UMBC, University of Maryland
Baltimore, and Lafayette College are among the first to take advantage of this
convenient single sign-on integration for use with the e2Campus service.

"We are extremely pleased with the Shibboleth implementation in e2Campus which
allows us much greater flexibility in the way we provide our critical
emergency notifications to our faculty, students and staff through the
InCommon Federation," said Mike Carlin, assistant vice president of
infrastructure and support at UMBC.

"For instance, we are now able to set up dynamic groups based on student
attributes enabling us to better target our emergency alerts to affected
groups on campus. As an example, if a certain dormitory is impacted by an
emergency event, we now have the ability to alert just the impacted students
and staff in that residence or other specific groups as is appropriate to the
issue."

Carlin added, "We are most excited about the dynamic real-time updates to stay
on top of user churn. When students, faculty or staff leave the university, we
can automatically remove them from e2Campus. In addition, we can focus
internal marketing to the select people that still need to opt-in to e2Campus,
without bothering those that have already subscribed."

Kevin Morooney, the incoming chair of the InCommon Steering Committee and
chief information officer and vice provost for information technology at Penn
State University, explained, "One of the primary goals of federations like
InCommon is to allow universities to provide access to a wide range of
off-campus resources while still protecting the security and privacy of their
students, faculty, and staff. We who are involved with InCommon are pleased
that this new release of e2Campus takes advantage of the benefits of the
federation."

Nick Gustavsson, Omnilert's chief technology officer, said, "We are very proud
to be part of InCommon Federation. With more and more schools upgrading to
e2Campus, Shibboleth integration is a major decision point for new customers.
There is no easier way to integrate your existing school data with any ENS
system than with Shibboleth and e2Campus."

Additional upgrades in e2Campus 3.1 include many new administration functions
such as: enhanced user management to include adding single users and viewing
user details; enhanced session timeout functionality; and the ability to
configure password strength for admin accounts.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS191815+05-Nov-2009+PRN20091105

The Story of the Shibboleth

Following the presentation, I was curious about this strange term. Listed below is what I learn from my web search. This is from Dr. Suzanne Kemmer of Rice University.

A shibboleth is a kind of linguistic password: A way of speaking (a pronunciation, or the use of a particular expression) that identifies one as a member, or a non-member, of a particular group. The group has some kind of social power to set the standards for who belongs to the group: who is "in" and who is "out".

The purpose of a shibboleth is exclusionary as much as inclusionary: A person whose way of speaking violates a shibboleth is identified as an outsider and thereby excluded by the group. (This phenomenon is part of the "Judge a book by its cover" tendency apparently embedded in human cognition, and the use of language to distinguish social groups. The idea here is that some superficial characteristic is taken as a signal for how to view the person who has it--usually, "good" if the person is in the group, "bad" if the person is judged to be outside the group.)

The story behind the word is recorded in the biblical Book of Judges. The word shibboleth in ancient Hebrew dialects meant 'ear of grain' (or, some say, 'stream'). Some groups pronounced it with a sh sound, but speakers of related dialects pronounced it with an s.

In the story, two Semitic tribes, the Ephraimites and the Gileadites, have a great battle. The Gileadites defeat the Ephraimites, and set up a blockade to catch the fleeing Ephraimites. The sentries asked each person to say the word shibboleth. The Ephraimites, who had no sh sound in their language, pronounced the word with an s and were thereby unmasked as the enemy and slaughtered.

Here is the relevant excerpt from the Book of Judges. The full account is in Chapter 12, verses 1-15.


12, 4 Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.

5 And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, art thou an Ephraimite? If he say Nay;

6 Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words/shibboleth.html

Exciting News!

As part of a three person team for my friend's company, I will be happily attending

Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure @ Atlanta 09Nov09

We are glad to be able to participate in this program, both for the help in coding and for the perks involved:

"The Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows Azure will be held at Microsoft Technology Center, Atlanta, GA from Mon 11/09/2009 to Fri 11/13/2009. This event consists of ½ day of training, 3 ½ days of active prototype/development time, and a final day for packaging/finishing and reporting out to a panel of judges for various prizes."

FandomU, the aforementioned company that I'll be representing, is an innovative new social media network for fans who attend conventions, focusing on anime initially and moving into other realms. The networking aspect, links to conventions around the country, and collective marketplace will all serve to drive the business forward and create value.

More details about the competition can be found here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/sanjayjain/archive/2009/10/07/microsoft-bizspark-incubation-week-for-windows-azure-atlanta-09nov09.aspx

Yay!

~Jess~

CIS 8020 Assignment 2 SR International Student Population

As Georgia State University seeks to serve a globally diverse student population, it is important to tailor academic offerings to meet the demands of the international student body. In particular, language and culture specific offerings are an excellent way to both welcome incoming students, as well as provide a forum for existing students to maintain cultural ties.
In order to begin to develop such a program, the university would first have to determine the major student populations. Given limited resources, it would be important to also measure the percentage a specific student population composes of the entire international student community.
Using a Google API, you can graphically illustrate the composition of the international student body. You can break out the population geographically (by continent, country, or major cities) or by language (Spanish, Russian, Cantonese, or Hindi). In this hypothetical scenario, we will illustrate the five leading countries from which international students originate.



http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chs=700x280&chd=t:15,20,25,30,30&cht=p3&chtt=Student%20Profile&chl=France|Germany|Brazil|China|India&chco=FF0000,00FF00,0000FF,800080,FFFF00

The pie chart is much more representative of the student population than would be the case with a line or bar chart. By representing each given student demographic as a portion of the pie chart, the viewer can instantly understand the ratio of the given population, as it relates to the entire international student body. By extension, the pie chart can also serve to illustrate a “benchmark” for resource allocation, to ensure funds are spent in proportion to the given student population demographic.
A line chart would be more effective for illustrating trends in student population over a specified period of time. This would allow the viewer to see growth patterns, and potentially anticipate future student needs. Additionally, using a line chart, or a bar chart, would give the viewer the opportunity to graphically illustrate growth in comparison to spending. Ultimately, the selection of chart type is largely driven by intended purpose. The pie chart was selected to represent student demographics a point in time, whereas the line/bar chart would be more effective to show trends.

CIS 8020 Assignment 2 JM Google Calendar

The Company

MomoCon LLC is an Atlanta-based events company, featuring a large event in March held at Georgia Tech campus. In 2009, the convention welcomed 7200 people, all of whom did not pay for admission. Due to the free admission status, a new set of peripheral events has been created through momoconontour.com to attempt to build community and raise money to help the main event manage expenses.

The Challenge

MomoCon on Tour operates a separate website and about one event per month, most of which are local to the Atlanta area. These events are promoted on momoconontour.com, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and a host of other places. Google Calendar proves to be a great way for attendees to keep up with the upcoming events in a single location, moreso than other alternatives which are either one-event-at-a-time, or give no way to see previous event information (such as Facebook events, which are difficult to access after the event has passed). It can also be integrated to HTML emails and other formats in ordered to be utilized IN other alternative methods of advertising.

Below is a snippet from the MomoCon on Tour calendar, featuring both events throughout the rest of calendar year 2009 and MomoCon staff meetings, which are often poorly advertised but are very necessary for the continuation of the main event.

I can be a pessimist #3

Keeping today's short.

There is a difference between xhtml syntax, and xhtml being served as xml.

To be honest, 80% of developers don't need to know the difference, but probably 80% of those that do need to know the difference don't know the difference.
But if you have kept up with standards talk, xHTML 2.0 has been killed. Does that mean that xHTML is dead? No. The syntax of xhtml lives on as HTML 5.

I'm not the best person to describe what happened, but someone who is good at writing comics is...

Here is the first part of the comic, please click it to go to Smashing Magazine to read the rest of it.



Continue to rest of comic

The importance of data and information - a credit bureau love story

Picture it: 2009, Anytown, USA, Michael Morgan wants to buy a new car. Naturally, he would like to check up on his credit record and primary FICO score, so he takes advantage the two-a-year free credit report option and pulls his records.

OH NO!

Mike discovers that his student loans from Chase have been put on his credit report twice! His report shows that he owes thousands of dollars more than he took out for graduate school, and his address is incorrect to boot! The rage within Mike builds to the point where he feels it is necessary to call the credit bureau's help desk.

Mike: My report is incorrect!

Operator: Sir, you'll need to fax in form A-3 with two valid forms of ID to make any changes.

Mike: *rage* Why can't you just fix it over the phone?

Operator: I'm sorry sir....

Mike gets so intensely angry that he bursts an anyeurism and has to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

What did we learn?

Clean data saves lives! Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, but clean data does make a huge difference in certain circumstances. Our local credit bureau, lets call them Equi-Trans-Perian, houses 280 million credit files in the US alone, containing large amounts of data on each consumer: credit lines, installment loans, liens and collections, and a host of demographic data is separate databases that can be matched up to the credit data. Equi-Trans-Perian has been in business for over 100 years, all that time collecting data on consumers and businesses and adding it to the database on a gradual basis.

They've had to move from word-of-mouth from shop-keeps to paper-based records to an IBM mainframe, each time suffering from data input issues and incongruities. Everyday hundreds of thousands of pieces of data are reported to this 'fictional' company's technology office in Alpharetta from banks, credit card companies, repo firms, and other vendors, all of which have slightly different ways of cataloging their customers.

What does it all mean?

Huge amount of data +

incongruous systems of input +

many many years of changeovers in technology and data input =

MOUNDS of important, life-altering data that has inconsistencies!

Good thing for us, Equi-Trans-Perian is the industry leader in cleaning their data! They have systems in place to verify information, determine what level of verification is needed for certain types of customers, and even give the OPTION to different customers of how clean their data can be delivered!

Not to say that this system is perfect. The huge amount of data proves to be a challenge, and every time a new law goes into effect (such as the Vermont do-not-solicit law or a new law in a Northeast state involving cell phone numbers), the data needs to be verified in new ways. Technology changes with the times, and the beast of a database can't always keep up promptly, causing issues like the one that poor Mike experienced. You may not always think of clean data as a big problem or as a very important one, but it certainly can be.

Poor Mike.

(Don't hate your credit bureau so much, they have a lot to deal with!)

~Jess~