Can IBM build a more intelligent search engine than Google? Probably not, but IBM’s Watson computer appears much more capable than Google's search engine. Though the data analyzed and processed are primarily for a game of trivia, the impressive performance thus far by Watson cannot be underestimated.
If Google's search engine is the best we (engineers) can do for searching digital data for answerers to common and repeated questions, then we are way behind the curve, and Watson could prove insightful into where Google (or a more creative, intelligent startup) should be heading with data analysis and search.
This quote is from the Technology page on the instructure.com website, "In the 1990’s it was Java and in the 2000’s it was PHP and .NET. The platform for Web 2.0 and beyond is Ruby."
Is PHP really considered old technology? FaceBook and a ton of other new and relatively new startups, including fflick.com use PHP. I am working on a startup and I certainly want to stay ahead of the curve with the latest technology; I have decided on PHP—because I am most proficient with this over the others. I know Ruby is like the hot, new girl right now, but that does not necessarily make PHP and Java old technologies. Am I wrong? Must I go after the hot new girl to keep my mojo?
I posted a link that I am hiring a few weeks ago, and not only did I get a lot of hits, but I also got a lot of great resumes; some of the best resumes I have ever seen.
I was planning to bootstrap my new startup I have in the works, but now I think I will apply to be among the next batch of startups to be funded by Y Combinator. I just woke up to this news, and what a lovely start to my day.
This is a sad day for all programmers, and also for those who have been molested in any way. I cannot honestly understand the true pain he must have felt, but I believe his pain was unlike anything most of us can understand.
What was most telling was his utter disgust for his parents, to the extent he loathed them even more than he loathed the person who molested him and caused darkness to reign over his life. And most ironic is that his parents believed abandoning him for the love of God was in their and his best interest. I am a Christian, and it sickens me what they have done because of what they believed as him not being "saved."
I want to believe him, that he took his life because of the "darkness" in his life, resulting from being molested as a child. But I am still puzzled that he never spoke a word of disgust about the person who molested him. This was shocking, considering he laid into his friends who couldn't keep a secret, he mercilessly criticized his parents, yet never mention a bad word about the molester, only the "darkness."
Unless, and this might be huge, the "darkness" is his father. He said his mother loves him at one point, but he never said a good word about his dad. He only criticized his father (while criticizing both parents). I am beginning to think his father is the one who molested him, considering everything in his letter.
The letter was very important, because it allows the reader to carefully study and try to understand what might have caused this young man to take his own life. Though being molested caused him much trouble and "darkness" throughout his life, I believe his parents are partly to be blame for his mindful decline into frightful and terrifying non-existence. And the big secret in his letter is probably that his father molested him.
If Google's search engine is the best we (engineers) can do for searching digital data for answerers to common and repeated questions, then we are way behind the curve, and Watson could prove insightful into where Google (or a more creative, intelligent startup) should be heading with data analysis and search.