Open source trumps closed access
The comparison between an open source collaborative recommender system and a closed access research effort is revealing – the open source project is already implementing production grade systems and the closed source research project can allow us to read their article for a fee. The Apache Mahout/Taste version 0.1 open source software project is being […]
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: The DoJ and SEC Are Coming
There is compliance to industry regulation like PCI DSS 1.2 which is aimed at consumer protection and then there is compliance to government regulation like the FCPA which is aimed at maintaining a high ethical level of behavior and ensuring a level playing field of business. For a large global company like Monsanto, Merck or […]
Data discovery and organization
The problem is that you know where you start, you don’t know where you finish and you will always have trouble organizing the useful references you collect on the way. After a call with a client, I started investigating how to provide high value scientific data in a social network for doctors and medical representatives […]
Open Access publishing
The GM of a prospect recently asked me how to control disclosure of internal research documents prior to publication. It had come as a revelation to him that anyone can post on a blog without permission from a central secretariat. I asked him how they control face-to-face information exchange with colleagues or competitors outside the […]
Postgresql 8.4 or MySQL
MySQL now belongs to Oracle – Oracle’s track record on keeping acquisitions alive is mixed. If you want a real database that is extremely Oracle compliant (PLpgSQL is very close to PL/SQL) look no further than then harder (more secure), better, faster Postgresql 8.4 the world’s most advanced Open Source database. Using the new […]
BizSpark
I just got an invite to Bizspark from thefunded.com “Microsoft® BizSpark™ is a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups by providing key resources “; basically free development software and a hook into a community of potential investors. A lot of the comments on techcrunch were of a religious nature, calling […]
Social networks, not branded networks
Apparently people in a social network like Facebook don’t mind the ads but they would not join a branded group according to this article Social network users reluctant to join branded groups Less than one third of social network users would be willing to join a brand’s group even with the offer of exclusive or […]
Sex and science fiction
Back in 6th grade when I read my very first SciFi book – Have Space Suit, Will travel (Robert Heinlein) – I don’t think I was aware of the potential in combining sex and science fiction. But In 1955, Isaac Asimov wrote “The Portable Star“, a story he considered so bad, so sexy, that he […]
A great year for data thieves
The Verizon Business Report on data breaches 2009 was released – the data breach investigations report headlines with 285 million data records breached in 2008: 91% of attackers were organized crime 74% of attacks by malicious outsiders 67% of vulnerabilities due to system defects 32% implicated business partners The report must be particularly disturbing to […]
Changes in pharma sales
Poland is leading the way in Europe with a new law enacted as of December 1, 2008 that prohibits medical representatives from visiting doctors during business hours. Reps are a good source of spoon-fed science for docs, not to mention the free samples and perks at conferences. However – over 90,000 doctors in Poland have […]
