Don't try to convince me that there is anything fundamental going on here beyond sparce matrix distance metric theory.
Is the data distributed the same way? Does it represent a random process or not? Do users generate the same number of selections in the domains? Are there orders of magnitude more objects to recommend in one domain than in the other?
Are the rules that a user follows for deciding whether two things are similar or not the same in the two domains?
All these factors, and more, come into play. So no, it's not a one-size-fits-all world.
To put it another way, your algorithm to pick the right move in a game of poker is not guaranteed to pick the right move in a game of blackjack.
I created one of Amazon's collaborative filtering systems (not the shopping cart one, the other big one). In my opinion, a collaborative filtering system in a domain like dating is unlikely to take away from a patent for collaborative filtering in an area like shopping.
Why? Because while you may have similar sources of data in both areas, namely personal profiles or "shopping" transactions, there is no guarantee that the data has the same properties in these different domains, and so there is no guarantee that the same algorithm will work in the two domains.
And without this guarantee, it is not necessarily "obvious to a practioner in the field" that one would overlap the other.
The TLS Model 2000 uses interferometric techniques to determine the location of a signal that is being carried over a satellite transponder. This method is totally passive and requires only that the TLS site be in the transponder "footprint" of both the interfered satellite and an adjacent satellite that has a transponder closely matching the characteristics of the interfered transponder.
--Pat
Re:Know why Linux will fail on the desktop?
on
Linux on the Desktop
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
IdleTime writes:
I would really love to see the list of programs needed for Linux in order to be a valid alternative to Windows on the Desktop. As far as I know, there are none!
You're right. It's not the apps that are the problem. It's that most PCs come with Windows pre-installed.
Walmart selling Lindows PCs is the biggest threat to Microsoft's home market. If other stores join in, millions of ordinary users will enter the Linux world - without really knowing or caring (or needing to).
--Pat
Re:Know why Linux will fail on the desktop?
on
Linux on the Desktop
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
Mod parent as insightful, not flamebait. The poster is saying the following:
If Windows users don't switch to competing apps on their current OS, then how can we expect them to switch both applications and operating systems?
It's an autopilot that cannot be disabled. I'm sure pilots will love giving complete trust to a system that could become corrupt in mid-flight, and that has authority over their decisions.
What happens when they need to make an emergency landing and there's a "soft wall" around the best landing spot?
I'm sorry, I still have a hard time figuring out who Lindows is aimed at. It seems like J. Random User is going to be far more comfortable with Win*, and stay there.
J Random User is equally unfamiliar with all operating systems and doesn't care which one the computer is running. For these users, the browser is "the internet." They don't care about the control panel or the command line.
I have a 700MHz PIII with 384M RAM and it runs everything an ordinary user would want. It's even decent for simple photo and video editing and mp3 ripping.
Anyway, Frankel has little to complain about. Nullsoft was bought out for almost 86M$. For that much money, he'll never have to code, err, express himself ever again.
The compelling desire to express yourself doesn't always end when you make money.
The Nullsoft folks sound like they made money because they had the drive to express themselves in a heartfelt way - resulting in compelling, well written applications.
In related news, AOL asserts ownership over Mozilla, claiming it was inadvertently released under the Mozilla Public License.
Here's what I think happened. Nullsoft releases WASTE under GPL. An AOL lawyer's sphincter then tightly grips the faux-leather seat as the lawyer realizes that this opens them up to RIAA/MPAA lawsuits. They then say "oops, we didn't mean it! Give it back!" But it's too late
What many of the posters are missing is that it DOES NOT MATTER whether the Nullsoft employee had the right or not to release the code. This is irrelevant. What matters is whether the people who downloaded it had a reasonable expectation that they were getting software with a legitimate copyright.
When you download software from the company's own website, you have a reasonable expectation that they know what they are doing. And when that company has a history of releasing free GPL software, and it puts a valid GPL-style copyright notice in every single source file, that reinforces this.
So, AOL, whether they now wish it or not, did release WASTE under GPL. They may have a valid bone to pick with the employee, but that's an matter between those two parties and has no significance for the rest of us.
You should look at MozDev - there's a furious amount of development going on for extensions and plugins to the basic browser. It's amazing, and something I haven't seen in the IE community since the dot-com money went away.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
FVWM stands for ... from the FAQ
on
fvwm Turns Ten
·
· Score: 4, Informative
A: "Fill_in_the_blank_with_whatever_f_word_you_like_a t_the_time
Virtual Window Manager". Rob Nation (the original Author of FVWM)
doesn't really remember what the F stood for originally, so we
have several potential answers:...
I tried the Windows client on Windows 2000. I used an passphrase with letters, numbers, and punctuation. I was unable to connect to another user on my local network.
We exchanged keys via the cut and paste method, rather than sending files. So both of us had the other's public key. But the clients didn't want to talk to each other.
Q: I don't want you stealing my bandwidth! How can I stop it from uploading?
A: You could hack the source to not upload, but then your download rate would suck. BitTorrent downloaders engage in tit-for-tat with their peers, so leeches have very little success downloading.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
What are the odds that Ogg will replace mp3?
on
Ogg Now An RFC
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
What are the odds that Ogg will replace mp3 as the standard format for music?
I'm curious what folks here think it would take for consumers to think of Ogg as the normal, expected format for audio.
Slashdot Mirror
Are the rules that a user follows for deciding whether two things are similar or not the same in the two domains?
All these factors, and more, come into play. So no, it's not a one-size-fits-all world.
To put it another way, your algorithm to pick the right move in a game of poker is not guaranteed to pick the right move in a game of blackjack.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
Why? Because while you may have similar sources of data in both areas, namely personal profiles or "shopping" transactions, there is no guarantee that the data has the same properties in these different domains, and so there is no guarantee that the same algorithm will work in the two domains.
And without this guarantee, it is not necessarily "obvious to a practioner in the field" that one would overlap the other.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
Here's TLS's website. They talk about how they do it.
http://www.tls2000.com/Site/Equip.html
--PatYou're right. It's not the apps that are the problem. It's that most PCs come with Windows pre-installed.
Walmart selling Lindows PCs is the biggest threat to Microsoft's home market. If other stores join in, millions of ordinary users will enter the Linux world - without really knowing or caring (or needing to).
--Pat
If Windows users don't switch to competing apps on their current OS, then how can we expect them to switch both applications and operating systems?
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
Analog cell is unencrypted in the US. Perhaps this is what you were picking up. --Pat
What happens when they need to make an emergency landing and there's a "soft wall" around the best landing spot?
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
No, what am I thinking. it can't be unemployment leading to lower sales.
--Pat
--Pat
Find me a person who packs those speakers in their luggage, and I might believe there's a market for a portable DVD player with Dolby 5.1.
--Pat
J Random User is equally unfamiliar with all operating systems and doesn't care which one the computer is running. For these users, the browser is "the internet." They don't care about the control panel or the command line.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
I have a 700MHz PIII with 384M RAM and it runs everything an ordinary user would want. It's even decent for simple photo and video editing and mp3 ripping.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
--Pat
HannibalLecter: With some fava beans and a nice chianti.
--Pat
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
--Pat
--Pat
Anyway, Frankel has little to complain about. Nullsoft was bought out for almost 86M$. For that much money, he'll never have to code, err, express himself ever again.
The compelling desire to express yourself doesn't always end when you make money.
The Nullsoft folks sound like they made money because they had the drive to express themselves in a heartfelt way - resulting in compelling, well written applications.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
In related news, AOL asserts ownership over Mozilla, claiming it was inadvertently released under the Mozilla Public License.
Here's what I think happened. Nullsoft releases WASTE under GPL. An AOL lawyer's sphincter then tightly grips the faux-leather seat as the lawyer realizes that this opens them up to RIAA/MPAA lawsuits. They then say "oops, we didn't mean it! Give it back!" But it's too late
What many of the posters are missing is that it DOES NOT MATTER whether the Nullsoft employee had the right or not to release the code. This is irrelevant. What matters is whether the people who downloaded it had a reasonable expectation that they were getting software with a legitimate copyright.
When you download software from the company's own website, you have a reasonable expectation that they know what they are doing. And when that company has a history of releasing free GPL software, and it puts a valid GPL-style copyright notice in every single source file, that reinforces this.
So, AOL, whether they now wish it or not, did release WASTE under GPL. They may have a valid bone to pick with the employee, but that's an matter between those two parties and has no significance for the rest of us.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
You should look at MozDev - there's a furious amount of development going on for extensions and plugins to the basic browser. It's amazing, and something I haven't seen in the IE community since the dot-com money went away.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
I tried the Windows client on Windows 2000. I used an passphrase with letters, numbers, and punctuation. I was unable to connect to another user on my local network.
We exchanged keys via the cut and paste method, rather than sending files. So both of us had the other's public key. But the clients didn't want to talk to each other.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
BitTorrent enforces balanced downloads. If you are on an asynchronous line, expect to see download rates no greater than your upload rate.
Here's the relevant section from the BitTorrent FAQ:
Q: I don't want you stealing my bandwidth! How can I stop it from uploading?
A: You could hack the source to not upload, but then your download rate would suck. BitTorrent downloaders engage in tit-for-tat with their peers, so leeches have very little success downloading.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu
I'm curious what folks here think it would take for consumers to think of Ogg as the normal, expected format for audio.
--Pat / zippy@cs.brandeis.edu