Big Data University

Big Data University:

Big Data University is an online educational site run by new and experienced Hadoop, Big Data and DB2 users who want to learn, contribute with course materials, or look for job opportunities.

The site includes free and fee-based courses delivered by experienced professionals and teachers.

Big Data University is hosted on the Cloud, and is run by a group of enthusiasts from around the world. They useMoodle 2 course management system enabled to run on DB2.

The Social Conquest of Earth @ The Long Now

Edward O. Wilson: The Social Conquest of Earth - The Long Now:

"The real creation story
“History makes no sense without prehistory,“ Wilson declared,
“and prehistory makes no sense without biology.”
...
“The term ‘eusocial,’“ Wilson said, “means a society based in part on a division of labor,
in which individuals act altruistically, that covers two or more generations,
and that cares for young cooperatively.”
...
We love joining groups, and we became geniuses at reading the intentions of each other, a skill we fine-tune incessantly with our enjoyment of gossip. In another distinctively human trait, like ants, we became highly adept at collaborative warfare.
...
“multi-level selection,” where individual selection and group selection proceed together (with kin selection a continuing bit player). In our eusocial species, that mix of traits makes us “permanently unstable, permanently conflicted” between selfish impulses and cooperative impulses. We negotiate these conflicts endlessly within ourselves and with each other. Wilson sees inherent adaptive value in that constant negotiation. Our vibrant cultural life may be driven in part by it.

@Wikipedia

Home Page (Biodiversity)

Life on Earth, iPad Textbook presented on Apple Keynote

Facebook IPO Week

Facebook IPO Week: The Basics | News & Opinion | PCMag.com


Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has renounced his U.S. citizenship, a move that finance watchers consider a creative tactic for avoiding the estimated $1 billion or so in taxes that Saverin could otherwise owe come Facebook IPO time. Saverin owns an estimated four percent of Facebook, which could be worth around $4 billion once the company goes public.

AI Siri: Lumia 900 better than iPhone

Need to be careful with AI assistants, quality of data is not always guaranteed...

Siri Says Nokia Lumia 900, Not Apple iPhone, Is The Best Smartphone Ever | PCWorld


Siri uses Wolfram Alpha, which answers questions based on sets of data maintained by the company’s researchers. When it comes to smartphones, somebody at the company must be asleep at the wheel. Lumia 900‘s high rating is based on just five reviews of the device, all of which give the phone five stars.

Wolfram’s list of smartphone reviews boggles the mind in what it calls “the best smartphones,” though: HP’s TouchPad tablet comes in third (it’s not even a phone!)