I wanted to clear up a ton of misconceptions that people have when it comes to hard drives and disk space. And I am sure that everything in this video is 100% correct, and if you will never be able to convince me otherwise so don’t even try to tell me I’m wrong. Like me on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com Check out my website www.thiojoe.com Proof www.wolframalpha.com
Gartner Research’s Hype Cycle diagram (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Last week, a Gartner research director proclaimed that big data is entering the trough of disillusionment. How tiresome!
What the hype cycle describes is the bored tech news media. Big data was last year’s celebrity, now it’s the whipping boy for oversold Hadoop solutions, and next year it will fade into being an accepted part of tech news life.
It’s important to understand the hype cycle for what it is. At best, the hype cycle is common sense dressed in a dark suit. To focus on the froth of tech news is a distraction from making appropriate choices for your business. You get value when you treat big data as a business problem, not an IT one. In a world where IT must be integrated with business leadership, the tech analyst industry sits strangely apart, taking a vendor and product-focused view of the world.
So where is big data? I’ve written elsewhere on the issues businesses will tackle in 2013, but in short the general sentiment is that it’s early days. No surprise. We’re taking baby steps.
The value in big data that has everyone excited is about smart use of data: using data for better resource management, improve your product or to create new businesses. For most of us, who don’t have the luxury of a green field, that means the first thing to do is getting at that data in the first place.
This is a hard problem, involving tying together different systems and liberating data from silos. The technical side of the project can prove less difficult than the logistical and political side. Only when you’ve collected the data can you start to get value from it. And then it gets hard again, as you need to ask the right questions.
If you bought Hadoop because you thought some magic would happen to bring all your data together, then here’s some advice: stop reading the news media and pay more attention to the goals of the business and flow of data in your organization.
Every time I speak with people who’ve had successful big data projects, the advice is always the same: start with understanding the problem you’re trying to solve. The way you solve that problem won’t just be about the tools, it will also be about business process, employee perceptions and incentives, and organizational change.
It’s entertaining to watch the ebb and flow of the tech news media, but we shouldn’t be led by it.
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Among the major indexes, the Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC ) saw the biggest swoon today, falling .60%. The biggest blame for the indexes’ fall was Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) , which fell 1.33% after “disappointing” opening weekend iPhone sales. The company sold 5 million iPhone 5s since the phone went on sale in nine countries Friday, but optimistic Wall Street estimates had hoped for up to 8 million sales.
If you’re disappointed by the results, don’t be. While Wall Street was hoping for more iPhone sales, the opening weekend shipments of iPhones were largely sold out, and the larger issue appears to be on the supply side. There have been widespread reports that new display technologies have slowed the rapid build needed to meet pre-order demands.
However, while concerns about the iPhone’s launch weekend may have been exaggerated today, that’s not uncommon in the technology space. Plenty of companies see outsized pops and drops as news trickles out and investors overreact. Let’s look at a couple of tech companies in the news today, and see whether their pops and drops make sense.
Soaring: Rambus a legal victor?
Rambus (Nasdaq: RMBS ) shares were up 18% today following a ruling in its continuing case against SK Hynix. That rise could be puzzling, because the company was also found to have destroyed documents. However, with Rambus now only worth about $640 million after today’s jump, any positives can move the share price higher. So, even with the court case seemingly split between Hynix and Rambus, the possibility that Hynix will now have to pay Rambus licensing fees is a positive for a stock that has little in the way of positive outcomes baked into it.
Dropping: Facebook swoons
Facebook (Nasdaq: FB ) was down was down 9.1% today on seemingly no news. What gives? Blame an article from Barron’s over the weekend. The cover story was titled “Still Too Pricey,” and posited that Facebook’s fair value might be worth as little as $15 per share.
Is the sell-off deserved? From the perspective of the article, I’d say the answer is a definite “no.” The Barron’s article says Facebook shares are worth “perhaps only $15.” That’s hardly a concrete number, and one that comes with little justification aside from that being the lowest price target on Wall Street.
One reason that the article could be having such an outsized reaction is it correctly cites Facebook’s market capitalization at $61 billion, more than the $45 billion figure quoted on most financial sites. The discrepancy in valuation comes because sites are incorrectly counting Facebook’s diluted share count from its vast option grants. With many investors having an incorrect gauge of just how much they’re paying for Facebook, it looks even more expensive when factoring in its correct share count.
While I don’t feel that the article offers a compelling enough bear call on Facebook to move the shares, there is little doubt the company remains expensive. With continuing lock-ups on Facebook shares expiring in coming months, and its growth decelerating, I’ll be staying away from the company at today’s prices.
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If Illinois football needs some good news after a 52-24 loss to Louisiana Tech Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, it comes by entering Big Ten play next week.
Suffering from a bruised reputation after the season’s first two weeks and made worse by another forgettable day on the scoreboard earlier in the day, the Big Ten has turned into the Big Easy.
The bad news? The Illini have done nothing to build anyone’s confidence, after Louisiana Tech turned a 7-0 deficit into the Illini’s second blowout loss in four games and left a chill on the first night of fall. Remember, the Illini already used their mulligan in a 31-point loss in the desert to Arizona State two weeks ago.
“There’s a long way to go, no question,” Illinois coach Tim Beckman said. “If you turn the football over six times and they score it easy like they did, it’s inexcusable.
“I know Illini fans feel the same as we do.”
Illinois (2-2) hosts Penn State next Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN). The Illini say their goals are still ahead of them, but the visibility after two losses left them hard to see. Where the Illini go from here will be interesting.
“We’re just trying to stay positive,” said Illini defensive end Michael Buchanan. “We’re four games into the season. We’ve got a lot of football left to play.”
Heading into the season, Illinois figured to build its hopes around three-year starting quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase and a defense considered the team’s strength. But after the Illini fell behind 21-7 in the first quarter, Illinois juggled the playing time at quarterback and faced another regroup on defense.
Scheelhaase found himself back on the sidelines, and it had little to do with an injury. Back after missing two games with a sprained ankle, Scheelhaase returned to the bench after throwing an interception and losing a fumble in the first quarter.
“He looked rusty early,” Beckman said. “We weren’t moving the ball. We decided as a coach staff that we’d give Reilly an opportunity to move the ball.”
Scheelhaase wasn’t 100 percent, he said, but the results got him yanked.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the NFL, college football or Little League, it comes down to execution,” Scheelhaase said.
Sophomore quarterback Reilly O’Toole took over the position, playing for nearly all of the final three quarters. O’Toole guided the Illini on a 13-play, 57-yard drive for a touchdown to climb within 21-17 late in the first half but didn’t get anything going in a decisive third quarter. Third-stringer Miles Osei logged two plays in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the Illini defense gave up touchdown passes of 78 and 21 yards on Louisiana Tech’s first two possessions of the second half, turning a 21-17 halftime score into a runaway.
The crowd was only slightly bigger than the previous week and short of the 46,539 announced. No matter the size of the crowd, it’s hard to imagine anybody in orange heading for home and making for a New Year’s Day bowl trip.
This always looked like a challenging game. The Bulldogs entered as the defending WAC champs and the preseason favorites. For $775,000, the Illini gave themselves the right to play the best team in a non-AQ league. Louisiana Tech stretched the nation’s third-longest regular-season winning streak to 10 games while improving to 3-0.
“Illinois is going to have a good football team, but they were a little unsettled at quarterback tonight,” Louisiana Tech coach Sonny Dykes said.
Illinois took a 7-0 lead on a 18-yard pass from Scheelhaase to Ryan Lankford, who reached back to catch the ball thrown well behind him. The two-play, 18-yard drive was set up when Buchanan sacked quarterback Colby Cameron and forced a fumble.
ILLINI ITEMS: Illinois played without center Graham Pocic, wide receiver Darius Millines and linebacker Houston Bates. Tackle Hugh Thornton didn’t play in the second half. … After putting up 56 points in each of its first two games, Louisiana Tech scored 45 points in three consecutive games for the first time in school history.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.Follow him on Twitter @JohnSupinie.
By LARRY O’DELL
Associated Press
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Austin Peay knew playing at No. 15 Virginia Tech was a tall order, and somehow the Governors came away feeling good about their performance despite a lopsided final score.
Given little chance of replicating the upset fellow FCS member James Madison handed the Hokies two years ago, the Governors hung around early with some gritty defense before falling prey to that old Virginia Tech tradition: momentum-seizing special teams play.
The Hokies (2-0) had a 46-yard punt return and blocked a punt to set up their first two touchdowns, overcoming a slow start for a 42-7 win Saturday.
“We knew coming in we had to do everything right,” Austin Peay coach Rick Christophel said. “When you don’t do things right on special teams and you give up some big plays, you’re going to have some problems.”
Still, he was happy with the way his team performed on the big stage.
“We really, really played hard,” Christophel said. “I told them after the game I was as proud of them as any team here at Austin Peay because of the way that we fought all the way to the end.”
Governors defensive end Earnest Smith said there was nothing mysterious about how the team kept it close for a half.
“The defense, we just attacked, we played physical,” he said.
The Hokies were impressed.
“I think they were a lot better than I thought,” said Virginia Tech linebacker Jack Tyler. “It’s college football. Everyone’s good. You can’t take a week off.”
Said Hokies coach Frank Beamer: “I compliment Austin Peay. They came in here and their guys played hard and played to the end.”
Virginia Tech was playing its second game in less than a week – the same scenario as in 2010, when the Hokies were shocked by James Madison – and it showed.
“It is just a hard week and was just a tough game against Georgia Tech,” said Beamer, who added that he condensed the team’s practices after the season-opening overtime win. “We tried to get our health back and it is just not easy playing two football games that quickly.”
Tyler said the Hokies were still feeling the effects of Monday night’s game.
“Our bodies are a little banged up with the short week,” he said.
But it wasn’t Tyler and his defensive mates who had to shake the cobwebs, it was the offense. The Hokies couldn’t get much going early – but neither could the Governors (0-2).
It took the big plays in the punting game to set up touchdown runs of 2 yards by Michael Holmes and 1 yard by quarterback Logan Thomas. Then the offense came to life, putting together touchdown drives of 71 and 80 yards on their next two possessions to take control.
The Governors had offensive struggles of their own, but they did put together an impressive six-play, 78-yard drive in the third quarter to extend their string of consecutive games without being shut out to 75. Wesley Kitts had a 32-yard run on the drive to go over 100 yards for the second consecutive week – he finished with 110 yards on 22 carries – and Terrence Oliver scored on an 8-yard run.
Virginia Tech promptly reasserted control, though, with a 72-yard drive capped by Thomas’ 13-yard pass to Randall Dunn to make it 35-7, and by late in the third period Thomas was done for the day. He finished 15 of 23 for 212 yards.
The Hokies undoubtedly would have liked to get more out of their running game against an overmatched opponent. The Hokies are looking for someone to replace first-round draft pick David Wilson, but the duo of J.C. Coleman and Michael Holmes couldn’t find much running room against the Governors – especially early. Holmes finished with 40 yards, Coleman with 29.
The 260-pound Thomas usually is one of the Hokies’ biggest rushing threats, but that wasn’t the case Saturday as Virginia Tech focused on trying to get the tailbacks going. They fared a little better late, as the Governors began to wear down against the bigger and deeper Hokies, who finished with 419 total yards, 187 on the ground.
Thomas threw a 30-yard TD pass to Corey Fuller, and Tony Gregory had an 18-yard touchdown run for the Hokies.
After completing just 2 of 10 passes for 11 yards in the season opener, Austin Peay quarterback Jake Ryan fared only marginally better against the Hokies. He finished 8 of 21 for 62 yards and was intercepted twice, including a pick in the end zone by Kyle Fuller.
The Governors finished with 221 total yards.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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