Thursday, December 27, 2007

A good resource on statistical data mining

Lately I got myself interested in statistical data mining. I think there's a huge potential in this area which combines mathematics and algorithms. We have exabytes of information in various digital forms and the amount of information doubles roughly every 3 years. This demands us to find new models and algorithms to efficiently and accurately extract useful/relevant information from this vast repository. This is where data mining techniques come into play. I found the set of lecture notes by Andrew Moore to be very useful to get the basic concepts right. I like the simplicity in which he unfolds each lesson.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

McAfee Annual Criminology Report is Out

Not to mention that cybercrimes are on the increase and no one, including you and me, is safe from these mounting threats. McAfee provides an in-depth analysis of the $subject in their annual report.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Overcoming the social stereotypes attached to the disabled

While I was browsing through local news papers, this article caught my attention. It's about people who are not fortunate enough to have gifted with a normal life like me or possibly you, yet they strive to create a better world not only for them but also for others suffering from poverty or disabilities.

It was about Sri kanth, born with dwarfism (a condition that hiders normal mobility and dexterity), who has overcome all odds to be successful in the IT industry.

Some links:
http://www.nanasala.org/ : Sri Kanth and his siblings (who were also born with the same condition) started the Koslanda nanasala
http://www.hcdg.org/ : The group they created for hill-country differently-abled people (The heading of the web site caught my eyes: Some need to succeed in order to belong...some need to belong in order to succeed)
http://www.tcf.lk/ : Sri Kanth initiated and leads the Uva Province Telecentre Family
http://www.beepeeo.com : Sri Kanth's latest venture.

It's time we realize the disabled are differently-abled people!

(Locations and some words used here are related to Sri Lanka - my sweet home)