Neural Networks for Poker?!

http://www.pokerbot-smart.com/

Clicking on the link above will bring you to a website for Smart Poker Bot. This is an automated bot that is designed to play poker games online. The application collects information from many sources in order to increase your chances of winning. It takes into consideration the hand that you have, the cards on the table, your table position, and the actions of the other players. All the data is combined and stored in a neural network that predicts the hand strengths of your opponents.

Being able to know the strength of the players, you can play the game better. You can then decide how much to bid and how much you are willing to risk based on the provided information. The application makes real-time adjustments with each action taken during the game. When it is your turn to make a move, you have the most accurate information available to help you win (or cheat) in online poker.

You can leave the bot to play for you on its own. The advanced poker software can make human decisions based on the playing style of the user.

You can click on the software screen shots on the website to get a better understanding of how the application works. There are also videos on YouTube that show the application in process.

Microsoft Surface Demo for Patient Consultation

This video shows the introduction of a Microsoft service application made for the healthcare industry. It is an interactive, multi-touch screen application that helps doctors explain complex medical procedures to patients. It also is a way for patients to communicate important information to their doctors.

Both patients and doctors just need to place their healthcare card on the surface, and the application recognizes who they are and information about them. When doctors log on, they are given choices such as test results, reports, etc. When the patient logs on, they have choices such as x-rays, prescriptions, family history, etc. On the screen there is a display of the human body which can be altered to look at the different systems. Doctors and patients can work together to share and talk about x-rays. The doctor can magnify pictures, show videos, and use the human body to help explain procedures.

This is a great idea. The touch screen is fascinating and the ability of the cards to recognize the users and provide the correct information is great. I am only concerned with the privacy issue. Although the patient’s information is in a secure system called Health Vault, I am concerned about losing the card. Maybe they will advance it to fingerprints along with the card. Anyway, this is a great advancement and can help clarify certain procedures.

The Semantic Web

This is a great video that shows an introduction to the semantic web. It reminds me of the recommended video on the syllabus about the history of BI. Both videos are very easy to understand and have a light, comical feel to them.

The video clearly explains the difference between semantics and syntax. Syntax is how you say something and semantics is the meaning. The difference between these terms plays a big role in the current limitation of the web. The internet let users communicate with each other and exchange information. The World Wide Web led to quick and easy retrieval of documents and the html language. The problem was that the computers only understood the html language and just mimicked the info for retrieval. The computers could not realize the syntax (or the meaning) of the information being presented.

The semantic web helps computers understand the meanings of things on the web. They can also learn relationships between items. This helps the end user because if the computer can understand the meaning of what you are looking for, it won’t have to rely completely on key words to search for it. If it can understand what you looking for, the web and search engines can be more beneficial and successful in finding the best information. This can greatly save time for the end-user.

Reducing Information Overlaod with Text Mining

KnewCo is a company that has recognized the information overload on the web and has developed a platform with multiple applications that enables a leap in knowledge development. KnewCo recognized that the redundancy, inaccuracy, and blur of information on the web is the barrier to innovation and discovery.

The platform, The Concept Web, uses the process power of computers and the creative power of humans. It can distinguish between facts and statements and even recognize concepts. Once a concept is recognized, the platform assigns each a unique identifier and then builds a comprehensive view around each one. The platform also applies advanced algorithms to show predictive relationships between concepts. The ultimate goal of this company is to be able to provide a unique identifier for every concept in every language.

Once the relationships are formed, the platform can help with the information overload. The units of related concepts are called Knowlets. They show the changing the relationships between each concept. The advantage of the Knowlets is that when you search for a particular item, it will provide you with links for the most current knowledge on the topic. That way, you don’t have to sort through multiple sources when trying to find the most recent information on a topic.

KnewCo has many other applications that help with controlling the information you receive on the web. This platform is great in managing the knowledge of the exponential and uncontrollable expansion of the information on the web.

Data-Mining for Fingerprint Identification

This video explains how fingerprinting could use an upgrade to data mining technologies. A UC Davis law professor says that the reliability of fingerprint identification has declined while the population of the world continues to grow at a fast rate. The uses of digital cameras are a great upgrade, but they capture fewer details then the old traditional cameras. He suggests the use of data mining to go through the fingerprint collections to find patterns and correlations. This would enable workers to refine the objective criteria so that the computers could better identify the prints.

Tony Doonan, a state fingerprinting specialist, believes that there are only few mistakes in accurately identifying fingerprints. Failing to match prints is not because of the camera, but because of human error when taking the prints.

While it may be human error, I believe the use of data mining could help them make matches quicker, or at least be able to narrow done suspects more accurately. This is an interesting topic. I’m not entirely sure how the system works, but I do know that sorting and analyzing billions of fingerprints could benefit from the use of data mining.

Microsoft MapPoint: Geographic Cluster

This blog shows an example of a cluster analysis for data mining. Microsoft MapPoint is a program that can allow users to plot locations of objects and events. Although this program is not meant for cluster analysis, it can be used for that purpose. You just plug the location addresses into the program, and plotted screen can help you see possible relationships.

The example map provided shows John Snow’s famous map of the 1854 Broad Street Cholera Outbreak in London. By plotting the outbreaks, John was able to identify that the outbreak was centered around a specific water pump. The outbreak almost ended immediately when John realized this and removed the handle off that pump.

Businesses can now use this program for other business benefits. One example would be to analyze customer locations. If you find a pattern in the location of customers, you can use that cluster information to investigate why, focus marketing in that area, and identify future markets with the same characteristics.

The program lets you use different symbols and colors for plotting different items. Businesses could also use the cluster analysis to plot delivery times at different locations. This would enable businesses to better estimate shipping times for customers. This would result in better customer satisfaction.

http://www.mapping-tools.com/info/samples/5_cluster.shtml

Coral Reefs: GIS Example

A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer-based system that captures, stores, analyzes, and displays geographically referenced data by using digitized maps. I was a little confused on what kinds of companies would use this type of system, so I searched for an example. I found a coral reef company that used a GIS in order to determine a selection for MPA’s (Marine Protected Areas). The GIS was based on a variety of factors that enhance resilience to coral bleaching.

You can view a series of GIS maps that they used by clicking on the link http://www.reefresilience.org/pdf/coral_gis.pdf. Each screen shows an added factor that helped them determine the MPA. The factors include biodiversity value, physical factors, strong coral recruitment, and connectivity. All the data was combined and overlaid in order to enable managers to identify sites with the greatest potential to survive a bleaching event.

Data Visualization: Job Losses

I was trying to find an example of data visualization with a current issue that could show the importance of this technology. I came across an interesting link titled “Data Visualization: Job Losses” by Daniel Lubetzky. http://tipstrategies.com/archive/geography-of-jobs/#map-highlights

If you click on the link, you can see an interactive video that shows the amount of job losses and gains from 2004 to present day on a map of the US. Green and red dots represent the change in amount of jobs in each location. You can either click the play button, which slowly brings you through the years, or you can move the cursor to a certain time period. You can also move the cursor over a location and it will identify the location and the amount of change in employment.

Looking at this interactive video, it gives a real sense of how much of an impact data visualization can make. When looking at data simply on white paper, you do not interpret the information the same way. The video has taken data of the number of jobs in different locations at different times. Looking at the graphs for each year really gives you a sense of how the economy is doing. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit, you can see a massive amount of jobs loss. Looking at the middle of 2008, you can really start to see the number of jobs decrease as the economy really started to fall. The present day picture is the hardest to swallow. To see those huge red circles all over the US really puts into perspective the current economic situation.

Business Intelligence on the iPhone

I keep hearing on the TV about the iPhones and the famous new quote “there’s an app for that”. When looking up articles, I came across this one title “Business Intelligence on the iPhone” by David Linthicum.

There is a new app out for the iPhone called RoamBi. It is currently available as a free download from the iPhone app store. It can provide tables, pie charts, and other types of graphical views. While mobile platforms have been able to access such information before, the new app is designed specifically to work with the iPhone, so it works faster and the format is better. RoamBi currently only supports SAP BusinessObjects and Salesforce.com as data sources. The article also states that SaaS-based services, such as third party development offers, will be launched later this year in addition to RoamBi.

Since the iPhone has become extremely popular because of all its advancements and available apps, offering a BI app will be beneficial to business people. They already use the phone for email, checking the internet, and other purposes. Now they can make even faster business decisions by being able to receive some important information while on the go. I don’t have an iPhone, but if anyone is interested in downloading the app and letting us know how it works, I would be interested. You can visit www.roambi.com to download spreadsheets, tables, files, reports, and any type of visual graph you prefer.

http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/linthicum/2009/05/business_intelligence_on_the_i.php

Chapter 2 - Continuation of Opening Vignette

This blog is a continuation of the Opening Vignette in Chapter 2 from our textbook. On page 38, I have completed #3 for the 'Questions for the Opening Vignette'.

#3 – Examine the sample system output screen at www.teradata.com/t/page/139245/. Describe how it can assist the user in identifying problems and opportunities.

In order to determine how the system output screen can help the user identify problems and opportunities, I needed to understand what the graphs meant. One of the data models that the Hyperion Visual Explorer provides can simplify data by joining different subject areas together to provide a single view of the information for the BI environment. This is shown on the output screen with three different age groups being presented. In each age group, there are four different colored blocks. Each color represents a different segment of flyers: blue = anytime, orange = weekend caller, green = early riser, red = afternoon chatter. The length of each block determines how many complaints there are, while the thickness of the blocks indicates profitability.

When analyzing the output screen, I can see that first of all, most of Continental’s flyers are in their 20’s. The 20 age group has the thickest blocks that show profitability. Continental could use this information for marketing purposes. Continental can identify the problem areas by identifying which segment in each age group has the most complaints. In both the 20 and 30 age ranges, the most complaints come from anytime flyers. In the 40 age range, most complaints come from weekend flyers. When looking at profitability, in all three age categories - weekend flyers are the most profitable.

Continental can take the information provided by the system to identify problems and opportunities. While there is little complaining from early risers and afternoon chatter, there is also low profitability in those two segments. The most profitable segment is the 20 age range weekend flyers. The most complaints comes from the 20 age range anytime flyers. While this age range makes up the most sales, it is no surprise that they have the most complaints. Continental should take this information to turn the problem into an opportunity. They know what group is most profitable, and now with the complaints tied in, they can turn address the problems and increase sales.

Chapter 1 - Article Review

I found an article titled ‘Five Steps to Business Intelligence Success’ by Danny Bradbury. This article can be viewed at http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/maximising-business-intelligence/five-steps-to-business-intelligence-success-39429814.htm .

This article seemed to tie in everything I learned from chapter one. The article summarized some of the key points in the textbook, reiterated the main points in the webinar, coincided with the video source I viewed in my first blog, and even supported the company I choose to analyze in the internet exercise.

The article focused on some of the main points also in the webinar. One of the ways to succeed was to set your goals. It is extremely important to make sure your goals are set so that you can align the BI program to the business. Another point mentioned in that article was the importance of funding. The webinar showed graphs in detail from surveys and studies that proved that companies with committed funding where more opt to succeed.

The importance of nursing your users was also stressed in the video source posted in my first blog: The History of Business Intelligence. Sometimes these great intricate programs are made to help the business, but no one knows how to use or understand them. In the internet exercise from chapter 1, I analyzed the BI approach of Microsoft. They integrate the BI program into their already familiar Microsoft programs. This allowed more people to be able to use the program because it is easy to use and familiar.

The other main point this article stresses is to ‘think big but start small’. The textbook provided many cases and situations to show that BI is intended to better the entire company. It brings all of the data together in order to maximize results. The article agrees with this holistic view, but also realizes that too much too soon can be a problem. By starting off small, companies are not overwhelmed and can slowly add on more projects.

I really enjoyed this article because it seemed to tie up all the loose ends from chapter one. I would recommend reading this article as a study guide for the introduction of BI.

Chapter 1 - YouTube Review

I decided to write my first blog based on the YouTube video “History of Business Intelligence”. This video is provided in the video source section of the syllabus and can also be seen by clicking this -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1y5jBESLPE . This video was very entertaining and helpful in understanding the journey that BI has taken. The video is amusing because there are many small clips related to the topic that are funny. This style can be related to the TV show Family Guy that often cuts off to small clips for comic relief.

This 10 minute video shows you exactly how BI started and how it has changed overtime by overcoming problems and meeting demands. The first problem that came about was the storage of data. Business people use data to answer question about people, places, and products to improve their businesses. The data is extremely important and had previously been stored in various places that were too risky or difficult to manage. This is when a database was invented.

Once there was a secure place to hold the data, other problems arose such as collecting and accessing the data. In order to enter data, there was a need for systems to collect and input it. Business applications were created to do just that. Business people then needed to access the data from multiple locations. This called for the invention of a data warehouse. The data warehouse could organize the data and hold information from many different locations. With the data warehouse, data was able to be managed, accessed, and served.

As the pace of technology quickly increased, BI faced more obstacles. Business people and customers needed more information faster. In the 1990’s, BI advanced even more by being able to do queries, analyze, visualization tools, and management tools. All these advancements created more access which created multiple versions of the truth. This indeed caused a lot of frustration because there was no single version.

As more people became frustrated with their systems, it became apparent that BI was hard to understand and very time consuming. Only IT people could provide access to get answers; and they became overwhelmed. BI needed to turn data into a format that could be used by more people and easily managed by IT. BI needed to become more people centric, because after all – people make decisions, not systems. The overall goal of BI is to get the right data at the right time to the right people. BI will continue to become more advanced as the need and technology increases.