Revolution

'R' language bringing statistical analytics to the masses (Q&A)

I recently had the chance to discuss the open source 'R' programming language with Revolution Analytics CEO and founder Norman Nie.

Revolution is the commercial organization supporting the open-source project and contains a number of technology bigwigs, including Nie himself, who was the co-founder of analytics firm SPSS and led the company as CEO/chairman of the board for more than 40 years before selling it to IBM in 2009 for $1.2 billion. The company has enjoyed some outstanding press mentions, despite the fact that the product appeals to a very specific user base.

R is similar to other programming languages like Java and C, but holds particular appeal for statisticians because it contains a number of built-in mechanisms for organizing data, running calculations, and creating graphical representations of data sets.

Considering predictive analytics is not on the tip of most people's tongues, I set up a Q&A with Nie to get a basic overview of why R matters and how Revolution plans to commercialize the software. The edited transcript follows:

Q: What exactly is 'R' and why does it matter? Nie: Simply put, R is the most powerful statistical computing language on the planet; there is no statistical equation that cannot be calculated in R. This gives it unparalleled ability to sort through data sets and do predictive modeling. This is particularly relevant in today's business intelligence environment, given the explosion of big data and the increased emphasis organizations are putting on advanced analytic techniques.

R is also open source, so there is a community that is over 2 million users strong behind it. It is particularly well entrenched in academia, where today's university students (and tomorrow's future statisticians) are being trained almost exclusively on R. … Read more

Amazon.com has the Logitech VX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse for $51.50, after $19.49 savings.

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The new face of open source on Wall Street

Open source has long flourished on Wall Street as financial services firms have sought competitive differentiation by tweaking open-source software for enhanced performance and functionality. Wall Street was the first sector to buy heavily into Linux, and it has also welcomed a host of other open-source infrastructure projects.

Indeed, Wall Street adoption has reached the point, in the words of senior Accenture executive Lloyd Altman, that open source has become a mandate for cash-strapped financial services firms tasked with doing more with less.

I've seen this in my own business: open-source applications are suddenly the less risky choice, given … Read more

Break bricks in 3D

3D Brick Breaker Revolution Free is a free, eight-level preview of 3D Brick Breaker Revolution, an amped-up, tricked-out take on classic Breakout-style games, with a slick 3D look, an arsenal of cool power-ups, and a "Revolution" mode that literally blows the top off of the game--by letting you move up and down through a "tower" of screens. You move your paddle left and right with touch-screen buttons, or just by touching and sliding the paddle itself, and you pause the game by touching the center of the screen. Different power-ups drop down as you break more … Read more

Webware Radar: LoanMarket's mortage hub

LoanMarket.net announced on Monday that it has launched its online marketplace for buying and selling mortgages.

According to the company, its service allows both buyers and sellers to come together in a "neutral, open marketplace" to trade mortgages and other real-estate secured note investments.

The site has a variety of sellers, including mortgage originators, banks, and lending institutions, mortgage pool investors, small private investors, and seller carry-back note holders. All the notes listed on the site include current market value information, as well as a photo of the property taken within 14 days of the post. All … Read more

The bridge between 'Revolution' 1 and 9

This news is over a month old, but somehow I missed it until the intrepid Penn Jillette tweeted about it Sunday (never say Twitter's useless). Here's the scene: Beatles. 1968. That'd be the long-hair bearded Beatles. "White Album" recording session. John's recording a slowed-down version of their recent hit single "Revolution," the B-side to the umpteen-million selling "Hey Jude." Being in a particular state of mind, he stretches it out for 10 minutes, then adds some scary horror music plus Yoko spoken-word weirdness at the end. Later, John or the … Read more

New Beatles outtake discovered?

Update: Later in the day Monday, YouTube took down the video due to a copyright claim from EMI Music; it's gone for now.

Britain's NME reported on Monday that unreleased Beatles material has surfaced online. An audio-only YouTube video, right, is claiming to be an unreleased take of the song "Revolution." It's take 20, and it starts out sounding like "Revolution 1" from the band's "White Album."

The 10-minute, 47-second running time is 7 minutes longer than "Revolution 1," though after some in-studio chatter by The Beatles, what … Read more

Baylis wind-up MP3 player is no joke

If you're thinking about going green in 2009, the Baylis Revolution wind-up MP3 player may let you inch down your carbon footprint ever so slightly.

I know it's unforgiveably anachronistic to have a hand-crank slapped on the side of an MP3 player, but before you dismiss this as pure novelty, let me say that I was surprised to find that the Revolution isn't a half bad MP3 player. Sure, it's thicker than a bar of soap, but if you're ever trapped on a desert island the Revolution puts the iPod to shame.

The Baylis Revolution … Read more

Making and spending money on phones

Buying things with your phone can be difficult. Even on modern day devices like the iPhone and the G1, you're still required to have your credit card information on hand, or use a service that lets you skip that step like PayPal or Google Checkout. Three mobile monetization companies presenting at Wednesday's Under the Radar conference are trying to change that with solutions that could make it easier to make and spend money on mobile devices.

Both Billing Revolution and Toro are trying to change the way people pay or access payment information with their devices. Billing Revolution'… Read more