Researchers have found that good information doesn’t always drown out bad in recommender systems. In fact, the research done by the creators of movielens shows if you give (for example) a movie a higher rating than it “deserves” other people will also be inclined to give it a high rating. So “innocent” people will unconsciously “play along” with people trying to influence the system and reinforce their dirty work. Unfortunately for the creators of recommender systems, users will notice when overall a recommender system’s results are poor. The writers of the academic paper (available in full here) suggest one way to avoid this problem would be to hide the rating of a film from users who want to rate it themselves so they aren’t influenced by others’ ratings.

I didn’t find collaborative filtering useful when I did use it, but that was nearly ten years ago when the MIT Media Lab was playing about with what became Firefly. Perhaps if my DVD Recorder was smarter and networked with other such recorders to compare my TV/film preferences with others’ without my needing to enter the details by hand it would have enough data to be able to adequately predict my viewing tastes. Personally I suspect mine are atypical enough that it would be difficult to predict what I would like mathematically. Then again, most people probably think they are unique in this respect!

I’m coming a little late to this – it’s something I meant to blog a while back but haven’t had time to. Salon writer Farhad Manjoo has written an excellent piece on interactive television spyware – how cable companies and makers of “personal video recorders” like TiVo have the potential to track every programme you watch (and every interactive TV feature like gambling or gaming you use) and send that information to advertisers so they can target you more accurately. He also deals in passing with the debate over whether future PVRs will allow you to skip “regular” ads or whether they will actually add new “interactive” ads.

David Burke of White Dot – one of the only people I know who appears to be following this issue regularly – points out the risk that, for example, political advertisers could use this technology in future to tailor their messages more precisely at each viewer, pandering to their prejudices. I am more worried that if advertisers know down to the individual home whether an ad is likely to work, they will eventually want to be able to heavily subsidise packages of cable programming aimed at the rich and will want to yank their ads (and their subsidy) for poorer households, so multi-channel TV will be even more expensive for those least able to afford it.

P.S. Sorry this is a Salon Premium article and there is no longer a “see for free” option, but a year’s subscription is just $18.50 if you accept ads. Moreover, Salon allows existing subscribers to give gift subscriptions to people for $20 (without ads) or $12.40 (with ads). If you would like me to sign you up just email me a note and credit my paypal account using the link on the R accordingly (no I won’t get any commission on that – Salon seems to have stopped its affiliate programme – but if you would like to slip me a few extra $ because you like my content, please do!).8100 lg mp3 ringtoneindian alcatel ringtone8250 ringtonessamsung ringtones a800ringtone nokia 62253155i free nokia ringtoneamerican missed ringtone one callringtone 3560 nokia 3520 Map

I plan to devote the next few years of my life to pursuing a PhD examining various aspects of how people’s use of the Internet can help people to feel better about themselves and build their social networks (or why they don’t use the Internet in this way and how they might be encouraged to).

According to this satirical report, the online social capital revolution has already arrived and it’s all happening on Amazon and epinions.

“…While some online reviewers give little more than basic pros-and-cons of a product or a one- to five-star rating, many use the write-ups as a vital means of self-expression, providing in-depth anecdotes about their own experiences with a particular product, or even their autobiography. On Amazon.com, some reviewers create deeply personal Listmania! lists, such as “The Best Kung Fu Movies Ever” or “Things You Absolutely Need To Survive Working In A Cubicle.”

“Through these product reviews, in which we fulfill our collective desire to guide our fellow humans to good purchasing decisions, a sense of community emerges,” Piersall said. “But just as important, a sense of self emerges. By publicly expressing our feelings about the Coleman Quickbed air mattress, we tell people not merely about this product, but about ourselves.”

With reviews running the gamut from commentary on the Criterion Collection DVD of Fellini’s 8 1/2 to the usefulness of a portable Weber propane gas grill versus the traditional full-size standup model, Piersall said that ‘once again, we are talking.’…

Although the Onion exaggerates for effect, I would actually argue the basic point is right – that people becoming self-appointed experts on Espresso makers (whether on weblogs, personal web pages or via product review sites) may indeed increase their feelings of self-worth.

There was an article not long ago (though I can’t remember the address, unfortunately) which talked about how being “star reviewers” at sites like Amazon and epinions has changed people’s lives.

Castle Wolfenstein Enemy Territory has just been released for free download. It’s a not at all realistic but quite fun first person shooter in a WWII setting – multi-player only.

This is really unfortunate timing since I still have an exam to do. I was hopelessly addicted to the first CW game (and the original Apple ][ game come to that!) and this new variant provides even more yummy features. So why is it free? According to an interview on Gamespot with the developer:

“GS: Why did you decide to make it completely free?

PW: It was a really tough decision, and nobody likes to cancel a game, but in my personal opinion, this decision was made in the interests of players for once and not driven purely by financial considerations. The result is an unprecedented decision by id Software and Activision to release a game that is completely free and stand-alone. “”

I guess even though it was complete they didn’t think it worth spending the money to market it, which seems odd. Perhaps it is meant to market some future version of the game?Sex schibrowski Bart lisa undKostenlos Saint interrassisch Sylvia Galeriedp InterrassischKarton shemalesnackt Batgirl Zeichentrickfilmgangbangs InterrassischBangladesch Sex Erotische von Geschichtenweiblichen Spritzgießen Orgasmus vonvideos gay ofboys FreePissing fannies1cialis viagra levitra compareviagra vs levitra vs 2cialisdecember weight 2005 viagra inurl itemidviagra propecia inurl itemid 2005 december1cialis levitra viagra salesdecember 2006 itemid casino inurl viagraitemid viagra casino december inurl 20052cialis comparison levitra viagra Mapbwv allegro bach mp3 526live abacus mix mp32010 54 64 90 mp3acid4 mp3 plugin 0dat moment 545 mp3 opacker bilk mp3ed 555 mp3acksonville mp3 boys woo Map

“If AOL Time Warner Inc. and rival Microsoft Corp. agree to collaborate, instant messaging services could see a boom — especially within businesses, analysts say.

As part of Thursday’s broad anti-trust litigation settlement, the two rivals agreed to discuss making their messaging systems work together. The talks would come after a long, bitter fight to make AOL open its system to instant messengers using competing services, such as Microsoft’s MSN.” (Reuters)

Not before time! Hopefully if AOL and MSN become interoperable the same interoperability will also spread to other clients…lesbian free movie downloadmovies adult sexblack fucking movie clipsmovie free bouncing boobsmovie trip euroadult movie links freesamples movie fuck freejapanese erotic movie free Mapaux silverado mp3 2002mp3 96 avalonsonyericsson 98 ringtones p800credit emissions commuter 480converter wma mp3 4uviagra generic 1 cialisvs 20 viagra 10gamble brooksville fl drive 20264 Map

I was visiting London’s City Hall on Saturday and I came across this exhibit:

It’s meant to be interactive – you lift handles on the left side and models of a car, a bus, a bicycle and a tube train slide down the rails. Unfortunately, the tube train has fallen off its track – not unlike other tube trains have tended to do. (Incredibly, more than four months after the Central line derailment the trains on that line are only now starting to run on time!)