My company has been big into MongoDB over the past year. We've seen all kinds of MongoDB projects that we or our partners have worked on, so I figured it was worth stuffing them into a top 10 list, with the intent to enlighten those who still want to know which tasks might be best handled by the document flavor of NoSQL databases. The jobs we've encountered break down along these lines:
1. Profiles of people Yes, LDAP is fine for identity when you're authenticating or authorizing, but what about profiling things or people that aren't strongly associated with the system? What about criminal records or child support suspects or customer rewards? What about users of promotions and what they clicked on? There's always new data to add to the user's profile, from the usual top-level stuff (phone, address, email, etc.) to information a layer below (i.e., phone type). Other database types haven't evolved fast enough to capture the hundred ways we contact each other or the dozens of ways we pay for things.
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2. Product/catalog data Way back when, I worked for a cell phone manufacturer (or two) and later a chemical company. Each had a weird version of the same problem: Products were composed of other products, and which products those were composed of changed over time and tended to have more than one brand or identifier. Capturing the thing that contains the thing that contains the thing is much simpler in a document database than in some other database types.
3. Geospatial data This isn't necessarily because MongoDB is a great document database, but because it has specific geospatial features. Either way, MongoDB is your friend, whether you're calculating your bike ride distance or figuring out geospecific information about your customers.
4. Funds, mutual funds, etc. The finance industry is complicated, so don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. Investment vehicles often are composed of other investment vehicles, which are then composed of other investment vehicles. Whether this is a "bandwidth" fund or a mutual fund or a fund of funds, if you're trying to perform while flattening the data out, you may suffer. Heck, the industry is full of documents that contain documents that contain documents, so why not use a document database?
5. Metadata As Forrest Gump said, "it happens," and then you have lots of it. You need to categorize and say what "it" is like. MongoDB does this well. There are other database types that will also work (i.e., graph databases), but MongoDB is a fine choice.
6. Talk People are social creatures, and over the last decade or so we've generated exabytes of social data. Mongo is a fine choice to handle the load. Often, people talk topically, with a lot of associated metadata. MongoDB is good for storing that too.
7. Content They don't call MongoDB a "document" database for nothing. It's great for serving up text and HTML, as well as for storing and indexing content and controlling its structure.
8. Games You have to water those flowers or serve those restaurant patrons or grow your vegetables or kill zombies or whatever. Games have goals, which consist of multiple objectives obtained through achievement or paying your way out. Whether it's a titanium rake or a BFG 9000, MongoDB can handle the concurrency and save the (often multi-level) data.
9. Events MongoDB may not be the only game in town with regards to event logging, but it's a perfectly good choice that won't slow you down.
10. Bills/invoices Orders have line items containing product data. The order is also sent to a location and billed to another location. This is how it is and always has been. Orders also progress through many states. You might freak over the idea of a NoSQL database doing "transactions," but Mongo can perform these as discrete operations if you've properly designed your document. MongoDB can handle the concurrency, can efficiently "add one more," and can track the changes as the bill of sale moves through the system.
What kinds of projects are you doing with MongoDB? Where have you found it to be perfectly suitable, and where have you decided something else was better? Let me know in the comments.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill. She can expect some heated questions about the rugged rollout of the Affordable Care Act. President Obama, meanwhile, heads to Boston to talk about health care in the afternoon.
Launch of the Lymphoma Hub, an online lymphoma community
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
30-Oct-2013
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Contact: Gary Nolan gn@phase-ii.com PHASE II INTERNATIONAL
Led by La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL), a non-profit Italian professional lymphoma research organization, and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Celgene Corporation, the Lymphoma Hub has been launched as a new online community for hematologists and oncologists treating lymphoma.
Guided by a Steering Committee of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, the Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. The portal is optimized for multiple devices and platforms, with a fully responsive design making it easy to view on the go. The use of social media further supports users' easy access to the most current information in their field.
"I am very pleased to announce the birth of the Lymphoma Hub and to hold the role of coordinator of such a group of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, who are devoted to improving knowledge and understanding of lymphoma in healthcare professionals worldwide" said Professor Federico Massimo, President of FIL and Chair of the Lymphoma Hub Steering Committee.
Visit the Lymphoma Hub to find out more.
###
About the Lymphoma Hub
The Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. Visit the Lymphoma Hub at http://www.lymphomahub.com.
About La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi
La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL) is a non-profit organization, which coordinates the activities carried out in Italy in the field of lymphoma by more than 120 centers located throughout the country. Founded in Alessandria on September 30, 2010, FIL encourages prospective and retrospective studies in order to answer important questions surrounding lymphoma. The aim of FIL is to raise awareness of lymphoma and help patients and relatives by coordinating research groups in the fight against lymphoma. For more information, please visit the organization's website at http://www.filinf.it.
About Celgene
Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.celgene.com.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Launch of the Lymphoma Hub, an online lymphoma community
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
30-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Gary Nolan gn@phase-ii.com PHASE II INTERNATIONAL
Led by La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL), a non-profit Italian professional lymphoma research organization, and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Celgene Corporation, the Lymphoma Hub has been launched as a new online community for hematologists and oncologists treating lymphoma.
Guided by a Steering Committee of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, the Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. The portal is optimized for multiple devices and platforms, with a fully responsive design making it easy to view on the go. The use of social media further supports users' easy access to the most current information in their field.
"I am very pleased to announce the birth of the Lymphoma Hub and to hold the role of coordinator of such a group of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, who are devoted to improving knowledge and understanding of lymphoma in healthcare professionals worldwide" said Professor Federico Massimo, President of FIL and Chair of the Lymphoma Hub Steering Committee.
Visit the Lymphoma Hub to find out more.
###
About the Lymphoma Hub
The Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. Visit the Lymphoma Hub at http://www.lymphomahub.com.
About La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi
La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL) is a non-profit organization, which coordinates the activities carried out in Italy in the field of lymphoma by more than 120 centers located throughout the country. Founded in Alessandria on September 30, 2010, FIL encourages prospective and retrospective studies in order to answer important questions surrounding lymphoma. The aim of FIL is to raise awareness of lymphoma and help patients and relatives by coordinating research groups in the fight against lymphoma. For more information, please visit the organization's website at http://www.filinf.it.
About Celgene
Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.celgene.com.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Mumbai Film Festival (Celebration of Spanish Cinema)
Cast
Alex Gonzalez, Adriana Ugarte, Alberto Ammann, Maria Castro, Christian Mulas
Director
Daniel Calparsoro
Screenwriters
Carlos Montero, Jaime Vaca, Daniel Calparsoro
Nostalgists will remember Daniel Calparsoro as the director of abrasive, tough little social commentary movies with loads of soul, but that’s all over now. An efficient, strikingly superficial thriller that does what it does and isn’t interested in doing anything more, Combustion is pure, unashamed product. Welding together automobiles, muscles, mini-skirts and music into a slick flick about people being nasty to each other, the film delivers its ingredients as a slightly low-rent Spanish derivation of Fast and Furious 6, which underplayed at home but has generated brisk sales offshore. Job done.
Brutish, sneering Navas (Alberto Ammann, best-known outside Spain for playing the innocent jailbird in Cell 211) drives a black car, which he races illegally. To raise more cash he also breaks into the houses of the wealthy by using Navas' girlfriend Ari (Adriana Ugarte) as bait for the male owners.
The plan for their big final hit is to rob the store of jewelry heiress Julia (Maria Castro), engaged to former racing driver Mikel (Alex Gonzalez, driving a white Porsche a la James Dean), forced into retirement and trying to settle down into a more conservative lifestyle. But things go awry when Ari starts to fall for Mikel. When he takes her out in his private plane, she starts to realize that she could have lots of money without having to rob any more, though this is not said: the question of whether it’s Mikel or his cash that she’s falling for is left interestingly ambiguous.
Sometimes the characters desire sex, sometimes money and sometimes car thrills, but their desires never escape this triangle, which leaves them all looking like cardboard, albeit quite nice-looking cardboard. Mikel’s troubled past makes him vulnerable and therefore attractive to Ari, but there is always the nagging doubt that it’s his plane rather than Mikel himself that’s really doing it for her.
Ari dominates the first half of the story but is quickly dropped when Mikel and Navas begin to bond over their vehicles, sitting side by side appreciating the Porsche’s purring engine and doing a testosterone-raising chickie run. Unable to compete with the cars for the boys’ attention, Ari meekly retires to the status of ornament. Meanwhile, the despicable way that the boys treat the hapless heiress Julia (oddly, the film both fetishizes and criticizes wealth) removes any lingering sympathy that the audience may have felt for her, so the film’s finale represents a victory not so much for good over evil as a victory of the bad over the very bad.
Dialogue is entirely predictable and borrowed. Daniel Aranyo’s busy photography dutifully goes to the ground whenever cars or Ari’s long legs are in his viewfinder, then swoops high over the races and chases, while endless cityscapes aim at redrawing Madrid as a place where such things might actually happen. Carlos Jean’s score is practically omnipresent, occasionally surging into uplifting pop songs with lyrics that fuse the banal and the incomprehensible into an entirely new language.
Production companies: Antena 3 Films, Canal+, La Sexta, Zeta Audiovisual Cast: Alex Gonzalez, Adriana Ugarte, Alberto Ammann, Maria Castro, Christian Mulas Director: Daniel Calparsoro Screenwriters: Carlos Montero, Jaime Vaca, Calparsoro Producers: Francisco Ramos, Mercedes Gamero Director of photography: Daniel Aranyo Production designer: Anton Laguna Music: Carlos Jean Costume designer: Loles Garcia Editor: David Pinillos, Antonio Frutos Sound: Sergio Burmann, James Munoz, Nicolas de Poulpiquet Sales: Film Factory Entertainment
2013 iPad guide: How to choose between O2, Vodafone, Three and EE, and a popular MVNO alternative.
If you're in the UK with eyes on a new cellular iPad Air or Retina iPad mini, the decision on which carrier to go with is more difficult than ever. This time around 4G LTE is a factor, with three of the four big carriers having recently flipped the switch, with one more to come before the end of the year. As such, getting the most bang for your buck while accessing this superfast mobile data on your new iPad is likely top of the agenda. But it doesn't end there.
Let's take a look at what's on offer from the big four.
O2 vs EE vs Vodafone vs Three - The big four
As with the recent iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launch, 4G LTE is the hot property in deciding where to go with your devices. If you want LTE out of the box, then Three can be discounted immediately. Three will be getting it, but not until December when the rollout will finally begin. That said, Three is notorious for offering great value for money on data allowances, and the HSPA+ offered currently will in places match the LTE offered by rival carriers for download speed.
O2 and Vodafone are still in the early stages of their respective rollouts, so for anyone serious about 4G right now, EE is the best looking option. Of the big four carriers, only O2 at the moment seems to have no plans to offer the iPad Air at launch. No pricing for subsidized models is available at the time of writing, but we'll update as and when that information becomes available.
The MVNO way
Perhaps not something that immediately springs to mind, but beyond the main four carriers there is still chance to get some data for your new iPad Air. Probably the most popular – and worth considering – is GiffGaff. And, while the selection of plans is limited, there's still a chance to get a decent bucket of data for not a lot of money. And, since it runs on the O2 network, the signal should be pretty good.
The best option for prospective iPad Air buyers is the £12.50 per month 'Gigabag,' which offers 3GB of mobile data. There are options at 500MB and 1GB for £5 and £7.50 per month respectively, but for not a lot more cash you get a decent extra chunk of data. If you're buying your new iPad from Apple, this option is absolutely worth considering.
The only real drawback; in the event of issues, you won't have as easy access to customer service as you would with the major carriers. GiffGaff has a big community focus, but the lack of high street stores could deter many.
Network availability
Beyond just thinking about the financial side, there's coverage to take into account. After all, there's little point paying out if you're not going to be getting what you're paying for. Generally the big four all have excellent coverage nationwide, with the usual blackspots to be expected. The best thing to do is to check out the coverage maps at the links below for each of them.
If you don't mind waiting for LTE, Three is well worth a look. The HSPA+ offered by Three is more than competitive in terms of download speeds when compared to LTE enabled competitors, and is definitely to be considered by the data hungry iPad owner.
Anyone who wants LTE, in more locations, now. EE has more coverage than the other LTE enabled carriers by far, and has even started rolling out double-speed data in certain locations such as London and Birmingham. The network that came together as a combined effort of Orange and T-Mobile has solid signal over most of the UK, and also has a decent reputation for working indoors.
At this point, the strongest argument is that if the signal in your area is strongest on Vodafone, then go with them. Their LTE offering is still in its infancy, and Vodafone traditionally hasn't been as price competitive as some of the other carriers. Long serving customers and folks who enjoy the best signal are best suited to Vodafone.
As with Vodafone, O2 has a 4G LTE network currently in its infancy. The good news is that the spectrum used for it will work better indoors, so as it rolls out that might be something to consider. The main issue currently is that O2 has no apparent plans to sell subsidized iPads, so this one is strictly for those buying from Apple. For now.
If you're still not sure about which UK carrier to get for your iPad Air or iPad mini jump into our iPad discussion forums and the best community in mobile will happily help you out, or hey, maybe Wi-Fi-only is good enough for you. Let know in the comments - which one did you go with and why?