For several years now, big data has been one of the hottest topics in the IT industry.  But, what do we mean by big data ?  number of recent articles have been sounding the alarm that big data may be at the peak of inflated expectations in Gartner’s hype cycle.  What is this data-driven world all about?  . It is hard.  MORE >>

One might ask Nate Silver, the data whiz behind FiveThirtyEight.com , which shot to prominence after providing eerily accurate forecasts of the 2008 election, what makes for good predictions. TEDGlobal2012 books data Nate SilverHis answer will come as a surprise. Silver writes, “Our views about predictability are inherently flawed. MORE >>

The  Mobile Mindset Study , a new survey from mobile security developers Lookout using data commissioned from Harris Interactive, has found that three out of five smartphone owners in the U.S. Source: Mobile Mindset Study. do not go for more than one hour without checking their devices. We constantly connect. We need access everywhere. MORE >>

'Some staff picks of smart, funny, bizarre and cool stuff on the interwebs this week: Super-duper useful mandatory homework: Get a secure password now. As xkcd explains , most people’s approach to secure passwords (a word bastardized with “random” capital letters and punctuation that’s difficult to remember) is wrong. MORE >>

Managed well, the data can be used to unlock new sources of economic value, provide fresh insights into science and hold governments to account. Moreover, ensuring data security and protecting privacy is becoming harder as the information multiplies and is shared ever more widely around the world. MORE >>