Let it be said that I am not a huge Steve Jobs fan. Call it a popularity complex that I dislike products/people that I hear about more than once a week in casual conversation. That being said I do have a new found respect for him after hearing his speech from 2005 to the Stanford graduating class. His stories of overcoming odds and humble beginnings gives new perspective in how he lives and works.
The timeless tale of an orphan child rising to fame and fortune is a broken record heard alot, but the twist at the end where Steve drops out of college even after aspiring to his whole life almost seems cliche in a "I see this everyday personally" manner. What I did admire is that Steve would keep going to classes in the topics that interested him. I feel that every college student should do this as it really helped me when I did the same. Before becoming a CIS major I was a Music Education, Psycology, and just before a Philosophy major. While this did delay my graduation it did help me find out what I loved, what would sustain me in life, and in general help me know more about myself. Luckily I also found the love of my life in the process. She supports me in trying new things and we both view life as a series of learning experiences that we all grow from.
Steve had hardships as well with being diagnosed with cancer (that he still battles with today) and being fired in his prime. The best lesson to take from this is that even in the worst of times there is always opportunities to get back into the game and fight for what you want.
I don't foresee me buying an Apple product any time soon, but I will say thanks for the advice Steve. I don't think that I will achieve the acclaim that he has but I will take his advice under my wing and try to go as high as I can.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
FICO is watching, learning
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/31280.html
A problem I have run into recently is that when I get a large sum of money deposited into my account I will shortly after pay many bills or similar and quickly deplete it. Recently I have been getting phone calls asking me to verify purchases. At first I was annoyed by them because I knew what was going on. I had money, I had needs, and I went on spending sprees. To the credit card company though there is possible fraudulent activity.
TechNewsWorld reported that Fair Isaac Inc has implemented a neural network software that analyzes and develops trends that can flag accounts that are abnormal. 10 out of 12 months I make very small purchases of food, sometimes groceries, and the occasional online purchase of movies or whatnot, but 2 of those months I will spend up to $1000 in a matter of hours if not minutes. This sudden change is noticed by Visa and FICO and they call me as a value added service to verify I know what is going on.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world. FICO has to determine legitimate request for credit and purchases, and determine what request are from unauthorized sources. Neural networks are best suited for this because, when programmed correctly, they learn from past data and can make decisions relative to current situations. When the computer can flag trends as abnormal then a human (if needed) can intervene and prevent losses for the company.
A problem I have run into recently is that when I get a large sum of money deposited into my account I will shortly after pay many bills or similar and quickly deplete it. Recently I have been getting phone calls asking me to verify purchases. At first I was annoyed by them because I knew what was going on. I had money, I had needs, and I went on spending sprees. To the credit card company though there is possible fraudulent activity.
TechNewsWorld reported that Fair Isaac Inc has implemented a neural network software that analyzes and develops trends that can flag accounts that are abnormal. 10 out of 12 months I make very small purchases of food, sometimes groceries, and the occasional online purchase of movies or whatnot, but 2 of those months I will spend up to $1000 in a matter of hours if not minutes. This sudden change is noticed by Visa and FICO and they call me as a value added service to verify I know what is going on.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes around the world. FICO has to determine legitimate request for credit and purchases, and determine what request are from unauthorized sources. Neural networks are best suited for this because, when programmed correctly, they learn from past data and can make decisions relative to current situations. When the computer can flag trends as abnormal then a human (if needed) can intervene and prevent losses for the company.
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