New Algorithm From Dr. Forgy

Greetings:

Yes, that's right, folks.  Dr. Forgy is working on a new algorithm that, as Diana (his wife who is also a computer programmer from CMU) puts it, "Blows the old Rete 2 / Rete III algorithm right out of the water."  No, it is not ready yet.  There are still several parts to work out and it may not be completed until the end of the year.  

I talked with Dr. Forgy yesterday afternoon about that (and some other things) and he gave me permission to disclose it.  He said that the new algorithm (as yet unnamed) should be about 10 times faster (hopefully) than the Rete 2 / Rete III Algorithm.  And, the really cool part is that he will be discussing this at the October Rules Fest.   What he will discuss and how much will be revealed is still to be determined since it won't be finished (again, hopefully) until the end of summer, just before the October Rules Fest.

The name?  He doesn't have one yet.  I suggested CLiF Algorithm (his initials are CLF) but he thought that was too much ego and, if you have ever met the man, he has a small ego and is a totally "nice guy" - something unusual in our day and time.  But, having given away the original Rete Algorithm (it was his Ph.D. thesis done under a DoD grant) I think that he would like to retain the license on this one and have some kind of royalty for the use of it.  As you may or may not know, Rete 2 / Rete III is licensed ONLY to Fair Isaac under his agreements when FIC bought Rules Power way back when.

Bottom line:  (1) New Algorithm from Dr. Forgy.  (2) Dr. Forgy will be discussing this at October Rules Fest this year.  (3) The new algorithm "blows Rete 2 out of the water".  :-)  (4)  The new ORF 2009 site will be up and running this week so that you can register early and take advantage of the "Early Bird" discount.

SDG

jco

4-CPU Laptop and 32-Gig thumb Drive: Cheap!!

Greetings:

Some time ago I blogged about a Toshiba and a Dell laptop with 4 CPUs for about $5,000.  Now Fry's (mostly in CA and TX) has an HP, Intel Q9000 Core-2-Quad laptop for only $1699.  It includes:

18.4" Screen, 1920x1080p HD Quality 

NVidia GeForce 9600M with 512MB of Video RAM

4 GB of RAM

500 GB internal HD

Light Scribe Blue-Ray ROM and DVD Reader/Writer

Altec Lansing Dolby Home Theatre speakers w/Sub Woofer

HP Webcam and Microphone built in

Intel WiFi link and Bluetooth

Part Number Xq8-1180us #5807463

Almost makes me what to change sides in the Mac vs Windows war.

Since my Macbook Pro has only 150 GB HD and it's about 90% full I need to carry around an external HD now to off-load my picture from iPhoto.  Solution:  Patriot 32GB thumb drive for only $44.99 after the mail-in rebate that you never get for some obscure reason.  But, even so, it's EVER so much easier than carting around the external HD that you cannot hook up on an airplane without a lot of hassle. 

I might even have enough room for my iTunes music on the thumb drive as well.  Ain't technology just grand?  :-)  I can't wait for my Palm Pilot Treo to die so I can get an iPhone.  But, just throwing it away when it is still working would be against my religion.

SDG

jco