Category Archives: IT

The Accident That Created An App Millionaire

One night in 2009, Chad Mureta, a real estate agent from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was driving down the interstate in Charlotte, North Carolina on his way back home from a basketball game. It was his first vacation day in two years.

As he drove, with just his thoughts for company, his mind drifted to earlier in the evening when he observed others at the game happily socializing, and realized something was seriously amiss with this own life.

Eighteen-hour days at his real estate office had taken its toll: he was miserable, disconnected from family and friends, and with the housing bubble-bust, his finances were in dire straits.

I need to make a change, he thought, but how?

In the very next instant, out of seemingly nowhere, a deer crossed his path and in an attempt to avoid it, his car hit a median and flipped over four times.

Two lives came to an end that night.

The deer died on impact and while Chad did survive, his old life, as he knew it, was over.

More at Forbes.com

Netflix Recommendations: Beyond the 5 stars

In this two-part blog post, we will open the doors of one of the most valued Netflix assets: our recommendation system. In Part 1, we will relate the Netflix Prize to the broader recommendation challenge, outline the external components of our personalized service, and highlight how our task has evolved with the business. In Part 2, we will describe some of the data and models that we use and discuss our approach to algorithmic innovation that combines offline machine learning experimentation with online AB testing. Enjoy… and remember that we are always looking for more star talent to add to our great team, so please take a look at our jobs page

More at NetflixBlog