Netflix API

Posted by Gideon

For sometime now I have been trying to find an easy way to get movie related information especially newly released. Like many people, I have been surprised by the lack of an API on IMDB. If my memory serves me right, it is now illegal to use (read screenscrap) IMDB although I am not too sure the full extend of the restrictions.

That tidbit of information was actually a blessing in disguise for me as I shifted my focus away from IMDB. This is how I encountered the Neflix API. From the looks of things there has not been a lot of fanfare as evidenced by the lack of tools to tap into the API.

I am in the processes of developing a PHP helper class to interface with the API. My problem for now is that I need to get up to speed with JSON. For now I am parsing an atom result which I am too pleased about.

If I manage to develop something that I am proud of, I will post my code on this blog. For now it is working for what I need it for only that it is not stable.

If anyone knows of or comes up with a good class that can accomplish this, please let me know.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | 0 Comments

Web Personalization and Recommendation

Posted by Gideon

One of my routines that I have been doing for a long time has been to log on to a few technology related websites and read up a bit so I can always stay on top of what is happening in the field. One of these websites is GIGAOM and I am really happy with the excellent content that they provide. Today, (yes I have been browsing on Thanksgiving day!), I came across an article that really brought back a combination of very good and sad memories. Here is qoute from the article:

I'm not really comfortable making broad technology predictions, but I've run across two things recently that perfectly illustrate for me the next generation of the web.  Some of us are already living it — those of us that use offerings like Twitter or Hunch, or any service that instead of forcing us to search for information asks for our interests, preferences or even location, then delivers it. The next-gen version of the web will consist of services that tell us what we want to know at the exact moment we want to know it — possibly even if we don't ask.

The good memories is that I was lucky to join a team whose focus was to solve such a similar problem. That was almost 4 years ago! I just happened to stumble into this research group at the proding of one of my programming professors. It was a privilege to join some very smart people who, thinking back now, were visionaries who were thinking several years ahead into the future.

The sad bit is that due to poor leadership, the team crumbled and fell apart. The lesson I learned is that no-matter how smart the team is, if the leader is a wimp and not bold, very little can be done. The sad bit too is that I and my colleagues let the poor leadership, not only break the team but break our spirits.

Web personalization, in my opinion, in huge and very important. Many people depend on it. With information overload and the multiplicity of sources now available, it is important that technologies tell us what we need to know. I use Google News for that reason. I depend on Google to tell me what I should know that is happening around me.

There are many aspects of our information consumption that can greatly benefit from personalization and recommendations!

Thursday, November 26, 2009 | 0 Comments

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