Microsoft Research Blog

New Research Brings Precision to Sampling Methods Used in Statistics and Machine Learning 

December 23, 2014
Posted by George Thomas Jr. Addressing one of the core problems in statistics and machine learning, Microsoft researchers have developed a new, more efficient algorithm that enables exact sampling. Daniel Tarlow and Tom Minka Researchers Daniel Tarlow, Tom Minka, and former Microsoft intern Chris Maddison introduced…

Recent Posts

  1. Coping with floods—of water and data 

    December 18, 2014

    Halloween 2013 brought real terror to an Austin, Texas, neighborhood, when a flash flood killed four residents and damaged roughly 1,200 homes. Following torrential rains, Onion Creek swept over its banks and inundated the surrounding community. At its peak, the rampaging water flowed at twice…

  2. Equation of a Fuzzing Curve — Part 1/2 

    December 18, 2014 | Eugene Bobukh

    Introduction While fuzzing, you may need to extrapolate or describe analytically a "fuzzing curve", which is the dependency between the number of bugs found and the count of fuzzing inputs. Here I will share my approach to deriving an analytical expression for that curve. The…

  3. Cloud computing helps make sense of cloud forests 

    December 16, 2014

    The forests that surround Campos do Jordao are among the foggiest places on Earth. With a canopy shrouded in mist much of time, these are the renowned cloud forests of the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is here that researchers from the São Paulo…

  4. Reproducibility as a service: can the cloud make it real? 

    December 11, 2014

    Research published in academic journals is trustworthy. Or is it? This question is being asked more and more these days. While few doubt the integrity of the researchers, many in the scientific community are concerned about the inability to reproduce experiments. If the work is…

  5. Empowering the problem solvers 

    December 10, 2014

    The power of computing can go a long way toward solving some of the world’s most vexing problems. This is why we are committed to fostering the next generation of technology-savvy researchers, through programs such as the Microsoft Research Asia Fellowship Program. Launched in China…

  6. New community promotes research in sign language recognition 

    December 4, 2014

    Sign language has long been a tool used by many of the world’s estimated 360 million people with severe hearing loss. But since the majority of hearing individuals do not understand sign language, the hearing world does not always have the capability to engage in…

  7. Is a Safer Cloud on the Horizon? 

    December 1, 2014

    A new technology called Haven could provide unprecedented protection for data stored in the cloud When you store data in the cloud, you entrust the cloud provider with your data. You essentially cross your fingers and hope the provider won't leak the data, tamper with…

  8. Fitzgibbon Channels Led Zeppelin into Practical Engineering 

    November 17, 2014

    When it comes to research, the concept of “head-banging” most likely conjures images of researchers banging their heads against walls or dry-erase boards. But for Microsoft researcher Andrew Fitzgibbon, it’s about inspiration. “I was on a 10-hour flight recently,” he says with a grin. “I…

  9. Third International Women’s Hackathon continues into December 

    November 14, 2014

    The Third International Women’s Hackathon is now in full swing, having launched on October 11, 2014. A unique crowdsourcing event designed to empower young women leaders in computer science, the hackathon provides a fun and safe environment in which participants explore computing as a means…

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