Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with jones

"He's handy with his whip. . .and his lips!"

Ndwright — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:06:57 -0800

Movies inspired by films of the 30's-50's? After reading this recent fpp I stumbled across a comment by Piratebowling:

So, when the [fake] Ghostbusters trailer started floating around the internet a month or so ago, I got really excited, because it reminded me of how much movies from the 80's were drawing on material from the 30's through 50's. Ghostbusters took Abbott and Costello themes and ran with them in a more modern direction. Indiana Jones was an homage to older action serials (as wonderfully shown with the trailer here.)
. . .
Anyway, since I noticed this, I want to see more. These trailers are scratching that itch a bit, but any recommendations for 80's films drawing on inspiration from older films?

I'm actually curious about this as well, thus the askme post. What are some films (not just from the 80's) that draw heavily from the films of the 30's-50's? And not as in "it has a Casablanca reference."

In addition to the examples mentioned in the thread, Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters, I can off the top of my head think of the Coens' "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "The Hudsucker Proxy", which drew from noir films and screwball comedies, respectively. "Scarface" of course was inspired by gangster films of the 30's, while Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" is an excellent parody/mashup of old noir films. "Star Wars" is probably the most famous, drawing heavy inspiration (in addition to its scene transitions) from Flash Gordon serials.

Go big or go home?

clearly — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:34:17 -0800

The Dow Jones average on November 5th: Is it going up or down, help me decide. The problem: You can wager between 1 and 100 points on whether the Dow Jones average is going to go up or down on November 5th, the day after the general election. The amount by which the market goes up or down is the multiplier by which the amount wagered is multiplied.

Lets say that I predict the Dow goes up, and wager 10 points. If the Dow gains 250 points that day, I wind up with a positive score of 2,500 points for the problem. If the Dow drops by 250 points and I chose that it would go up, I lose 2,500 points.

The Dow Jones following recent contested Presidential elections:

November 3rd, the day following Bush/Kerry 2004: Dow Jones gains/loses 0 points.
November 8th, the day following Bush/Gore 2000: Dow Jones loses 47 points.
November 6th, the day following Dole/Clinton 1996: Dow Jones gains 97 points.
November 4th, the day following Bush/Clinton 1992: Dow Jones loses 29 points.

There are many variables to this question, especially framed within the context of the day after the election. How would you approach this problem to achieve the best possible outcome against numerous other participants?

Thank you for your insights.

I am not putting money on this event, this is an exercise posed to an economics of gaming class.

Looking for pics, info, demo of old "Digital Jones" that was purchased by shopping.com in 2000

UMDirector — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:39:20 -0800

Does anyone know anything about the digital expert shopping engine "Digital Jones" that was purchased by Shopping.com / Dealtime.com in 2000? Pictures, Videos, Some old website? Checked Wayback machine and had no luck. This is all I can currently find and it lead me to nothing...really would like to see this thing actually working...

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001

DealTime(R), the world's leading online comparison-shopping service announced today that it will acquire Digital Jones, Inc., the provider of a next generation platform for online guided selling that DealTime began using on its Web site during the fourth quarter of 2000.

Digital Jones' innovative technology translates the knowledge of real world sales experts into an interactive recommendation tool or "virtual salesperson" that helps customers make buying decisions quickly and wisely.

Related Results
Craik Jones Digital
Jones will go slow on digital. (Jones Intercable Inc.)
Jones launches digital cable service.
Jones Launches Digital Near Tucson.
Jones takes charge of Digital operations - Brief Article

"Digital Jones' guided selling platform is the best `what to buy' technology available," said Dan Ciporin, President and CEO of DealTime.com(R). "It allows e-commerce companies to help customers make the best product purchase decisions based on their specific needs and preferences, offering them the experience they would have working with a sales expert. As a result, commerce sites will increase the lifetime value of each customer by increasing conversion rates, retention and brand loyalty, while gaining insight into the needs of each customer. In addition to continuing to integrate this ground breaking technology into DealTime.com, we are licensing the technology to merchants, manufacturers, portals, traffic aggregators and any other vendors of complex products."

Digital Jones, Inc. will be merged with DealTime's U.S. subsidiary, DealTime.com, Inc. Digital Jones, based in San Mateo, California, will continue to be run by its co-founder, Murthy Nukala, who will assume the title of Senior Vice President of DealTime. All 35 Digital Jones employees will become employees of DealTime.

"Digital Jones addresses an enormous unmet need in today's marketplace," said Murthy Nukala, CEO of Digital Jones. "Complex goods are increasingly bought and sold online, the rate of new product introductions is accelerating, and products are getting more feature-rich and differentiated. Consequently, it's increasingly difficult and time-consuming to choose the right product to buy based on one's needs. Digital Jones is pioneering the technology to help sellers and buyers bridge this gap."

Digital Jones' technology, which was launched on DealTime.com during holiday 2000, mimics an expert salesperson much more closely than any other technology, while costing far less to build and maintain. Consumers who want assistance in choosing which product to buy gain customized product recommendations from Digital Jones sales guides using a quick and easy question and answer process, typically completed in nine to twelve clicks--90% fewer than competitive offerings.

About DealTime(R)

DealTime, the world's leading online comparison-shopping service, is the best single source for finding what, where and how to buy almost anything, anytime from anywhere. Through its Web site, www.dealtime.com, DealTime empowers consumers to compare models, features, brands, and prices at merchants and manufacturers across the Web. DealTime's robust, scalable technology provides consumers with highly relevant search results and the ability to deliver information through wireless devices, including Web-enabled mobile phones and personal digital assistants. At the same time, DealTime offers sellers lowered customer acquisition costs, increased merchandising opportunities with qualified buyers and unrivaled consumer purchasing data. DealTime is a multi-national private company, venture-backed by key strategic and financial partners worldwide including Bertelsmann, America Online, Time Warner, Bank of America, Singapore Telecom and others. Visit www.dealtime.com in the US and Canada, www.dealtime.co.uk in the United Kingdom, www.dealtime.de in Germany and www.dealtime.co.jp in Japan.

DealTime and DealTime.com are registered trademarks of DealTime.com Ltd.

About Digital Jones

Digital Jones aims to revolutionize the way consumer shop and the way traffic aggregators sell complex products. It is run by a world class management team who have pioneered some of the core technologies underlying the Internet and e-commerce and have prior experience at Oracle, Broadvision, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Silicon Graphics, IBM, and Apple. Members of the Digital Jones' Advisory Board have started over 20 successful high technology companies and include some of the world's premier technologists including Prof. Edward Feigenbaum of Stanford University (winner of the Turing Award, 1994), Alex Edelstein (ex-GM of search, Inktomi), Amit Shah (VP of Business Development, Cisco Systems), Siva Kumar (founder of Impresse, OneBox, Telera and ezCLose), Rajeev Motwani of Stanford University and Munjal Shah (CEO, Andale).

Help with Money

CollectiveMind — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:00:29 -0800

Two years ago, when the DJIA was at 11,200, I thought the market was approaching its peak, and I moved money from an index stock fund to government bonds. For the next two years, I kicked myself as the market hit 14,000. Now, the market is full 600 points below its peak and 300 points below when I bailed. I'm wondering if I should believe the market has hit its bottom and go back to stocks. I realize it's the same concern in reverse and either way, I may lose by going back too early or too late. But, based on what is known so far, what do you think?

Jogging memories. Ah, the feeling of tracksuit sliding betwixt my legs, the honking of angry drivers.

Ambrosia Voyeur — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:40:58 -0800

How do you jog your memory? I have a spotty memory. I saw this guy the other day, for example, and I remember that his name is Daniel and that I think he's nice and smart, but don't know where I know him from! I'm also pretty hopeless when I've lost something.

Are there tricks to jogging memories once something's been forgotten?

Is the bear already in the house?

Funmonkey1 — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:35:36 -0800

I have just spent the afternoon watching stocks around the world decline partially based on sub prime market fallout. My question is how can things be so great when the Fed is handing out stacks of cash to keep things stable (34 Billion USD and counting, not including the international bail out)?