Abstract: The method may include providing one or more content item recommendations, by opening a content recommendation session for a selected user, retrieving some user data for the selected user from a first storage resource, obtaining content information concerning content available from content sources, using the user data and the content information to generate a content item recommendation for the user and providing the content item recommendation to the user. The user data for the selected user may be stored at contiguous physical locations at the first storage resource.

Abstract: The method may include providing one or more content item recommendations by opening a content recommendation session for a selected user, retrieving some user data for the selected user from a first storage resource, obtaining content information concerning content available from content sources, using the user data and the content information to generate a content item recommendation for the user and providing the content item recommendation to the user. The user data for the selected user may be stored at contiguous physical locations at the first storage resource.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for providing one or more content item recommendations, comprising opening a content recommendation session for a selected user; retrieving at least some user data for the selected user from a first storage resource; obtaining content information concerning content available from one or more content sources; using the user data and the content information to generate at least one content item recommendation for the user; and providing the content item recommendation to the user, wherein the user data for the selected user is stored at substantially contiguous physical locations at the first storage resource.

Abstract: A method for providing one or more content item recommendations for a user of a content distribution system having a plurality of users, comprises: opening a content recommendation session for a selected user; retrieving user data for the selected user from a first storage resource storing user data on a plurality of users, storing the user data in a second storage resource, and maintaining the user data in the second storage resource during the content recommendation session for the selected user; using the user data from the second storage resource and content information concerning content available from one or more content sources to generate at least one content item recommendation for the selected user during the content recommendation session for the selected user; and providing the at least one content item recommendation, wherein the method further comprises maintaining content recommendation sessions for a plurality of the users and maintaining in the second storage resource user data for said pl

Abstract: A method for providing one or more content item recommendations for a user of a content distribution system having a plurality of users, comprises: opening a content recommendation session for a selected user; retrieving user data for the selected user from a first storage resource storing user data on a plurality of users, storing the user data in a second storage resource, and maintaining the user data in the second storage resource during the content recommendation session for the selected user; using the user data from the second storage resource and content information concerning content available from one or more content sources to generate at least one content item recommendation for the selected user during the content recommendation session for the selected user; and providing the at least one content item recommendation, wherein the method further comprises maintaining content recommendation sessions for a plurality of the users and maintaining in the second storage resource user data for said pl

Abstract: A computer-based method and apparatus for knowledge discovery from databases. The disclosed method involves the user creation of a project plan comprising a plurality of operational components adapted to cooperatively extract desired information from a database. In one embodiment, the project plan is created within a graphical user interface and consists of objects representing the various functional components of the overall plan interconnected by links representing the flow of data from the data source to a data sink. Data visualization components may be inserted essentially anywhere in the project plan. One or more data links in the project plan may be designated as caching links which maintain copies of the data flowing across them, such that the cached data is available to other components in the project plan. In one embodiment, compression technology is applied to reduce the overall size of the database.