June 2014 Summaries

HackSummit` brought together non-profit organizations, technology sponsors like `Neo4j`, and local developers to tackle social and environmental issues over a two-day period. Teams used `Neo4j` to power apps for various causes, such as limiting water shortages, improving health and fitness, creating affordable housing, and localizing charitable giving. One team created a platform called `Circulare` that tracked donations overtime to support a local non-profit, while another group built an app called `Socrates` that aimed to reduce inequality by connecting underprivileged youth with professional networks and business connections. The `Socrates` app won the `Neo4j` challenge, showcasing innovative use of graph databases for social impact.

Neo4j 2.1.2 has been released to address a critical issue that could occur during migration from previous Neo4j releases, particularly when dealing with large volumes of deleted data. The update resolves this concern by ensuring correct record structures are maintained during the upgrade process. Users of Neo4j 2.1.1 are strongly advised to check if they have been affected by this issue and follow a procedure to determine whether their application has encountered an problem, which may involve using an evaluation license of Neo4j Enterprise 2.1.2 or reverting to an earlier backup. The Neo4j team remains committed to ensuring the quality of their software and is continuously working on improving its testing process, including additional upgrade tests with diverse generated stores.

Graph databases offer a new approach to uncovering fraud rings and other sophisticated scams by analyzing connections among data, rather than individual points. This method allows for real-time detection of advanced fraud scenarios, providing a high level of accuracy. By reframing the problem as a graph, significant insights can be drawn from existing data without requiring additional data collection. Graph databases have the potential to improve fraud prevention measures and provide a better understanding of connections among data, leading to more effective crime-fighting efforts.

The Neo4j community has been actively contributing various resources, including blog posts, videos, and GraphGists, showcasing their graph-tastic work. The past month's favorites include articles on using Neo4j with Spring Data, implementing a Word Ladder game, Docker Neo4j, and introducing the GraphAware Neo4j Framework. Other notable mentions include network management, data visualization, and training resources such as Up and Running with Neo4j. Videos cover topics like data-driven applications, running Neo4j in production, and using graph technologies for application development. The community has also shared various presentations on graph databases, including a free ebook download to learn more about the subject.