I just found out about this challenge: http://www.netflixprize.com/ and thought all programmers who use this site may be interested .... it would be a worthwhile business move to check it out since the prize for writing the winning alogrithm is $1million US!!! hope it makes someone rich... i cant actually code, so its no use for me!
Besides the grand prize, there is also yearly $50K prize. IMHO, but the key to winning is you need a movie buff. If you are a movie buff, you can look for a coder to partner you. The movie buff has to predict movie success/satisfaction with criteria/factors. The movie buff converts his observations of different moods/individuals into quantifiable factors/criteria. The programmer/coder codes convert those criteria into program. BTW, I am a movie buff... Any coders around? haha... Cheers!