Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2012
From The Eponymous Pickle
Evolution of QR Codes
Report on the use of QR codes and the rapid changes in their effective use. They evolve along with the increased us of smartphones. I was at a local Panera today talking startup strategy, and was amazed again at the number…
From My Biased Coin
A Good Problem to Have
Last year's enrollment for CS 124 was 53. So far, current enrollment for this year: 119. I imagine a few are still just taking a look and might drop. But a doubling is looking possible.This would be the largest CS 124 class…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Whats Wrong with the Internet?
In the CACM. Bufferbloat: Whats wrong with the Internet. A Group discussion with Vint Cerf, Van Jacobsen, Nick Weaver and Jim Gettys. Good thoughts.Where do we go from here and how will it effect the entrepreneur? The enterprise…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Ever wondered how companies determine the best flavors and scents for their packaged food, drinks, cleaning products, toiletries, and so many more items? Well, turns out it’s a multibillion-dollar business, with millions of dollars…
From Wild WebMink
Mozilla peut-elle apporter l
La nouvelle licence open-source de Mozilla est bien plus qu
From BLOG@CACM
Royal Society Report Recommends CS in English Schools: Implications For USA?
The Royal Society, the world's oldest scientic academy, released a report this month calling for a radical change to English schools: Real Computer Science for all. What are the implications for the United States?
From The Eponymous Pickle
SFI and Big Data at Davos
Interesting piece about SFI and the leverage of big data. I am skeptical, it is about leveraging the data, regardless of size or complexity.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cisco Simplifying Interfaces
A really good idea. We worked with Cisco from the early days of their looking at advanced collaboration. it is good to see them thinking a simplified and unified design. You often need these capabilities quickly and easily…
From Geeking with Greg
More quick links
More of what has caught my attention lately:
From Wild WebMink
Insecurity By Obscurity
I was so shocked by the way Symantec has left its customers to twist in the wind for five years I had to write down some serious questions about their
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Citogenesis in science and the importance of real problems
Many papers in Computer Science tell the following story: There is a pre-existing problem P. There are few relatively simple but effective solution to problem P. Among them is solution X. We came up with a new solution X+ which…
From The Eponymous Pickle
3D Printing and Virtual Reality
In MIT Technology Review: When I first read the title of this article I thought: Well yes, they are very different. One provides interaction in a digital space, the other delivers physical things. The article does a good…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Lead With a Story:Storytelling in the Enterprise
A former colleague Paul Smith, is coming out with a book on storytelling in the enterprise. " ... Paul Smith is director of Consumer & Communications Research at The Procter & Gamble Company and a highly rated leadership and…
From Computational Complexity
Guest post on ITCS by Chazelle
(Requested announcement: Calling all Women PhD Students (and a few undergrads) We will be having our bi-annual Women in Theory (WIT) Workshop this year in Princeton. The dates are June 23-27, 2012. Applications are due on:here…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
DARPA Seeking to Develop a
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is out this month with a broad agency announcement soliciting “innovation research proposals in support of the development of new software-based biometric modalities” that…
From Schneier on Security
Password Sharing Among American Teenagers
Interesting article from the New York Times on password sharing as a show of affection.
"It's a sign of trust," Tiffany Carandang, a high school senior in San Francisco, said of the decision she and her boyfriend made several…From The Eponymous Pickle
Visualization Resources
Good post on visualization resources: " ... This is the fourth part of a multi-part series designed to share with readers an inspiring collection of the most important, effective, useful and practical data visualisation resources…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Innovation for the Library
In the HBR: If is clearly a challenge for the library to innovate in a way it will be able to survive. " ... The dominance of radio, TV, and Hollywood threatened libraries with irrelevance, and now the rise of the internet…
From The Eponymous Pickle
P&G and Safe Drinking Water
P&G Facebook page promotes Children;s Safe Drinking Water program " ... In an effort to support its Children
From My Biased Coin
Faculty Applications
An anonymous commenter asked how we evaluate faculty applications. While it's a little late, it's a valid question, so here are some high-level thoughts. Here I'm speaking only for myself, of course. First, I should point…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Technologies Changing the Way we Shop
In AdAge: On three technologies changing the way that we shop. " ..... 3D Modeling, Wifi Sensors and Augmented reality ... "
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Gender Imbalance: Participation by Women on the 2011 AP CS Exam
Each year, the College Board provides state-by-state statistics for each Advanced Placement (AP) exam, broken down by various demographics. The numbers of women taking the AP Computer Science exam in 2011 are illustrative of…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Kinect Sweepstakes For Schools
Energize your classroom and get students moving!
Enter for a chance to win a KinectTM for Xbox 360
From The Noisy Channel
LinkedIn @ CMU
As regular readers know, I have a deep affection for Carnegie Mellon University, where I did my graduate work. I’m happy to announce that two of my colleagues (both fellow CMU PhDs) will be giving talks at CMU in a couple of…
From Schneier on Security
Evidence on the Effectiveness of Terrorism
Readers of this blog will know that I like the works of Max Abrams, and regularly blog them. He has a new paper (full paper behind paywall) in Defence and Peace Economics, 22:6 (2011), 583
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
The International Society for Technology in Education (ITSE), in partnership with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF),
From Wild WebMink
OSI Reform at FOSDEM
I was interviewed about my upcoming FOSDEM keynote and gave this concise summary of the background to the changes I’m working on with the Board of the Open Source Initiative. Why exactly did OSI decide to reorganize its governance…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
How to Revise Research Papers After Receiving Harsh Reviews
Whether you submit your work scientific journal or just post it on a blog, you can expect to receive harsh criticism from time to time. Sometimes you are facing arrogant or ignorant readers. Other times, your work is genuinely…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Mind mapping for Students
Concise Learning explores forms of mind mapping for students. A look at a number of techniques.
From My Biased Coin
Collective Coordination of Conferences?
Around this time of year, I get a number of messages from students: I want to take your class, but there's a conflict with this other class I want to take, what can be done... Sometimes a solution can be worked out, sometimes…