Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2014
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Student Hackathons in California
I get email from people pushing blog post ideas all the time. Several a week generally. Some of them are completely off topic for this blog. Some are close in that they are education related though maybe not CS related. SomeLevel…
From Schneier on Security
Security Risks of Embedded Systems
We're at a crisis point now with regard to the security of embedded systems, where computing is embedded into the hardware itself -- as with the Internet of Things. These embedded computers are riddled with vulnerabilities, and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Data Organizational Challenge
From Bain & Co: Summary article with links to other coverage, based on their study. Well put. " ... Samsung uses it to power the content recommendation engine on its newest smart TVs. Progressive Insurance relies on it to…
From Schneier on Security
HALLUXWATER: NSA Exploit of the Day
Today's implant from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
HALLUXWATER (TS//SI//REL) The HALLUXWATER Persistence Back Door implant is installed on a target Huawei Eudemon firewall as a boot ROM upgrade…From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
It is amazing how often students write many lives of code when a few lines would work better. There are several reasons, I think, why this happens. One is of course that they lack the tools – the specific knowledge of features…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Bad weather as evidence for global warming
First let us me run through the usual disclaimers. We are producing lots of greenhouse gases, and they tend to warm up the Earth. The last ten years have been warmer than any other ten years in our recent history. In the arctic…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Intel Wearables
More out of Intel's innovation systems. " ... Intel unveils series of wearable devices, including a smartwatch and fitness-tracking earbuds ... Intel wants to “make everything smart” — and it’s focusing on wearable devices…
From The Eponymous Pickle
iBeacon Test in Giant Eagle
In Retailwire: Another example of iBeacon in test. " .... Apple's iBeacon technology has made its way to the grocery store, and one company, inMarket, claims the technology will vastly improve the shopping experience for shoppers…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Rogue IT and Strong Standards
In Forbes: Something we dealt with frequently. In a large enterprise it is necessary to set standards. But less easy to enforce standards broadly. Exceptions are often made for what seemed like legitimate reasons. We were…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Getting Lost in the Big Details
In Junk Charts: I am a believer in visualization. Some of the most beautiful charts are those that represent patterns in big data. But Big data and powerful software can entice us to add too many details. Remember that visualization…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
FCC Invites Public Comments on the Accessibility of User Interfaces for Video Programming
The FCC invites public comments related to the usability and accessibility of user display settings for closed captioning of video, on-screen text menus for video programming guides, and audible emergency information to accompany…
From Schneier on Security
The Failure of Privacy Notices and Consumer Choice
Paper from First Monday: "Transaction costs, privacy, and trust: The laudable goals and ultimate failure of notice and choice to respect privacy."
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to outline the laudable goals and ultimate…From The Eponymous Pickle
Optimizing Marketing in Real-Time
In Mashable: The article looks closely at the common approach of A/B testing, but not really how this can be done in near real-time. Increasingly important in a realm of better real time sensors to detect human behavior under…
From Schneier on Security
Twitter Users: Please Make Sure You're Following the Right Feed
I have an official Twitter feed of my blog; it's @schneierblog. There's also an unofficial feed at @Bruce_Schneier. I have nothing to do with that one.
I wouldn't mind the unofficial feed -- if people are reading my blog,…From The Eponymous Pickle
iBeacon Lands with InMarket
In Digital Trends: (Includes a video):" ... Apple’s location-sensing iBeacon technology appears to be of growing interest to retailers and app developers, with mobile shopping startup inMarket the latest company to announce it…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Then A Miracle Occurs
I was reading an interview with Lucy Sanders from NCWIT earlier today and this famous cartoon came to mind. Specifically Lucy said: “Some people think that girls’ and women’s ownership and use of these [mobile] devices will automatically…
From Schneier on Security
GOURMETTROUGH: NSA Exploit of the Day
Continuing our walk through the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
GOURMETTROUGH (TS//SI//REL) GOURMETTROUGH is a user configurable implant for certain Juniper firewalls. It persists DNT's BANANAGLEE…From The Eponymous Pickle
Ahold and eCommerce
Ahold has always been an innovator. We worked with them on a number of supply chain and in-store applications. Here on e-Commerce." ... Ahold USA had 120 pickup locations for online ordering last year, up from eight in 2012…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Why are there so many science PhDs?
McArdle, an economist, recently wrote that a substantial fraction of PhD programs really shouldn’t exist. McGowan goes further by pointing out that there is little demand for science and technology PhDs. I can only agree. Meanwhile…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Upcoming IBM Watson Event
I intend to listen in on this and report on it here. The movement of Watson to drive the AI promise of the late 1980s continues to march on. Hi Franz,You have been selected to join us for a live broadcast of an IBM Watson special…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Prospects for Household Robotics
IEEE Spectrum on the prospects for household robotics. With a number of examples that approach the needs, with good images of the robots. " ... There has been a lot of news lately about the big investments in robotics made by…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
CSTA2014 Conference - Looking Great!
I was in the Chicago area this past weekend as part of the Conference Committee. While I can't tell you everything you may want to know about our summer conference, I can say that it looks like it will be the best program we've…
From The Eponymous Pickle
A Game Made by AI for Creativity
Linking creativity, design and games. Not sure how this directly applies, but have recently looked at how design can be augmented with games." .... If there’s one human characteristic that’s difficult to emulate in artificial…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
FCC Invites Public Comments on Closed Captioning of IP-Delivered Video Clips
The FCC invites public comments on applying closed captioning rules to IP-delivered video clips. The deadline for public comments is January 27, 2013. In its IP Closed Captioning Order, the FCC determined that full-length online…
From updated sporadically at best
Careful Where You Click
From Schneier on Security
Matt Blaze on TAO's Methods
Matt Blaze makes a point that I have been saying for a while now:
Don't get me wrong, as a security specialist, the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) scare the daylights of me. I would never want these capabilities used…From The Eponymous Pickle
Scooba Improves its Power for Mopping
Have been long interested in how to create autonomous robotics to do the mundane household tasks. At least while we wait patiently for humanoid avatar butlers. Here news that iRobot has improved the floor washing power of…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few ays that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. As a first post to this blog in 2014, I think it is a good topic to address. It has to do with imbalance…