Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2015
From The Eponymous Pickle
Oort Shop
Brought to my attention. quite a claim.Make Your World Smarter" ... Oort is a technology based upon intelligent connected devices that lets you control your whole living environment with a single app. ... "
From BLOG@CACM
Some Thoughts For Computer Science Teaching Assistants (and Faculty)
Some musings on practices that can help create a positive educational environment for all students in a class.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Unilever and the Internet of Things
A small part of my role in the enterprise was understanding and reporting on how arch rival Unilever used data and technology. Early interest looked at how primitive related methods, like RFID, were used. So this article was…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Watson Business Analytics
I happened to see a new ad about IBM Watson Analytics this evening on sports TV, very well done 15 second spot. I was unable to find that ad, though I it will likely soon be online. There is a short Youtube introduction out…
From The Eponymous Pickle
NASA Printing Houses on the Moon
In CACM: Once you get a 'printer' there, and have the necessary materials, it can be done." ... NASA envisions 3D printers serving as miniature on-site manufacturing plants creating replacement parts and tools, but the upcoming…
From updated sporadically at best
Hello 2015!
When I was younger, I had no clue what it would be like to be in my 20s in the mid-2010s. I’d like to report that I never thought life would be so fun.For me, 2014 was a year of growth. I did some things I’m proud of: supervised…
From The Eponymous Pickle
ChoreMonster Lauded by Parents Magazine
In Bizjournals, about colleague Chris Bergman's startup ChoreMonster. Congratulations Chris!' ... Cincinnati-made app lauded by Parents Magazine on 'Today' showA Cincinnati-made app was touted by Parents Magazine as one ofParents…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Geeting Started with Hadoop
Have had many people ask me, what is this Hadoop-Spark thing? How does one get started? Here is how you can get started in 10 minutes (they say). From the always interesting Data Science Central. Note this is for the already…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Computer Science Education Predictions for 2015
Seems like a lot of people like to make predictions this time of year. I tend not to because I’m not that good at it. But I think I have some ideas so I’m going to try.
More states allow CS to count for graduation. The momentum…From The Eponymous Pickle
Experiential Products
Experience and material goods." ... Past studies have found that people get more enjoyment and satisfaction from the purchase of experiential adventures or events — eating out, going to a concert, traveling, etc. — than fromThe…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Value of Positive Workplace Culture
In FutureofCIO: Value of positive Culture. " ... Organizations large or small are transforming from industrial silos to more holistic digital business, but a positive workplace culture is not less important, but more critical…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Easy Squid Recipes
Stewed squid with tomatoes, sauteed squid with parsley and garlic, and braised squid with garlic and herbs. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered....
From Geeking with Greg
Quick links
Some of the best of what I've been thinking about lately:
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
On Completing a PhD Proposal
In Mid-December, my PhD thesis proposal was accepted, leaving me ABD ("all but dissertation"). It was quite the journey to get there, and I have some hopefully useful insights to share from the experience. if you've ever wondered…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Online Grocery Sales Disrupting In-Store
Watching Amazon closely.Report: Next 3 years to see major growth in online grocery sales E-commerce accounts for less than 1% of the food and beverage industry's $600 billion in sales due in part to complex logistics and a struggle…
From The Eponymous Pickle
How to Find Needed Market Research Data
The data you need to make your company work efficiently is often hard to find. A former colleague has a startup that addresses this. It is being used by P&G.Can’t find your market research data? This startup can helpThat Diet…
From Schneier on Security
Doxing as an Attack
Those of you unfamiliar with hacker culture might need an explanation of "doxing." The word refers to the practice of publishing personal information about people without their consent. Usually it's things like an address and…
From Wild WebMink
Digital Life Clippings – New Year’s News
Originally posted on Meshed Insights & Knowledge:Indian government blocks programming web sites, including archive.org and Github gists – TechCrunch – As if to illustrate why it’s bad to allow anyone the power to block web sites…
From The Eponymous Pickle
TED Talks on Memory
An hour long, multiple episode talk on the topic of human memory. " ... Memory Games ... Memory is malleable, dynamic and elusive. In this hour, TED speakers discuss how a nimble memory can improve your life, and how a frail…
From BLOG@CACM
Recommended SF Reading For Computer Scientists
Courtesy of a SIGCSE 2014 BOF, here are some SF books containing themes of special interest to computer scientists.
From The Eponymous Pickle
IKEA Hacks
Hacking IKEA products. In Gizmodo. Fun but not very exciting. Meanwhile IKEA is legally threatening the site because the site has advertising. Does not match the online viral customer loyalty model.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Blog Statistics
Around new year I review some blog statistics. Last December was a new record for monthly blog visits, a total of 28,542.
From The Eponymous Pickle
On a Data Analytics Champion
In CIO: Suggesting that every organization needs a data analytics champion. I agree. But its success depends strongly on how you enable capabilities and reward results. It also needs sustained funding and ongoing links to…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Interactive Intent Modeling
A natural interaction of user and their behavior. Note a number of recent posts in a related topic that uses personality modeling. Here a hybrid approach. Currently examining this with a related tech.In the CACM:Interactive…
From Putting People First
Happy Playful New Year
From Putting People First
The business of design consulting
Robert Fabricant, who moved from design consultancy Frog to development consultancy Dalberg, writes that the business of design consulting is undergoing mass extinction. In a long article for Wired he presents the history of…
From Putting People First
The need for design history in HCI
Carl DiSalvo, an associate professor in the Digital Media program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is struck that there is very little design history in HCI. Design history is important to HCI, he argues, for at least…