Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2011
From Schneier on Security
Full Extent of the Attack that Compromised RSA in March
Brian Kerbs has done the analysis; it's something like 760 companies that were compromised.
Among the more interesting names on the list are Abbott Labs, the Alabama Supercomputer Network, Charles Schwabb & Co., Cisco Systems…From The Eponymous Pickle
Curating Conversations with Storify
Just brought to my attention. I examined Storify quickly a while back, but this puts a new spin on using it that is worth examining.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Eliminating the Checkout Line
Not really a self-checkout. And not an item-tagged RFID enabled checkout, which we also tested. But here something completely different. A checkout based on individual item weights. No lines at all. Described in InsideRetail…
From Schneier on Security
XKCD Today
It's a good one. Be sure to read the hover-over text.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Retaining Retired Expertise
As we continue to move through the Baby Boomer bubble, companies understand that they are losing key expertise. I looked at this problem for the enterprise, seeking to apply several knowledge management solutions. We evenYouEncore…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Coke Freeestyle Launches
The Coke Freestyle machine is coming to Firehouse Subs. An advance in vending. The link includes a location map.There are several of these in our area and will take a look at in in context. The touchscreen devices, which…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Heathcare Analytics and Intelligence
Healthcare is probably one of the best areas of opportunity to apply these technologies. it is also one of the most complex, requiring the involvement of many professionals, imaging, sensors, physical tests, experimental designs…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Productivity via the Interface
Microsoft presents some views of new interface concepts. Concepts only at this time, but some impressive examples. Towards more productivity.
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Keys to Biomedical Innovation:
Earlier this month at an event in Washington, DC, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Ph.D.,
From Putting People First
Book: Putting people back at the heart of cities
The Lure of the City: From Slums to Suburbs [Paperback] Edited by Austin Williams and Alastair Donald Pluto Press, September 2011 224 pages Review by Spiked: A new collection of essays challenges both pessimists who see urbanisation…
From Putting People First
Why Microsoft
A viral clip produced by Microsoft is–like almost every video on this subject–amazingly polished. It’s also inane and completely lifeless, says FastCo Design. “Futuristic interfaces are supposed to solve problems and make life…
From Putting People First
BlackBerry Future Visions
Research in Motion seems to have commissioned a pair of videos envisioning portable technology in the not-so-distant future, writes PocketNow: specifically, they focus on interactions among employees, or between employees and…
From Putting People First
Design and the social sector: an annotated bibliography
This bibliography – now published on Change Observer – was initiatied in early 2011 as an independent study project by Courtney Drake, a graudate student at the Yale University School of Management. It overlaps with William Drenttel’s…
From BLOG@CACM
John McCarthy
The contributions and personality of John McCarthy, one of the pioneers of computer science.
From Putting People First
Smartphones Find Niche in Human Behaviour Tests
Researchers are using innovative tools to perform psychological experiments a lot faster than they used to. Experts believe the number of smartphone users worldwide will top the 1 billion mark by 2013. Now an international team…
From BLOG@CACM
High School CS Teachers as the New Computing Professionals
If you were a human-centered computing research in 1960's, you'd study, "Who are software engineers?" Today, the new computing professionals to study are high school CS teachers.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Improving Engagement in Saas Applications
Fairly obvious, but useful reminder of the basics in engagements of any kind.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Is the Moore Party Over?
A short post in CACM on the slowdown of computing. Or can we await quantum computing to save the day. There are still good problems out there to address with more speed.
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Computing Researchers Weigh in on Changes to Human Subjects Research Regulations
The Department of Heath and Human Services is planning to revise what it calls the Common Rule – the regulations overseeing federally funded research involving human subjects. These regulations were last updated in the early…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Technology is Too Distracting
More on the distracting aspects of technology, and yes technology can be very distracting. For we that tend to diverge in attention that can be satisfying. But even we have to coming to focus at times. Still you can keep…
From The Eponymous Pickle
New Frameworks for Optimization
I was recently reminded of Charlotte Software Systems, which is in part comprised of parts of several companies I had worked with in the past. They had all been connected with some very useful leading edge techniques that address…
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
Help Wanted: Examples of Nonlinear Stories and Less Successful AR Projects
I'm working on two projects where I need to come up with as long a list of examples as I can. I've got some in mind, but what better way to make sure I don't miss the important ones than to ask all of you for your ideas? I hope…
From Schneier on Security
Secret Codes in Bacteria
Neat:
Researchers have invented a new form of secret messaging using bacteria that make glowing proteins only under certain conditions. In addition to being useful to spies, the new technique could also allow companies to encode…From Computer Science Teachers Association
A New Analogy
Last month I was able to attend a regional conference conducted by the National Girls Collaborative Project. The keynote speaker was Dr. Chris Sahley from Purdue University. She is a biology professor and Director of an NSF ADVANCE…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
DHS Secretary Talks Cybersecurity Innovation, Workforce
Before a packed room of leading government officials, technologists, and journalists in downtown Washington this morning,
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Sometime on Halloween — yes, Halloween — the world’s population is projected to hit 7 billion. In anticipation of the numerical milestone,
From My Biased Coin
Lisa Randall on the Daily Show
Last night's Daily Show (link to full episode) was on fire.The first segment was focused on SCIENCE! The part with Aasaf Mandvi was simultaneously hysterical and very, very, very sad.The last segment had guest Lisa Randall -…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Preaching to the STEM Choir
This week I received an announcement about yet another
From Schneier on Security
The Security of SSL
EFF reports on the security of SSL:
The most interesting entry in that table is the "CA compromise" one, because those are incidents that could affect any or every secure web or email server on the Internet. In at least 248…From Wild WebMink
? Liberty and Vigilance
In the Place de la Bastille in Paris, this statue stands at the top of a column commemorating the citizens of France who took up arms to finally rid themselves of a hereditary monarchy. Despite accepting its reinstatement a few…