Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2012
From The Eponymous Pickle
Corporate Mobile Strategies
In Fast Company: Good overview of the need for mobile strategy. Also some excellent examples to consider. I have found that a coherent strategy for small companies, and even some larger ones is uncommon. Sitting at a Panera…
From BLOG@CACM
Intermittent Net and Mobile/Cloud Development
Intermittent Net: The Importance of Distributed Thinking in Mobile/Cloud Application Development (and Usage)
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Certified or Qualified
Certification is a hot topic for K-12 computer science educators. It’s a big issue in public schools but not so much in private schools. The concern in private schools, who often see certification as a “nice to have” rather than…
From Putting People First
How to create a cutting edge Smart City visitor experience
A four step guide from the Milan Expo 2015: Step 1 Ask your main sponsors (in this case Cisco, Enel and Telecom Italia) to indicate the relevant “Smart City” technologies that they already have, are currently working on, or are…
From Schneier on Security
Keccak is SHA-3
NIST has just announced that Keccak has been selected as SHA-3.
It's a fine choice. I'm glad that SHA-3 is nothing like the SHA-2 family; something completely different is good.
Congratulations to the Keccak team. Congratulations…From The Eponymous Pickle
Therapy Apps
Supplemental therapy Apps. Which reminds me of the time in the 1990s when AI based psych therapy programs were much discussed, but were soon seen to be less than serious and vanished.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Data Science Central
Quite a rich resource of data mining ideas and useful articles. Points to a number of directions that are worth following.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Predicting Behavior
In Mind Hacks: A telling piece that critiques a study relating the speed of drinking to the shape of a glass being used. An excellent caution. Classic example of behavioral cause and effect assignment. Having supported…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Controlling Systems with Data
A Conversation.One question that fascinated me in the last two years is, to what extent can we use data to control systems? What elements of a system can be effectively controlled by a stream of complex and highly variable data…
From The Eponymous Pickle
On Juggling Priorities
In the HBR Network: Great video on the juggling of priorities. Often a dilemma. In my experience priorities are always determined by context, which is always shifting ... so you always juggle to some extent. But can you?
From Putting People First
Anthropological study by Google on our magic relationship with mobile devices
What is the emotional relationship people truly have with the mobile space and how they make meaning there? To answer this, Google conducted an anthropological study to gain a better understanding of how people feel about, relate…
From Schneier on Security
2013 U.S. Homeland Security Budget
Among other findings in this CBO report:
Funding for homeland security has dropped somewhat from its 2009 peak of $76 billion, in inflation-adjusted terms; funding for 2012 totaled $68 billion. Nevertheless, the nation is now…From Computational Complexity
Quantum Workshop
I went to the QIS workshop on quantum computing which was on the College Park Campus. I went Thursday (reception- free food!) and Friday (free lunch!) but had to miss the Friday free dinner and the Saturday session. Going…
From Putting People First
Experientia at EPIC 2012
Experientia will be at EPIC Conference, on October 14-17 2012, hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design [SCAD], Savannah, USA. This year, Experientia president Michele Visciòla will be chairing the first (of two) Pecha…
From BLOG@CACM
Daniel Spielman Wins MacArthur 'Genius' Award
Daniel Spielman, Henry Ford II Professor of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Applied Science at Yale University, is the latest computer scientist to receive a fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation.
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Debugging is Good For Learning
I was going to title this post “I love debugging” because, well, I do love debugging code. For me that is one of the most fun puzzle solving mind challenging things someone in computing can do. This is contrary to most people…
From Putting People First
Why we are so rude online
Why are we so nasty to each other online, asks Elizabeth Bernstein in the Wall Street Journal. Whether on Facebook, Twitter, message boards or websites, we say things to each other that we would never say face to face. Shouldn’t…
From Putting People First
Smart cities in Italy and France
The European House-Ambrosetti, an Italian economic think tank/management consultancy and organisers of the very prestigious annual international economic conference in the Italian town of Cernobbio, has – in partnership with…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Computer Science: Tool or Way of Knowing?
I gave a talk recently and, at the end, a faculty member from a non-CS discipline asked me "So, is computer science a tool or a fundamental way of knowing?" My answer was an unabashed "YES". But it depends on the context. …
From The Eponymous Pickle
Print Your Own Replacement Parts
A move forward in 3-D printing. " ... Want a new part for your synthesizer? Need a replacement knob or dial? In a first, one company is telling its customers to just print their own. It’s a move that signifies a major step into…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Pack Mule
DARPA's pack mule for the soldier is getting closer to reality. Saw some early tests in robotics exhibitions but wondered if it would ever be used. Expect the appearance of other forms of walking drones as well.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Analytics Lessons Learned from 9/11
An interesting piece from Paul Barsch. Via Gib Bassett. Intelligence and its integration used to be a function that I worked in, so it is intriguing to see this connection made. " ... Regarding the Al Qaeda terrorist attacks…
From Schneier on Security
Security Question Cartoon
From Apophenia
omg girls’ bodies are fascinating: embracing the gendered side of quantified self
Ever since I broke my neck as a teenager, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with my body. Truth be told, I’d much rather be a cyborg or a brain on a stick. I prize my brain, but the rest just tends to get in my way, break down…
From My Biased Coin
Harvard CS Is Hiring
Tenure Track Position Open. Here's the official blurb:
Tenure-track Position in Computer Science
The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) seeks applicants for a position at the level of tenure-track assistant…From Putting People First
‘Smart City’ planning needs the right balance (WSJ)
In the pantheon of Next Big Thing trends, the concept of “smart cities” is one of the trendiest, writes Ben Rooney in the Wall Street Journal. The idea is that by harvesting the incredible amount of data “exhaust” that every…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Emerging Technologies Reshape Data Center
I had a conversation just the other day with an enterprise center manager. Ever since the emergence of mobile, the complexity of issues like data security has expanded far beyond the underground bunkers. Just recently theDiscussed…
From The Noisy Channel
Office Hours at Cambridge Brewing Company
I’ll be in Cambridge, MA this Thursday and Friday for the Sixth Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval (HCIR 2012). Hope to see many of you there! But I’ll also have a few hours on Wednesday evening…
From Schneier on Security
Scary iPhone Malware Story
This story sounds pretty scary:
Developed by Robert Templeman at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indiana and a few buddies from Indiana University, PlaceRader hijacks your phone's camera and takes a series of secret photographs…From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 1 October 2012
Well it’s a new month. It’s been about three weeks in this location (for the blog) and I sure do appreciate how many people stuck with me over the move. Seems like more people are commenting as well which I really appreciate.…