Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
November 2010
From Schneier on Security
Internet Quarantines
Last month, Scott Charney of Microsoft proposed that infected computers be quarantined from the Internet. Using a public health model for Internet security, the idea is that infected computers spreading worms and viruses are …
From The Eponymous Pickle
Wikipedia Seeking $16 Million
In Readwriteweb: Wikipedia is seeking $16 Million to remain a free service. Certainly the most successful public wiki service and well worth that amount. That is about 20 US cents per unique visitor per month. Lots of other…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Businesses that Smartphones are Replacing
This list is fairly obvious. It is interesting to think about what markets the smartphone is changing markedly. In the end it is all about have a small, powerful, easily updatable, portable computer, wirelessly connected,…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Numbers Rule Your World
A good review of the new book: Numbers Rule Your World: the hidden influence of probability and statistics on everything you do , by Junk Charts blogger Kaiser Fung. The book, which I have yet to see, is an overview of statistics…
From The Eponymous Pickle
On the Santa Fe Institute
I was the enterprise's representative to the well known Santa Fe Institute for several years. Was always interesting, sometimes directly useful. Mark Montgomery of Kyield comments on SFI as an innovation organization. And…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Tufte Library being Auctioned
Visual graphic data design guru Edward Tufte's library of design resources is being auctioned by Christies on December 2.
From The Eponymous Pickle
At the Singularity Hub
Retinal implants at the newly discovered Singularity Hub blog. I have my doubts about broad singularity type predictions, but this blog covers lot of related topics that are useful.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Analytics as a Path to Value
Good Sloan Review article on analytics and value. I agree, of course. Build key processes into your enterprise to integrate analytical methods. The data is there and growing. Use it.
From Wild WebMink
links for 2010-11-14
Red Hat tries the value argument for open source This is the sort of thing that makes me want to believe in synchronicity. My keynote in Bolzano just before Savio posted this story was about some of the benefits of open source…
From Wild WebMink
? Strudel Considered Harmful
Just leaving Bolzano after three nights here, passing through the tiny airport I noticed an unusual security requirement – which was being actively enforced. Despite apple strudel (that’s a delicious, giant pastry filled with…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Venuegen
Venuegen was just brought to my attention. I like the aspect of actually tailoring the venue to the specific meeting need. Constructing a relevant context. I know that can be done in physical space, can it be effectivelytheir…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Overcomplicating Charts
In Junk Charts. A good example of how a visualization of data can be overcomplicated. A simple line chart is often much clearer, but avoided simply because it does not look artistic enough. You can attract people to see a chart…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Meeting Grace Hopper
I recently attended the 2010 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference. I had gone mainly to attend the K-12 Computing Teachers Workshop, but got a chance on October 1 to see some of the main conference events…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Phones Getting Smart
In GigaOm: Half of US consumers to use a smartphone by end of next year. It is moving quite quickly and the implication for sensors in the hands of consumers continues to grow.
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
EduBlogger Nominations 2010
I have this whole mixed emotion thing with the EduBlogger awards. On one hand I think that everyone who blogs in education is a positive force and basically a
From Wild WebMink
? Leverage, Don
Chatting with Eucalyptus Co-founder about OpenStack Great to see Eucalyptus exploring ways to engage with OpenStack – very positive trend. It’s the sign of a mind that has embraced open source and is looking for ways to make…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Blue Blogs
Doug Lautzenheimer posts about IBM blogging. I talked to IBM's social media manager five years ago and was very impressed even then by what I saw. Their white pages automatically had a placeholder for blogging. They made it…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Tentacle Pot Pie
From The Eponymous Pickle
This Blog Mentioned
This blog has been kindly mentioned in the Business intelligence software blog by Doug Lautzenheiser. Thanks! Put his excellent blog on your feed as well.
From The Eponymous Pickle
R&D Intensity Climbs
From CFO: Companies' "R&D intensity" -- a measure of R&D spending versus total sales -- is on the increase, according to a Booz & Co. survey. The trend is a sign of managers' reluctance to slash innovation budgets despite falling…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Drug Stores Want to Own 'Well'
An interesting development: In Drug Store News:Walgreen is responding to the changing health care landscape by becoming "a retail health and daily living store," CEO and President Greg Wasson told investors. He said the stores…
From Schneier on Security
Albert Gonzalez
Long article on convicted hacker Albert Gonzalez from The New York Times Magazine.
From Apophenia
NOTICE: Email sabbatical will start December 9
If you don’t know me, you probably don’t know that I work obscene hours for most of the year and then take a proper vacation. As in no internet, no work, no geeking out on research. For me to continue doing the work that I do…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Presidential Early Career Awards
Lots of interesting stories this past week of relevance to the field: Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers On Tuesday, the White House announced the names of 85 early-career researchers who will receive…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Pop-Up Stores in Action Today
In 2007 I got to see the operation of a Pop-Up store in action in Columbus, Ohio. An impressive mix of display, merchandising and interaction for the Swash brand. I was particularly intrigued about how they could be used as…
From Wild WebMink
? Heart Of The Matter
Four Reasons To Pay Extra For Open Source My slides from today’s presentation in Bolzano, Italy. The core of the talk asserts that software freedom opens additional options for businesses which, if we weren’t pre-programmed by…
From Schneier on Security
Camouflaging Test Cars
In an effort to shield their still-secret products from prying eyes, automakers testing prototype models, often in the desert and at other remote locales, have long covered the grilles and headlamps with rubber,…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Lines Can Be Fun
Graphics can be a lot of fun for students. Well honestly they are fun for a lot of adults. Recently I read a blog post by Cate Huston (Experimenting with a Visual, Activity-Based Curriculum) about some totally visual, graphical…
From Wild WebMink
? Freedom Means Value Essay
My essay explaining that software freedom means business value is now available from the Essays section.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Data Mining for Education
Learning how people make mistakes and using that mined information to determine the best way to teach them.