Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
November 2013
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
The "Why Are We Learning This?" Guide for Arts and Social Sciences
In my Intro to Computer for Arts and Social Sciences class, I have been introducing the students to a bit of programming and algorithmic thinking in addition to the traditional topics (data representation and MS Office). I try…
From Schneier on Security
More NSA Revelations
This New York Times story on the NSA is very good, and contains lots of little tidbits of new information gleaned from the Snowden documents.
The agency’s Dishfire database -- nothing happens without a code word at the N.S.A…From The Eponymous Pickle
Hofstadter Making Machines Think
In the Atlantic: An extensive article on author Douglas Hofstadter and machine learning. We read with great gusto his book : Godel, Escher Bach back in the 80s. Still a great readable book about the nature of intelligence…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Critical Questions for CS Education Research
This weekend CSTA Chair Deborah Seehorn and I were attending the ACM Education Council meetings and, as part of the meeting, we participated in a group discussion about critical questions in computer science education research…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Intelligent Color From L'Oreal
In Clickz: New ways to market cosmetics in context. With similarity to some of our virtual makeover work. " ... In a location perhaps better known for rats and urine, cosmetics brand L'Oreal Paris is bringing beauty in what…
From BLOG@CACM
ACM Multimedia 2013 – Best Papers and the Revision Process
This year ACM Multimedia had a new revision process that may be of interest for other ACM conferences. Let's review it and see also the best papers selection.
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Hill Tech Happenings, Week of November 4
November 4 Meeting: The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is meeting to discuss national security surveillance programs (the meeting was originally scheduled for October 4). USACM Chair Eugene Spafford will appear…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Twitter Infringing IBM Patents
A piece in Gigom: Had a number of discussions with IBM when when they were doing lots of social media exploration for improving internal communications, so not surprised of the general claim. No view of if this should have been…
From Putting People First
Experientia presents “BancoSmart”, the innovative ATM interface designed for UniCredit Bank
The user-centred approach is moving into finance, as banks increasingly connect to their customers’ needs and wants. As part of this trend, global banking and financial services company UniCredit Bank collaborated with user experience…
From Putting People First
Experientia rivoluziona la user experience degli ATM con “BancoSmart”, l’innovativa interfaccia degli ATM UniCredit
Le banche stanno cercando sempre più di entrare in sintonia con le esigenze ed i desideri dei propri clienti, innovando i propri prodotti e servizi secondo una approccio centrato sull’utente. Per dare concretezza a questo principio…
From Schneier on Security
badBIOS
Good story of badBIOS, a really nasty piece of malware. The weirdest part is how it uses ultrasonic sound to jump air gaps.
Ruiu said he arrived at the theory about badBIOS's high-frequency networking capability after observing…From Putting People First
Ottagono Magazine features Experientia
In the article “Interaction Design, After Ivrea” Stefano Mirti reflects on the history of the renowned Interaction Design Institute Ivrea and what was born out of it after the school closed. The article, which is published in…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 4 November 2013
The big news were I live last week was the Red Sox winning the World Series. Nothing at all to do with computing. Even with all the excitement I managed to find some interesting links to share.
Journaling in the Computer Science…From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
A Really Scary Thought
A scary question, a really scary question Vincent Price was just featured last Thursday night with a series of his movies, scary horror ones shown on Turner Classic Movies. Price was known for his distinctive voice and special…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Essential Office Elements and Clouds
If we look at the triple of basic office tools: Word processing, spreadsheets and slideshows. its interesting to see the competitors today. Especially when we think of including smaller format hardware, like tablets and smartphones…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Back to Robots for the IPad
Had cause to go back to the Robots for the iPad App, had not been there for some time. Its by the IEEE, does an excellent job of surveying a number of robot implementation. Interesting for both the starting student and the…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Managing Supply Chain Talent
Something we had a priority for. Something we also found to be one of the easiest kinds of talent to get outside because it is a mature idea in many industries. Has been here for a long time. Technology in the area has not…
From Putting People First
Ethnography: is your company missing the train?
Michael Ohler, Phil Samuel and Mark McMurray of BMGI argue in Industry Week that focusing on human behavior and personal experiences can help you discover unmet customer needs and gain a deeper understanding of your customer.…
From Putting People First
[Book] Changing Behaviours: On the Rise of the Psychological State
Changing Behaviours: On the Rise of the Psychological State by Rhys Jones, Jessica Pykett and Mark Whitehead Edward Elgar Publishers 2013, 240 pages [Amazon link] Abstract Changing Behaviours charts the emergence of the behaviour…
From Putting People First
First Swedish PhD thesis in service design
Stakeholder Engagement for Service Design is the title of the first Swedish PhD thesis in service design. In the dissertation defended last week at Linköping University, Fabian Segelström wanted to find out how service designers…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Tackling the Shopping List
A problem we worked on for years. The smart shopping list. Starting with a Blackberry implementation. And many others. But was that the best approach? A self contained barcode scanner was one of the solutions. Now In FastcoLabs…
From Apophenia
Keeping Teens ‘Private’ on Facebook Won’t Protect Them
(Originally written for TIME Magazine) We’re afraid of and afraid for teenagers. And nothing brings out this dualism more than discussions of how and when teens should be allowed to participate in public life. Last week, Facebook…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Millennials and Their Devices
In Clomedia. Good piece. It has long been suggested that new generations are so used to new tech that they don't need to adapt to it at all. Often touted as truth. With implications for training, style assumptions, device…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Smart Homes Need Eyes
This GigaOM article comes to the same conclusion we did, that truly smart homes need to have integrated cameras, multiple sensors, with high speed image analysis that can be linked to decision making artificial intelligence.
From The Eponymous Pickle
SAP, SAS and Big Data Analytics
Was an early user of SAS, but it has been a number of years now. A move to Big Data partnership with SAP: Nearly every major server vendor is a SAP HANA partner -- Oracle, unsurprisingly, is the main holdout -- and many have…
From Putting People First
New York Times book review of “Status Update”
Putting People First has been following the work of Alice E. Marwick for a while, first when she published her PhD dissertation, then when her book “Status Update” came out. Now the New York Times has published Walter Kirn’s…
From Putting People First
Publication: Smart Citizens (by FutureEverything)
Smart Citizens Edited by Drew Hemment and Anthony Townsend Future Everything 2013, 96 pages This publication aims to shift the debate on the future of cities towards the central place of citizens, and of decentralised, open urban…
From Putting People First
Book: Social – Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect by Matthew D. Lieberman Crown October 2013, 384 pages [Amazon link] Abstract In Social, renowned psychologist Matthew Lieberman explores groundbreaking research in social neuroscience…
From Putting People First
Book: Smarter Than You Think
Smarter Than You Think How Technology Is Changing Our Minds For the Better by Clive Thompson and Jeff Cummings Penguin Press September 2013, 352 pages [Penguin Press link - Amazon link] Abstract How technology boosts our cognitive…
From Putting People First
How technology changes storytelling
Long New York Times piece where writers in a variety of genres tell us what new technologies mean for storytelling. Contributions by Margaret Atwood, Charles Yu, Marisha Pessl, Tom McCarthy, Rainbow Rowell, Dana Spiotta, Frederick…