Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2012
From Apophenia
Dear Media, Back The F*** Off Newtown
In late May – or maybe early June – of 1999, I ended up at a rave in a field on the outskirts of Denver. I was driving cross-country and I wasn’t thinking about our geography. Like many raves at the time, it was a mix of folks…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Google's Second Search
A telling view in Xconomy with considerable background information concerning Google's knowledge graph work. Positioning it as a 'second brain', to avoid coming up empty in the context of a search. Getting closer to at least…
From updated sporadically at best
Yes, I am a Minimalist.
My friends laugh at my “minimalism.” And I do not blame them.I like things. When I was younger, I aspired to own a Nalgene in every color. I have lost count of how many computers I have. Until recently, teenage girls loved…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Innovation Excellence Weekly
Always some interesting posts, that they are now also publishing in a weekly format. I have rarely contributed, and read it often.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Decline of Manufacturing
M J Perry on the decline of global manufacturing. Is it something we should be concerned about? I see his point, but there are things that will have to be manufactured to support our needs.
From Wild WebMink
The Princess And The Pea
The Princess And The Pea, originally uploaded by webmink. Because the internet is still for sharing cat pictures. And no, she could not tell if there was a pea or not – the other cat could though, which is why it wasn’t her sitting…
From The Eponymous Pickle
First IBM Portable Advertisement
Just two years after this computer was brought out, in 1979, we used the IBM 5120 with our CEO to test the idea of an executive information system. The system delivered focused sales data and visualizations that helped planthe…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Microsoft Dynamics
In Computing Now: An overview of what Microsoft is doing in the enterprise, Microsoft Dynamics, its connection to Windows 8, interfaces and all of their enterprise offerings. A look at the overall infrastructure and the investments…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Kurzweil Joins Google
The futurist proposer of the approach of an inevitable people-machine singularity, Ray Kurzweil, has joined Google as an employee. In GigaOM. Apparently to work on machine learning and language processing. Given thethe…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Giant PVC Squid
Neat art project. Another link.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered.
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
An Update on Tracking My Time
You may recall back in September that I was bringing back time sheets to help myself manage my time between looking after my baby girl and doing schoolwork. Now that a semester has passed, I can reflect on how that actuallyDon't…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
International Enrollment in US Computer Science Colleges
Are international students brilliant innovators that should catch a ride on the STEM and CS train in U.S. colleges?
I am Computer Science teacher in an American school in Latin America whose mission is to prepare students for…From The Eponymous Pickle
Persistence of Association
An interesting interaction between odor and sound in sleep. Non conscious interaction between senses and the brain in contexts. " ... Sleep appears to play a key role in helping the brain consolidate the memories it forms…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Computer Engineers Search for Ways to Keep Microcircuits Cool
A recent article in Nature, highlights a major challenge that computer engineers are facing. As the size of microcircuits decreases, the higher their temperature rises. They must now find new ways to keep the computer parts cool…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Smartphones for Checkout Lines
QThru, another example of aisle checkout, here is described in Geekwire. Another example of this general play, described here previously, is AisleBuyer. Store check out line wait, often sited by shoppers as a problem, and…
From Schneier on Security
Book Review: <i>Against Security</i>
Security is both a feeling and a reality, and the two are different things…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Engage With Superfans
In Adage: What seem like some good advice. Engage with your super fans and help them go viral with two way communications. Engage mavens and communicators.
From Apophenia
ICWSM-13, run by Emre Kiciman
I’m pleased to announce that the CFP for ICWSM-13 is now live. In late October, it was announced that Ethan Zuckerman and I were running the conference. Due to communication failures and organizational disagreements, we stepped…
From Putting People First
Are the older generation getting tech-savvy?
BBC News has published a 5 minute video feature on Cambridge University’s Design Centre where they test how elderly people use technology. Must-have modern gadgets are designed by young people with young people in mind – that…
From Putting People First
McKinsey’s iConsumer Global Research Initiative
Recent reports from McKinsey’s iConsumer Global Research Initiative: Moving from “mobile first” to “touch first” December 2012 (published on the EconomistGroup site) Already, more than a third of the time people spend web browsing…
From Schneier on Security
The History of Security Economics
Ross Anderson recalls the history of security economics (presentation and paper.)
From Wild WebMink
MariaDB Foundation
I interviewed Monty Widenius and Andrew Katz about the new MariaDB Foundation. There’s more in my column for InfoWorld today.
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Calling all US High School CS Teachers: Please give us your thoughts!
You may be seeing this announcement on other blogs or websites. If so I apologize for the repetition. But I do believe this is an important project.
An important announcement from Baker Franke:
Right now a lot of importantI'm…From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
When Less Is More
Claiming less may be a good idea Robert Browning was an English poet of world renown in the Victorian age. His fame rests mostly on his dramatic monologues, in which characters reveal indirectly much about themselves. Here you…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Bar Code Inventor Dies
I worked with identification technology technologies for years. Bar codes were a simple solution to a simple problem with wide ranging, complex applications ... They are still of much value ...A colleague - correspondent writes…
From The Eponymous Pickle
App Economy
Some fascinating statistics regarding the 'App Economy' and how it varies regionally. Working with startups it is frequently the complaint that we could better programming and technology skills on the coasts rather than in Ohio…
From Wild WebMink
Dawn Tree
Dawn Tree, originally uploaded by webmink. One of the advantages of the irregular sleep patterns I’ve been experiencing lately post-travel is I get to see the early dawn sometimes. This was the view from the bedroom window this…
From Schneier on Security
The Internet in North Korea
How Internet censorship works in North Korea.
From The Eponymous Pickle
SAP CFO on the Evolving Role of the CFO
At the recent CFO Dimensions conference in Chicago I was invited to interview a number of CFO participants for the CFO Intellectual Exchange Network (IXN). There I met Thack Brown, SVP and CFO of SAP Latin America. He had participated…
From The Eponymous Pickle
DunnHumby and BzzAgent Pulse
In AdAge: Kroger and Unilever are among the pleased users. Some good detail here: " ... Pulse draws data not just from the million BzzAgents, but also from the Dunnhumby Continuous Panel, a group of 6 million households…