Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2010
From Schneier on Security
The Doghouse: Demiurge Consulting
They claim to be "one of the nation's only and most respected security and intelligence providers" -- I've never heard of them -- but their blog consists entirely of entries copied from my blog since December 24. They don'tposts…
From Putting People First
Mass Localism
A new report by NESTA, the UK
From The Eponymous Pickle
Smartphone Scanning: Beyond Barcodes
I have been following and testing uses of smartphones as sensors. The obvious connection is using the ubiquitous barcodes to identify things in their environments. One way is to use a scanned image of a product itself and matching…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Brain Systems behind General Intelligence
In Science Daily, good overview of work at Caltech on the brain systems that affect general intelligence. The study shows that general intelligence is not localized, but not surprisingly, depends on how the whole brain worksStan…
From Computational Complexity
What is in MY automata theory course/What should be
In the last post I pondered what was more important: Automata Theory or Crypto. This raises the question of what should be in a course in automata theory. Rather than discuss that I will tell you what is in mine and see what …
From Schneier on Security
Mark Twain on Risk Analysis
From 1871:
I hunted up statistics, and was amazed to find that after all the glaring newspaper headings concerning railroad disasters, less than three hundred people had really lost their lives by those disasters in the preceding…From Wild WebMink
links for 2010-02-23
Special 301 is a nefarious mechanism that allows US corporations to request diplomatic action against foreign competitors on the flimsiest…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
ASCII Art For Fun and Projects
I guess I am on a nostalgia kick. Earlier this week I found a link to an Text Ascii Art Generator over on Doug Peterson
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
ARPA-E
Arun Majumdar, the Director of ARPA-E, spoke at the University of Washington on February 18th regarding the energy challenges facing our nation. While his talk was not specifically oriented towards computer scientists, it is…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Computer Science and America
Jeannette Wing, Assistant Director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation, addressed the CRA Computing Leadership Summit in Washington DC on February 22. Wing noted that NSF’s…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Brands Using Facebook
In Adage, a good number of examples of major brands using Facebook. ' ... "What Facebook does is connect people into communities," said an official with P&G, which recently began efforts to team with Facebook on new digital-…
From Schneier on Security
TSA Logo Contest Winner
In January I announced a contest to redesign the TSA logo. Last week I announced the five finalists -- chosen by Patrick Smith from "Ask the Pilot" and myself -- and asked you all to vote on the winner. Four hundred and seven…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Addictive Sounds
Fast Company article on addictive sounds. I agree with a number of commenters who say that these sounds are US sounds and not global. Some of the thoughts included are worth understanding, we still do not use sounds effectively…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Foursquare Signs Deal with Zagat
An interesting development which links the game like approach of Foursquare with restaurant rating service Zagat. I am still skeptical since there is no assurance that the participant has ever physically visited the restaurant…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Superbowl Neuromarketing Report
In their February newsletter Sands Research is offering their report on their yearly report of superbowl ads. ' .. Each year, the Sands Research team prepares for the big event - our annual neuro-engagement ranking of the seventy…
From Computational Complexity
What is more importantt: Automata Theory or Crypto?
The way the requirements are set up at Univ of MD at College Park, without getting into details, has set up a competition between Crypto and Automata Theory That is, a student might take one or the other, but taking both does…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Hill Tech Happenings, Week of February 22
February 23
Hearing: The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure. 2 p.m., 253 Russell Building
The Research and Science Education Subcommittee of…From Schneier on Security
Another Debit Card Skimmer
This one is installed inside gas pumps. There's nothing the customer can detect.
From Wild WebMink
links for 2010-02-22
This is an interesting and useful article by a musician (from OK Go) whose work rose to great success through "viral" word-of-mouth video (the one with the people on running machines)…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 22 February 2010
I blogged a lot of opinion pieces last week. I
From Apophenia
ChatRoulette by Sarita Yardi
Sarita Yardi has been doing a lot of thinking about ChatRoulette these days and I wanted to share a short essay she wrote to explain ChatRoulette to the uninitiated. I think that this is a fantastic introduction for those who…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Most Common Questions About Recommender Systems
I get ten to fifteen questions a week on recommender systems from entrepreneurs and engineers. Sometimes, I help people find their way in the literature. On occasion—for a consulting fee—I get my hands dirty and evaluate, design…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Coffee and the Artificial Nose
Short piece on coffee and the artificial nose. It was an area that we examined closely and tried to understand from both linking to the real world world of the agricultural commodity called coffee, and how it related to simulated…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Time vs Psychological Value of Money
Good piece by Jim Benson. About the Psychological vs the Time value of money, and how to leverage that effect.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Procter Product Lifecycle Management
From Consumer Goods Mag: P&G Optimizes Packaging and Artwork Initiatives Procter & Gamble (P&G) extends the scope of its V6 PLM implementation to incorporate global packaging and artwork initiatives. This builds on the previously…
From Apophenia
ChatRoulette, from my perspective
I’ve been following ChatRoulette for a while now but haven’t been comfortable talking about it publicly. For one, it’s a hugely controversial site, one that is prompting yet-another moral panic about youth engagement online.…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Team Kanban
Jerry Michalski is hosting a conference talk on Monday February 22, 2010 at 1:30 PM EST. Dial-in Number: 1-270-400-1500 Participant Access Code: 778778 ... Its about ' ... Personal Kanban, a applied to the team, developed by…
From Wild WebMink
links for 2010-02-21
"This issue is an embarrassment for all concerned, a naked bit of crony-capitalism that has so much more at stake than mere copyright. It needs to stop." -…
From The Eponymous Pickle
You are not a Gadget
Finished reading Jaron Lanier's You are not a Gadget: A Manifesto. (The Amazon link has a look-inside-the-book and a good Q&A with Lanier). We met Lanier, a pioneer in virtual reality, through the Institute for the Future. He…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Global Internet Usage Usage Stats
Good compilation of Global Internet usage statistics.-