Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2014
From The Eponymous Pickle
More IT Outsourcing at Procter & Gamble
More P&G Outsourcing, announced in CGT: " P&G Strikes Big Outsourcing Deal CenturyLink will offer hybrid IT infrastructure services, with access to technologies from its ecosystem of solutions from Cisco, NetApp, SAP and other…
From Schneier on Security
TOTEGHOSTLY 2.0: NSA Exploit of the Day
Today's item from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
TOTEGHOSTLY 2.0 (TS//SI//REL) TOTEGHOSTLY 2.0 is STRAITBIZARRE based implant for the Windows Mobile embedded operating system and uses the…From The Eponymous Pickle
Tweets About TV on the Second Screen
The second screen exists today. I often use a tablet while using TV, as an information source, but rarely to react to what is on the TV, despite predictions that the TV Twitter connection would grow. I tested an App that was…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Geek Squad Summer Academy
This looks interesting. Best Buy runs a summer program for students ages 10 to 18 in conjunction with various non-profits. Students get hands on experience in a number of interesting areas.
Their web site is http://academy.geeksquad…From The Eponymous Pickle
Artificial Hands with Feelings
Haptics is the science of touch. New ideas in their application. " .... An Artificial Hand with Real Feelings A new nerve interface can simulate a sense of touch from 20 spots on a prosthetic hand. ... "
From The Eponymous Pickle
Thermal Imaging on Smartphones
Of interest for compliance operations: FLIR Systems Introduces First Thermal Imager Designed for Smartphones - MarketWatch As more sensors emerge, we will be able to apply retail time analytics to mobile systems. Includes a…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Longer Distance RFID
Making RFID work at long distances. From the always interesting RFID Journal. Usefulness implicatons, and privacy considerations.
From Schneier on Security
Debating Snowden's Actions
It's the season. Here are two.
From Putting People First
Videos of Day 3 of Interaction14 conference
Is there a Language of Interaction Design [Not yet online] Keynote by Gillian Crampton Smith, Designer/Educator, IUAV University of Venice > Full description Bridging the Physical-Digital Divide [44:32] Jason Mesut, Head of User…
From Putting People First
Videos of Day 2 of Interaction14 conference
Body Languages of Interaction Design [38:53] Keynote by Irene Au Design is both art and science, yet while we teach methods and practices for hard design skills, we don’t teach practices that address the art of design, which…
From Putting People First
Videos of Day 1 of Interaction14 conference
Languaging reality, dialogue and interaction [41:05] Keynote by Klaus Krippendorff, Emeritus Professor of Communication at The Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania In his keynote, Klaus distinguishes…
From The Eponymous Pickle
A New Class of Shapes
Mathematicians find a new class of shapes, 400 years later. My first article in a blog (a math newsletter) long ago was on platonic solids. " .... Nearly 400 years after the last class was described, mathematicians claim…
From Writing
Maxing out at 50 concurrent connections with Play or Netty on OS X? Here's a fix.
I recently ran across a strange problem with the Play Framework and Netty: on Linux, my Play app could easily handle thousands of concurrent connections; on OS X, the same app maxed out at around 50 concurrent connections. It…
From The Eponymous Pickle
IBM and AT&T Partner for the Internet of Things
In CIO Today: Fairly straightforward. " ... To enable an Internet of Things solution as envisioned by IBM and AT&T, you need access to a robust network, intelligent sensors or endpoints, and a backend IT infrastructure capable…
From Schneier on Security
TOTECHASER: NSA Exploit of the Day
Today's item from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
TOTECHASER (TS//SI//REL) TOTECHASER is a Windows CE implant targeting the Thuraya 2520 handset. The Thuraya is a dual mode phone that can operate…From The Eponymous Pickle
Delivering Addictive Games
The 'Flappy Bird' Phenomeon it is being called. Now it is being suggested that the idea will soon be used by big marketing companies like Purina and Target. (Good examples at the Adage Link) In a startup project we looked at…
From CERIAS Blog
If you are bored or morbidly curious…
The Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota is devoted to research and preservation of the history of computing. They have amassed an interesting collection of literature and memorabilia that shows the history…
From CERIAS Blog
If you are bored or morbidly curious…
The Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota is devoted to research and preservation of the history of computing. They have amassed an interesting collection of literature and memorabilia that shows the history…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
WATCH Talk – Going Spear Phishing: Exploring Embedded Training and Awareness
On February 20 at 12:00pm EST, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will host it’s next Washington Area Trustworthy Computing Hour (WATCH) talk. Deanna Caputo of the MITRE Corporation will give a talk titled Going Spear Phishing…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Location of the Brain's Emotions
In Neurorelay: Intriguing visual. Having looked into this area I would be careful about direct implications. I have worked with neuroscientists in this area and there is NOT complete knowledge of the interaction of brain…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Consolidation of App Experience in Enterprise Mobile Strategy
In the Cisco Blog. Too many Apps with too little experience? " ... Apps, apps and more apps, is your company experiencing a proliferation of apps? Cisco certainly is. We are moving out of the experimental stage of app development…
From Schneier on Security
What Information Are Stun Guns Recording?
In a story about a stolen Stradivarius violin, there's this:
Information from a stun gun company, an anonymous tip and hours of surveillance paved the way for authorities to find a stolen 300-year-old Stradivarius violin in[…From Wild WebMink
Making the most with Open Source
Originally posted on Meshed Insights & Knowledge:What opportunities does Open Source provide if you’re really looking to go big? Aiming to become “the next Red Hat” is an idea flawed from the start, as former XenSource CEO Peter…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Sorting Isn’t Always Simple
Like a lot of people I have been following the Olympics lately. For all the talk about sport and individual and team achievement there is always a lot of attention to what countries are “winning.” Conveniently there are lots…
From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
Three From CCC
Comments on three papers from the Conference on Computational Complexity Michael Saks is Chair of the Program Committee of this year’s Conference on Computational Complexity (CCC). He was helped by Paul Beame, Lance Fortnow,…
From Schneier on Security
PICASSO: NSA Exploit of the Day
Today's item from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
PICASSO (S//SI//REL) Modified GSM (target) handset that collects user data, location information and room audio. Command and data exfil is …From The Eponymous Pickle
STEM, Thinking Logically, Starting at Kahn
Brought to my attention. From the Kahn Academy. A short tutorial on thinking logically. A reminder of early training and implementation we did using first order logic. Essential for programming and understanding computers…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Thinking Under Biases. Fast and Slow
A friend sends a link from the WSJ: Why the Grass Seem's Greener. " ... We are of Two Minds - One deliberative and rational, the other quick and intuitive. They often don't agree. ... " A review of the book by economistThinking…
From Schneier on Security
US Infosec Researchers Against NSA Surveillance
I signed an open letter from US researchers in cryptography and information security on NSA surveillance. It has received a lot of media coverage.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Philips Intelligent Store Lighting
In GigaOM: Remember seeing this at a Philips visit. A retail approach we looked at. The integrating into existing retail infrastructure is key. " .... The Dutch tech giant has come up with a way to use connected lighting as…