Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2011
From Schneier on Security
Zombie Fungus
The security connection is pretty tenuous, so I figured I'd blog this on a Saturday.
Once it infects an ant, the fungus uses as-yet-unidentified chemicals to control the ant's behavior, Hughes told LiveScience. It directs the…From The Eponymous Pickle
Is Telephoning Over?
In the NYT Fashion and Style section: Don
From The Eponymous Pickle
Interdisciplinary Computing Blog
Interdisciplinary Computing Blog. by Lisa C. Kaczmarczyk. Brought to my attention recently. In particular an article on earthquake preparation and response and the importance of computing as it is used in cultural anthropology…
From The Eponymous Pickle
High Memory Tags
It used to be a feature of RFID tags that they contained very small amounts of data, with the tag acting as a link to data sources. Yet there appears to be an increase of high memory tags, containing multiple kilobytes of self…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Hacking into Cars
In Technology Review: Hacking into cars wirelessly. More holes in the infrastructure.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Telehealth
Good piece in Fast Company on Telehealth. Which seems to say that it is effective to use remote sensors and expertise to deliver health. I further think that the use of sensors integrated in simple, consumer owned and friendly…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
What is the Big Deal With Java?
What is the big deal with Java?
I teach at a public school of excellence that can best be described as a magnet school for the state. We are currently in our recruiting season where we have information sessions and students…From The Eponymous Pickle
Green Goose Sensors
In Engadget: A set of sensors that can monitor many aspects of your life, like exercise, then award you with experience points, compete with others, etc.
From Computational Complexity
Travel Support for Students going to STOC 2011
If you are a grad student and want to goto STOC 2011 there is travel support money that you can apply for. See here for details.
We are particularly interested in getting people who normally ARE NOT able to get to STOC…
From Putting People First
The European Union is planning to enshrine in law the right to be forgotten on the internet, but we can’t live outside society, argues investigative journalist and filmmaker Tessa Mayes in The Guardian. “Being forgotten might…
From Putting People First
User-led does not equal user-centered
“Companies should lead their users, not the other way around.” So say Jens Skibsted and Rasmus Hansen in their recent post, User-Led Innovation Can’t Create Breakthroughs, on Fast Company’s Co.Design blog. “They
From Wild WebMink
links for 2011-03-18
Skype security weaknesses could endanger 'vulnerable users' | Technology | guardian.co.uk This Privacy International report covers a few of the reasons citizens in surveilled society should avoid Skype. I avoid it for these reasons…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Whack Something Game for Windows Phone 7
The last several yeas the University of New Hampshire has put on a
From Wild WebMink
? The Threat Of Parallel Filing
When we consider software patents, it’s easy to believe they are something outside the open source communities. Mentally, many of us model them as a weapon belonging to “patent trolls” – companies who don’t make products in the…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Corning's Glass House
We developed a 'Home of the Future' back in '00 .... and have always been interested how the home would evolve to integrate internet technologies. We saw Phillips efforts in this area, which used mirrors to display online information…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Bam Analytics
I have been looking for a good App to run site analytics on mobile. I found BAM Analytics, which the reviews claimed worked well for Running Google Analytics on the IPhone. At first it repeatedly crashed, but after an update…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Converging Disciplines in Analytics
In SASCom, a review of Tom Davenport's talk on converging analytics in analytics, from Analytics World. Largely obvious, but worth looking at.
From Computational Complexity
Update on 17x17 problem
Long time readers may recall that 17x17 problem that I posted on Nov 30, 2009 here. I am sometimes asked if the problem is still open. Alas it is. Is the bounty on it still available. Alas it is. Some thoughts and experiences
…From The Eponymous Pickle
Unilever Augments Reality in a London Train Station
An intriguing experiment with augmented reality ideas by consumer goods giant Unilever. Seems mostly stunt-like but probably got lots of local attention. This does not appear to utilize any devices owned by the consumer. Reactrix…
From Wild WebMink
links for 2011-03-17
White House wants new copyright law crackdown | Privacy Inc. – CNET News This repeated lack of balance and failure to consider the overall cultural and technical picture of the change the Internet is catalysing is just so bad…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
ACM Washington Update Vol. 15.2 (March 16 2011)
CONTENTS
[1] Newsletter Highlights [2] 2010 ACM A.M Turing Award Recognizes Les Valiant [3] USACM Supports Defense Against FY '11 Cuts [4] USACM Comments on Federal Trade Commission Online Privacy Report [5] USACM Joins Statement…From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Governments Should Stop Funding Higher Education
Everyone knows that publicly funded education is good. Right? Wait! Why? “Education has substantial non-financial benefits.” This argument assumes that people who forgo schooling are uneducated. It is weaker in the Wikipedia…
From Schneier on Security
Hacking ATM Users by Gluing Down Keys
Clever hack:
The thieves glue down the "enter," "cancel" and "clear" buttons on the keypad and wait until the customer goes into the bank for help before withdrawing money from their account. The robbed customers have already…From Wild WebMink
? OSI Governance Landmark
You’ll recall about this time last year I was honoured to join the OSI Board and expressed hopes OSI could move towards representative governance. Well, I spent the weekend in San Francisco at an OSI Board face-to-face meeting…
From Putting People First
Social media, internet, technology and museums
The New York Times has published no less than eight articles at once on the topic of social media, internet, technology and museums. Note the article about the Arduino! Speaking digitally about exhibits Museums around the world…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Kodu Cup 2011
Create a new game with Kodu and you could win $5,000 for yourself and your school and lots of great technology!
Welcome to the Microsoft Kodu Cup: A game design competition for students 9
From The Eponymous Pickle
What is the Legacy of Your Online Data?
Revelatory piece in Popular Mechanics on this mostly overlooked aspect of data privacy. Bottom line, it is unclear: ' ... Our lives are inundated with more data than ever. But when we die, our passwords and online accounts may…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Scanning a Barcode to Save your Place in Line
A simple clever idea in Mashable: " ... Scan QR codes to save your place on multiple wait lists.Proving that nine guys can successfully launch a startup in 48 hours on a bus, WalkIN is walking away from SXSW Interactive a big…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Oracle Mobile Client for Supply Chain
New on Oracle and Supply Chains. I like that these systems are being delivered for mobile use. Linking to sensors and other real time connections makes sense as we start to immerse ourselves in these complex networking problems…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Google Building Bosses
Google, using analytical methods, discovers that it is listening and asking good questions that are better qualities of a manager than having deep technical experise.