Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2013
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Digital Natives Providing Connections Other Generations
Once again, my family has come through just in time for another blog posting. This past weekend, we were able to celebrate my grandfather's 97th birthday. It was a momentous occasion- more than 40 family members there to celebrate…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
USACM Encourages Flexibility In Proposed Cybersecurity Framework
As part of the President’s Executive Order on Cybersecurity, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is required to develop a Cybersecurity Framework (Framework). This Framework, per Section 7 of the Executive…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Supply Chain and Visualization
I note that a paper I co-authored some time ago has now been re-posted on Linkedin:Blending OR/MS, Judgment, and GIS: Restructuring P&G's Supply ChainINTERFACES, February 1, 1997Milestone project for both P&G and for OR. Restructured…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Best Time to Share Knowledge?
At first I thought this was hokum. A connection to circadian rhythms that make us significantly more receptive to knowledge at some times? But thinking back to our own experience with massive tasks knowledge elicitation and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Sketches Selling Soap
A new Dove video called 'Sketches' now gone viral, seems to show how women's beauty view of themselves differs considerably from the view of others. It is very entertaining, and seems to make a deep point. I am not sure it'Does…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Ivan Sutherland and My History with E&S
For a number of years we used Evans & Sutherland interactive graphics displays to develop packaging for new products and to determine their compatibility with manufacturing, shelf and consumer. Previously I had used theirstill…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Goodbye Posterous
I see today that the simple blogging engine Posterous is soon to be deleted. I set up Posterous blogs for several people. It was a particularly easy to use method, and yet largely complete in its capabilities. Twitter bought…
From The Eponymous Pickle
On Native Advertising
In Techdirt, a good article about native advertising. Though the definitions vary in detail, it is advertising that is embedded deeply in the content itself. Not pop outs or pop overs, but ads that so seamlessly embed themselves…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
The Atlantic on research ecology
An interesting article in The Atlantic by computer scientist Ben Schneiderman on “an ecological model of research and development.” Donald Stokes (Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation, 1997) stresses…
From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
Sex, Lies, And Quantum Computers
Okay, no sex, but a discussion about quantum computers. Steven Soderbergh directed the famous movie: Sex, Lies, and Videotape. This 1989 movie won the Palme d’Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, and is now in the United States…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Advances in 3D Visualization
A recent conversation about how 3D visualization could improve the effect of shelf virtualization. An overview of current technology in Computer.org.
From Wild WebMink
Microsoft Firewall
On its first anniversary, I remain convinced that the motivation for Microsoft’s wholly-owned open source & open standards subsidiary is primarily to isolate Microsoft from the open source community. I explain in InfoWorld.
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Lego Giant Squid Model
This is a fantastic Lego model of a space kraken attacking a Star Wars Super Star Destroyer.
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 Eponymous Pickle
Advanced Analytics from TDWI
At the TDWI conference, Fern Halper talks about what they call 'advanced analytics', which appears to include most statistical and numerical models beyond simple regression. She is in the process of building a model for using…
From Schneier on Security
xkcd on a Bad Threat Model
Funny, and true.
From Wild WebMink
Time For A Security Team For OpenJDK
In my InfoWorld column today I consider the recent news that Java 8 is going to be substantially delayed because Oracle’s development staff have had to focus on security issues. I wonder if fully and inclusively engaging the…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
MIT Technology Review’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2013
Each year MIT’s magazine, MIT Technology Review, publishes a list 10 of breakthrough technologies that are most likely to change the world by fixing intractable problems. These technologies are defined as “an advance that gives…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Drones and Now Nano satellites: Phonesats
Lots of things are getting small and more mobile. As presented in Computerworld. What are the implications of smaller and widely ranging sensors? " ... NASA has launched three smartphones into space in what scientists hope…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
P equal to NP and all that
One of the better known problems in Computer Science is the P versus NP problem. It is often related to the following question: do all problems for which we can check the correctness of a solution quickly can also be solved quickly…
From Schneier on Security
Tor Needs Bridges
The Internet anonymity service Tor needs people who are willing to run bridges. It's a goodness for the world; do it if you can.
From Computational Complexity
Ideas in Search of a Blog Post
I keep a list of ideas for blog posts, but some will never turn into posts. So here are a few random thoughts from that list. Some people like to write prose, some people like to write lists, like Bill's last post. Bill will…
From The Eponymous Pickle
AT&T Launches Domestic Internet of Things
In GigaOM: Have been looking for ways that the internet can be more generally and systematically brought into the physical home. For home control and communications with the external web. How will this influence how the home…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Wireless Charging
Have been waiting for this for a long time. A look at the status of the state of wireless charging in Computing Now. First to be seen for mobile devices. " ... Even though wireless charging is only now becoming important,…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Managing Projects Outside Core Mission
Vic Uzumeri wrote about an interesting idea:I've been working on a project management concept for organizations that need periodic "side projects", but have difficulty organizing and managing activities outside their core mission…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Big Data Congressional Hearing
On April 24, 2013, Farnam Jahanian, Assistant Director for the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate at the National Science Foundation testified on Next Generation Computing and Big Data Analytics…
From Schneier on Security
Cryptanalyst on British Postage Stamps
A 92-year-old World War II Bletchley Park codebreaker has had a set of commemorative stamps issued in his honor.
From My Biased Coin
Thanks for the Memories....
I'm off to a meeting next week, so today was my last day of class for Computer Science 124 (Algorithms and Data Structures) for the semester. For two reasons, today feels important. First, because I'll be on sabbatical next…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Obsessions with Causation
We are pattern matching animals. Looking for repeatable causes to find leading indicators to ultimately protect ourselves from dangers, or provide us with opportunities. And like with patterns we often find causation whenFull…
From Putting People First
Jan-Christoph Zoels on interfaces at UNStudio during Milan Design Week [video]
![Jan-Christoph Zoels on interfaces at UNStudio during Milan Design Week [video]](/system/assets/0000/1953/030209_Vanderbeeken_Mark_250.small_square.jpg?1476779420&1260281963)
Jan-Christoph Zoels, an Experientia founding partner, was one of the panelists at the UNStudio Platform Dialogues during the Milan Design Week and a video of his discussion with Markus Benz (CEO Walter Knoll) and Birgit Lohmann…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Data for Doctors
In CW World: Mining for patterns in health care cases. The trick may well be to provide the right architecture to mine in. And it does need to be patient, not data centric: " ... "The electronic medical record has become…