Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2013
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Hill Tech Happenings, Week of May 20
May 21 Hearing: The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity with witnesses from intelligence and critical infrastructure backgrounds. 10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Building The Research and Technology…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Check out our new website!
The CCC is excited to announce the launch of our updated website www.cra.org/ccc. The new site has a fresh new look and was designed with your needs in mind. The user-friendly navigation provides easy access to the blog, research…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Software Patents
In the WSJ: On software patents. A survey and debate on the topic. The patent system, like the copyright laws, are broken and impede innovation. Process within software perhaps, but the system is heavily gamed and poorly…
From The Eponymous Pickle
One Planet Living on a Footprint App
Long time correspondent Ken Karakotsios has posted an excellent case study for the use of his Footprint USA App. I mentioned it previously and have been exploring its visualization capabilities. I have been an industrial simulation…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Twining Things Together
Good Wired Piece about Twine, an experimental capability that allows you to link together sensors in your hope to create an Internet of things. Inexpensive and it seems to be readily usable by the hobbyist. Customizable and…
From Schneier on Security
Security Risks of Too Much Security
All of the anti-counterfeiting features of the new Canadian $100 bill are resulting in people not bothering to verify them.
The fanfare about the security features on the bills, may be part of the problem, said RCMP Sgt. Duncan…From Putting People First
Ericsson studies on people’s behaviors and values
Ericsson’s ConsumerLab studies people’s behaviors and values, including the way they act and think about ICT products and services. Here are some of their recent publications: How young professionals see the perfect company April…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 20 May 2013
In case you missed the announcement last week the CSTA Election results are announced. Thank you very much to those of you who voted for me. I’ve really looking forward to helping out on this board. The school year is nearing…
From Putting People First
The secret life of data in the year 2020
Brian David Johnson, Intel futurist, shows how geotags, sensor outputs, and big data are changing the future. He argues that we need a better understanding of our relationship with the data we produce in order to build the future…
From Putting People First
The too-smart city
We’re already building the metropolis of the future—green, wired, even helpful. Now critics are starting to ask whether we’ll really want to live there. Courtney Humphries reports for the Boston Globe. “As political leaders,…
From The Eponymous Pickle
So What is Tumblr?
About to be sold to Yahoo. I was asked to look at it as a microblogging tool a few years ago. A microblog is an easy to use way to write blog posts. Tumblr adds direct support of images and social components. Time Tech provides…
From The Eponymous Pickle
The Modern Marketer
Former colleague Dave Knox, writes in his Hard Knox Life blog about the modern marketer, where he includes a whimsical infographic illustrating how the modern marketer is half artist and half scientist. Agree .. its a good…
From The Eponymous Pickle
BIg Data and Market Rsearch
In Innovation Excellence: It is natural to think about how data measuring aggregate human behavior is gathered. Its done all the time. That data is large, varied and volatile so it makes sense to also think about it with BD…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Why Big Customers want Quantum Computing
In the BBC: Notably the Pentagon and Google. This article does a good job of saying why this will ultimately be important. Once again D-Wave is complimented as being a forerunner in the field.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Uploading Brains
We don't yet understand the nature of consciousness, or the precise nature of how things are stored in our brains. Yet many are suggesting we can do a download very soon. In fiction perhaps, but we have a way to go in reality…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Decreasing Time to Insight
In Information Management: I agree that decreasing time in coming to a conclusion matters. In particular if you are selecting a promotion for mobile delivery. But it is more important first to get the right conclusion, and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Der Spiegel on Numbers
Der Spiegel, German news magazine, has a readable piece, in English, on big data and its use for forward looking predictive analytics. Read it here. Fairly good introduction.
From Putting People First
Big Data knows what your future holds
Living by the Numbers [original title: "Leben nach Zahlen"] is the title of the cover story of the German magazine Der Spiegel, available for free in English translation. “For a modern society, an even more pressing question…
From Putting People First
Industrial designers in the 21st Century: masters of the experience
Ferned Van Engelen of Artefact writes about how adding hardware design to a UX practice can create opportunities for a more holistic user experience. “We shared the belief that we could no longer separate what a product looks…
From Putting People First
Customers remember experiences, not content
To solve the issue with content marketing, we need to start looking at content as part of a broader ecosystem, argues Ben Barone-Nugent, a senior digital writer & content strategist at TBWA, in a Digital Marketing special in…
From Putting People First
Chatting in code on walkie-talkies in Pakistan’s tribal areas
Reboot principal Panthea Lee discusses on The Atlantic how people communicate in one of the most dangerous places on earth. “Barbers, for example, are seen as well-informed about local news because they converse with a wide range…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Placebo App on Smartphone
In Mashable: The placebo effect has been known for a long time. Is there a way to use interaction with a smartphone to produce a similar effect? And can that effect be more readily tailored with a smartphone? All interesting…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Striped Pyjama Squid Pet Sculpture
Technically, it's a cuttlefish and not a squid. But it's still nice art. I posted a photo of a real striped pyjama squid way back in 2006.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the…From The Eponymous Pickle
App Aids Vision Impaired Photographers
An interesting App in development. Seems like this mostly operational: " ... University of California, Santa Cruz researchers are developing a smartphone application that helps visually impaired users take pictures. The researchers…
From Schneier on Security
<i>Applied Cryptography</i> on <i>Elementary</i>
In the episode that aired on May 9th, about eight or nine minutes in, there's a scene with a copy of Applied Cryptography prominently displayed on the coffee table. This isn't the first time that my books have appeared on that…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Register for US Ignite’s Application Summit
US Ignite’s Application Summit, June 24-26, in Chicago, IL is the premier event designed for developers, industry, communities, government, foundations and universities interested in next-generation technologies and gives them…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
A criticism of computer science: models or modèles?
I was recently on a review committee for a PhD proposal. The student was brilliant. His proposal sounded deep and engaging. The methodology looked scientific: build a model, program the software, gather data, compute the metrics…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Google I/O Review
A good overview of the 2013 Google I/O developer presentations that gives you a better understanding where Google, with its massive collection of data, is going. Worth understanding for anyone, heavy Google user or not.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Analytics are the Supply Chain's Next Big Thing
Well yes, and have been since at least the 1960s. Good to be reminded, but this is very old news.
From Computational Complexity
The MOOCs Degree
Earlier this week Georgia Tech announced the Online Masters of Science in Computer Science, a MOOCs-based degree with a total tuition of about $7000. This degree came out of a collaboration between Sebastian Thrun of UdacityFAQ…