Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2011
From Wild WebMink
links for 2011-07-26
Scoop: Oracle scrubs site of embarrassing Java blog The Internet never forgets. (tags: Oracle Java Google Android) VLC and unwelcome redistributors A more detailed article explaining the problem VLC is having with companies using…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
NSF Calling for Sustainability-Related PIREs
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a new solicitation for Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE), a Foundation-wide program that supports international activities across all NSF-funded disciplines…
From Schneier on Security
iPhone Iris Scanning Technology
No indication about how well it works:
The smartphone-based scanner, named Mobile Offender Recognition and Information System, or MORIS, is made by BI2 Technologies in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and can be deployed by officers…From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Encapsulation
My good friend Sam Stokes posted an introduction to Encapsulation not long ago. Not that I am competitive mind you but I thought I could do better. And since I had some vacation time in which to think and write I have given…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Examples of Wearable Video
Here some examples of wearable video technology in Amazon. We looked at this for applications in retail.
From The Eponymous Pickle
The Paradox of Common Sense
Another inspiration from SFI, Duncan Watts, who led us indirectly to things like Tremor. Here a new article leading to his forthcoming book on the connections between human common sense and science. Links well with the common…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Swarm Intelligence
We were introduced to the concept of swarm intelligence by the Santa Fe Institute. Here they link to a video using the common example of ants. Individually simple but very intelligent as a group. We experimented with the use…
From Schneier on Security
Revenge Effects of Too-Safe Playground Equipment
Sometimes too much security isn't good.
After observing children on playgrounds in Norway, England and Australia, Dr. Sandseter identified six categories of risky play: exploring heights, experiencing high speed, handling dangerous…From Computational Complexity
Why did 1+1=2 take Russell and Whitehead 300 pages?
In my post about the myth that Logicians are crazy I mentioned in passing that Whitehead and Russell spend 300 pages proving 1+1=2 (but were both sane). Two people privately emailed me:
Are you sure Russell and Whitehead weren't…From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Hill Tech Happenings, Week of July 25
July 26 Hearing: The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure. 11 a.m., 2322 Rayburn Building
From Wild WebMink
links for 2011-07-25
'B' Ark Which one is your ark? (tags: Books Hitchhikers Quotations)
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
At the recent
From Schneier on Security
Smuggling Drugs in Unwitting People's Car Trunks
A few miles away across the Rio Grande, the FBI determined that Chavez and Gomez were using lookouts to monitor the SENTRI Express Lane at the border. The lookouts identified "targets" -- people with regularKeys…
From BLOG@CACM
Foggy Futures: The Confused Computing Career Aspirations of 12-Year-Olds
Based on recent interviews with 12 year olds about careers in computing, I argue that if we want to evaluate programs that encourage young people to study computing, we need a shared vocabulary of computing concepts.
From The Noisy Channel
Attention vs. Privacy
A major feature of the recently released Google+ is Circles, which allows you to “share relevant content with the right people, and follow content posted by people you find interesting.” Most people seem to look at Circles as…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 25 July 2011
I was on vacation last week. I had not Internet or cell phone access for a week. It was wonderful as I really needed the break. Don’t we all need a break now and again? Yes there were posts all week I wrote them in advance so…
From Putting People First
Online security for regular people is a disaster
Online security for regular people like you and me is a disaster. It’s a killer app waiting to be designed. When you have a smartphone with some apps and a computer, you easily have to manage 30 to 50 sites and apps that require…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Skin as an Interactive Canvas
In CACM: Had seen some related examples of this. An on-skin body input and display system. Very clever thought. Skin as an interactive canvas. Abstract. Video below. " ... Skinput is a technology that appropriates the…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Changing the Rules of Education
In Wired. With the Kahn Academy. At first I thought of this as a sort of home schooling for motivated people of any age. But based on this article it seems to be much richer than I thought. And I still wonder about the…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Packaging and Neuromarketing
Roger Dooley on packaging and the use of neuromarketing techniques, with some useful examples.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Apple Prospers for US While Assembly Happens Overseas
Good article in Mike Perry's blog on the value of overseas assembly for a US company like Apple. Making the case that globalization has real benefits. They comments provide some contrary views.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Seeking Smartphone Moms
Important demographic. In my own observations it appears that more women are using smartphones now and the understanding of this is key. Manufacturers are responding. See my recent post on the Beauty Advisor App offered…
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
Women and Going Beyond the Game
While it seems to me that many more women are playing traditionally "male" video games these days, there is also a group of women who go beyond the game in ways that, according to James Paul Gee and Elizabeth Hayes, are important…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
DARPA: Learning Warfare from Social Media
DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O) has issued a new solicitation for “innovative research proposals in the area of social media in strategic communication” that will give rise to “a new science of social networks built…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Introducing the IT History Society
Last week I received two messages about the IT History Society
From Putting People First
Ten Ways to Redesign Design Competitions
John Thackara has been a juror on a series of sustainability and design competitions recently. And he has become a bit frustrated. Most of them, he says, miss their tremendous potential of stimulating fresh thinking, posing new…
From Putting People First
UI Design: an all-American product that
Rob Tannen argues that user interface design is the most original and influential design coming out of the United States today. “It is the emphasis on user-centered design that has made American interface design so successful…
From My Biased Coin
Tact
Early in the week, I was excited to find out that, apparently, it was perfectly appropriate for us professors to call (at least, already graduated) students assholes, publicly, because if it's good enough for Larry Summers, it's…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Glass Squid
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Sock Monkey and Michelle
Here is Sock Monkey with Michelle Hutton. Michelle is stepping into her new role as CSTA Past Chair after serving for two years as CSTA Chair (President). She will continue serving on the CSTA Board for another year and will …