Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2013
From The Eponymous Pickle
Multiple Definitions of Big Data
Via Gib Bassett. Multiple definitions are discussed, seven in all. I like concise definitions, but this is a look at all the ways that big data is being used today. I prefer a single definition that covers all forms of data…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Giant Origami Squid
Giant origami squid photo found -- without explanation -- on Reddit.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered.
From Wild WebMink
A Change in License for Berkeley DB
Reblogged from Meshed Insights & Knowledge: Perhaps you didn't spot it, but last month in their new Berkeley DB release Oracle changed the license associated with the software. Many will see this as a betrayal of trust, despite…
From Schneier on Security
How Apple Continues to Make Security Invisible
Interesting article:
Apple is famously focused on design and human experience as their top guiding principles. When it comes to security, that focus created a conundrum. Security is all about placing obstacles in the way of[…From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
Earnest Games, Not Serious Games
Why is it that after ten years of Games for Change festivals guys like Ian Bogost are still making the same argument: games have the power to depict complexity in ways other media can't, and they have the potential to positively…
From Schneier on Security
Sixth Movie-Plot Threat Contest Winner
On April 1, I announced the Sixth Mostly-Annual Movie-Plot Threat Contest:
For this year's contest, I want a cyberwar movie-plot threat. (For those who don't know, a movie-plot threat is a scare story that would make a great…From The Eponymous Pickle
This Blog
Around this time of the year I like to post an item about this blog and its origins and purpose, so I repeat my post of 2008:This blog was established an in internal effort within P&G in 2003. It replaced a newsletter that I…
From The Eponymous Pickle
When they Say No
A post from Beverly Jones, via ThreeJoy on what to do about professional rejection. What to do when they say no. This is rarely discussed, but it is inevitable, so worth thinking about. See also her blog
From The Eponymous Pickle
Pantene's Twitter Program
An interview about what they are calling Pantene's Powerful Oscars Twitter Program. Had missed the details of this, but the article is a good case study of the use of Twitter social in CPG event related campaigns. " .…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Search in an Augmented World
In SEO a number of interesting implications for search in an augmented reality world. Some obvious things here. How do you add other dimensions to the search space? The geographic is the obvious addition. What is closest…
From Schneier on Security
Is Cryptography Engineering or Science?
Responding to a tweet by Thomas Ptacek saying, "If you're not learning crypto by coding attacks, you might not actually be learning crypto," Colin Percival published a well-thought-out rebuttal, saying in part:
If we were still…From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
CS Educator Interview: Ian McTavish
For today's computer science educator interview we head north of the (US) border to Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada and talk with Ian McTavish. The Province of Ontario has some good curriculum support for…
From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
Independence Day
Will logical independence have its day? John Adams was the second president of the United States. He predicted that July 2nd would be always remembered: “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Sensor Life Logging with Saga
In Technology Review: Using your smartphone sensors to monitor and record your every move. Some interesting learnings that could be applied to other sensor stream applications. " ... ARO is behind an app called Saga that…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Detecting Access Fraud
Brought to my attention, Fraudlogix, a system that detects access fraud, resulting from artificial lead generation. The included behavior analysis that separates legitimate access from non value connections, is of interest…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Humanoid Robotics
Kurzweil on Samsung's humanoid robot. The visual map aspect of the intelligence of the device is intriguing. Geography and knowledge need maps. I have often mused on the need for a robotic to look like a human. Will that…
From Schneier on Security
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence Defends NSA Surveillance Programs
Here's a transcript of a panel discussion about NSA surveillance. There's a lot worth reading here, but I want to quote Bob Litt's opening remarks. He's the General Council for ODNI, and he has a lot to say about the programs…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
TouchDevelop–Acceleration and GameLoop
Happy Fourth of July! If you are on the Internet today it should be for fun. For that reason I recorded a little video of using TouchDevelop to demo the GameLoop event and the Acceleration sensor on a Windows Phone 8.
TouchDevelop…From Putting People First
UX and The Museum: Converging perspectives on experience design
Museums visitors are no longer as satisfied with rows of objects on display. They want the objects to tell a story. They want to understand the main message of the exhibit without reading a single block of text. Mary Oakland,…
From Putting People First
Intel on wearable tech: we need to focus on how we use it
Intel and its team of futurologists and anthropologists have a vision of a world where the technology is not an adjunct (as the mobile phone or the tablet is now) but embedded in our lives, generating and mining data in a way…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Apple Hires Luxury Brand CEO
What could this mean? Speculation, but interesting connection: " ..... Apple has hired Paul Deneve, until Tuesday the CEO of French luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent, to work as its vice president for special projects, igniting…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Thirty years from prototype to product…the mouse
Timothy B. Lee of The Washington Post reports on the death of Douglas Engelbart, inventor of the mouse, and why it took 30 years for the public to adopt the technology. “Engelbart created the first mouse prototype in 1963. He…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Involve Employees in Strategic Planning
Fairly obvious. Well worth thinking through. Involve your employees as early as possible. Use analytic methods to understand the implications for decisions. " ... The failure is in the strategic planning process itself…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Search Enigma
I have noticed that there is lots of hype in search and data mining spaces. Intellectual property claimed that really adds to nothing at all. So I am always on the lookout for new fresh ideas. Here is one, have not studied…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
US Rejoins World’s Top 5 Countries for Innovation
The United States is one of the five most innovative countries in the world, according to the Global Innovation Index 2013, a hefty 392-page report published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property…
From The Eponymous Pickle
P&G Global Demand Sensing
More on P&G's activity in the demand forecasting realm. Note the significant use of the word 'sensing', as we gain more sensors in the world, this capability will be tuned and delivered in many other enterprises. " ..…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Douglas Engelbart, Inventor of the Mouse, has Passed Away
We had the opportunity to meet with Doug Engelbart many times. He told us of the difficult time he had getting people to appreciate the mouse user interface. In later years he understood the difficult problems of enterprise…
From Schneier on Security
Privacy Protests
Interesting law journal article: "Privacy Protests: Surveillance Evasion and Fourth Amendment Suspicion," by Elizabeth E. Joh.
Abstract: The police tend to think that those who evade surveillance are criminals. Yet the evasion…From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
CCC and CSTB Welcome New Members
On July 1, new talents were added to the ranks of both the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) and the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council. The CCC welcomes five new members…
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
Dance Your Math Lessons
Smart, funny, and willing to prance on stage. Karl Schaffer and Erik Stern sure know how to do a TEDx talk right! Watch the video below, and check out their Math Dance website.