Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2014
From Schneier on Security
Legal Attacks Against Tor
Last week, we learned that the NSA targets people who look for information about Tor. A few days later, the operator of a Tor exit node in Austria has been found guilty as an accomplice, because someone used his computer to transmit…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Apple's Swift Langauge
In Wired: Have heard of it, but never even looked at the code. Will it remake computer programming? I like new ways of thinking about the process of logical control. Now available to some outside Apple.' ... Chris Lattner spent…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Why Hire More People?
How to know if you should hire more people?Organizational psychologist and leadership specialist David Javitch said there are several signs employers should look for when determining whether to expand their staff. Evaluating…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Computing Now: The Web at 25
The World Wide Web is now only 25 years old. It seems much longer. IEEE Computing Now discusses the birthday, and the future of the Web. It will be here for some time, but what will it look like, connect and deliver? " ...This…
From The Eponymous Pickle
D-Wave Gets more Funding
Have followed D-Wave Quantum computing since its inception. The WSJ reports on new funding it has received. I talked to them about potential applications in the enterprise. They are still the only quantum computing company…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Data in Sports
In Linkedin: How Germany Beat Brazil. And how Big Data Helped. Via my colleague : Ali Rebaie: Big Data Analyst and Consultant , Top Big Data Influencer, Public Speaker and Trainer. See also SAP's alleged involvement with World…
From Schneier on Security
GCHQ Catalog of Exploit Tools
The latest Snowden story is a catalog of exploit tools from JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group), a unit of the British GCHQ, for both surveillance and propaganda. It's a list of code names and short descriptions,…
From BLOG@CACM
If You Want to Teach Kids CS, First Teach the Adults
The pathway to CS in schools starts with teaching the adults.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Tiny Watson
You would not think size would be a big issue, given what can be done in a smartphone. But the goal is a good one: In CWorld:" ... The company ... will show a smartphone-size prototype microcomputer that integrates CPUs and…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
WATCH – Reflections on Decades of Defending Imperfect Software
The next WATCH Talk is scheduled for July 17 at noon EDT. Crispin Cowan will reflect on decades of defending imperfect software. Dr. Cowan works for Microsoft adding security to existing operating systems, including the recent…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Minds and Brands, Taking Off.
Piece on how a number of brands are using neuromarketing. Nontechnical. Some examples I had not heard of. Nielson pitches its own acquisitions:" ... To be sure, neuroscience adds a high-tech and high-touch spin to a sophisticated…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Hill Tech Happenings, Week of July 14
July 15 Hearing: The Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on botnets and associated criminal networks. 2:30 p.m., 226 Dirksen Building July 16 The Senate Committee on Commerce…
From The Eponymous Pickle
IKEA and Instagram
IKEA using Instagram. " .... IKEA Creates an Entire Website Inside Instagram ... Russian Agency Instinct Uses Tagging Feature in a New Way ... "
From Schneier on Security
Studying Network Incident Response Teams Using Anthropological Methods
This is an interesting paper: "An Anthropological Approach to Studying CSIRTs." A researcher spent 15 months at a university's SOC conducting "ethnographic fieldwork." Right now it's more about the methodology than any results…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 14 July 2014
Another week another trip. Last one of the summer though. I am at the CSTA Annual Conference today and tomorrow. If you are as well look me up. I’ve wearing my hat. Also take a look at the Code Hunt Contest for CSTA 2014 Attendees…
From Computational Complexity
What to call the top and bottom part of (n choose k)
In my last post I asked for candidates for names for the top and bottom part of (n choose k) . Here are the candidates and my comments on them and ... the winner!
From The Eponymous Pickle
Marketing Clouds
In GigaOM: " ... All the big guys – Adobe, IBM, Salesforce, Oracle – have a suite of marketing tech platform tools they call marketing clouds. Social media marketing is the obvious focus, but what else is required for theseThe…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Capgemini on Big Data
We worked with Capgemini for some time, but it has been years since I connected. I was informed of Capgemini's resources on Big Data Analytics. Just starting to take a look at their series of PDF's that appear to be useful…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Code Hunt Contest for CSTA 2014 Attendees
Looks like you have to be registered for the CSTA 2014 conference for this one. I am and I’d like a Surface Pro 2 which is the big prize. Code Hunt is a very cool project from Microsoft Research (I’ve written about it beforeIf…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Mass Customization in Manufacturing
A long time interest. Good piece on how it relates to innovation. It has considerable variation in different industries. Have seen it from the research and the manufacturing end. Make sure to get your data consistent to make…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Google Glass in the Emergency Room
We are seeing more applications of Google Glass in health care. Here an article was sent to me about its use throughout the Beth Israel Emergency Room. The details for its hands-free and data access and augmentation capabilities…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Rethinking Computer Design
In CWorld: IBM spending over three billion dollars to change the fundamentals of computer design. By removing silicon.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Tesco and Big Data Loyalty Plays
Using personalization with loyalty data to better engage the consumer. Tesco and Big Data for Loyalty Similarities to P&G's 1 Consumer Place? Relationship to programmatic Ads?" ... The deal, carried out by Tesco subsidiarySimon…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Continuous Surveillance: The Panopticon
In the news, Ars Technica writes about it. Using aircraft or drones to continuously record activity in a city. Shades of Bentham's Panopticon. But recall that was mostly applied for how to run prisons. This relates to using…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Steps to Avoid Losing Your Credibility
Former P&G CIO Bob Herbold in his blog on credibility. Nice short piece on a recent CIA contract proposal by Amazon and IBM. " .... Beware! Too many leaders get to the point where they believe they can excite their audience…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: This Unmanned Drone Footage Will Blow Your Mind
Neat video shot from a remote-operated vehicle. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered....
From Schneier on Security
"Tips For Crafting A Strong Password That Really Pops"
Funny, and the inspiration for this week's headlines. (Note that the image shows Password Safe on the screen.) And marginally related, here's an odd essay about using a password as a mantra for personal change....
From CERIAS Blog
Videos from the 15th Annual CERIAS Symposium
We are now releasing videos of our sessions at this year’s CERIAS Symposium from late March.
We had a fascinating session with David Medine, chair of the PCLOB discussing privacy and government surveillance with Mark Rasch, currently…From CERIAS Blog
Videos from the 15th Annual CERIAS Symposium
We are now releasing videos of our sessions at this year’s CERIAS Symposium from late March.
We had a fascinating session with David Medine, chair of the PCLOB discussing privacy and government surveillance with Mark Rasch, currently…From The Eponymous Pickle
Samsung Advanced Appliances
Samsung Digital Showroom: Have always seen Samsung as a company that was destined to introduce the most advanced online appliances. We tested early versions in a smart home environment. However, I have now had to directly…