Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2009
From The Eponymous Pickle
HEMA Product Page
A colleague sends along a link to the Dutch department store HEMA. A fun bit of flash. Wait for it to develop.
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Scifi book recommendations from my summer list: Reynolds, Hamilton and Weber
Currently, I am finishing off
From The Eponymous Pickle
Virtual Worlds for Training
An area that I always thought made lots of sense, yet I have yet to see an example of where it works effectively. Using Virtual worlds for training, a case study. Makes sense to have something remotely deliverable and that can…
From Putting People First
Paint me a picture: empowering the consumer
Montparnasse, a UX boutique firm, tries to imagine what empowering the user experience of the customer really means: “When people consider buying anything, whether it be clothes, a gadget, or home, they often spend a lot of time…
From Putting People First
Lonely Planet
Johannah Cornblatt argues on Newsweek that despite our inter-connectedness, we’re now more alone than ever. “Between 1985 and 2004, the number of people who said there was no one with whom they discussed important matters tripled…
From Putting People First
European Commission sets new information society challenge: Becoming literate in new media
The European Commission warned last week that Europeans young and old could miss out on the benefits of today’s high-tech information society unless more is done to make them ‘media literate’ enough to access, analyse and evaluate…
From Putting People First
The iPhone is not easy to use: a new direction for UX Design
Fred Beecher argues on Johnny Holland that “the iPhone is surprisingly difficult to use, but it sure is fun! And that is why it
From Putting People First
The augmented reality avalanche
The last few weeks we have witnessed an avalanche of posts about augmented reality. To begin with there is Bruce – Bruce Sterling that is. He has been following the trend for months now, all culminating at his excellent keynote…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Health Information Technology Inches Forward
While health care legislation is stalled, movement continues on increasing the use of both health information technology and electronic health records. The National Coordinator for Health IT is coordinating this effort. Created…
From Putting People First
How phones emerged as main computing devices, and why user interface will improve
Andrew Hsu, technology strategist at Synaptics, reflects on the recent revolution in the user interface for the mobile phone to enable cloud computing. “Newer touchscreen features such as proximity and force sensing, in addition…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Capturing Students' Interest in Computer Science
Hardly a day goes by without one of my e-newsletters posting a feature about special programs designed to interest students (particularly young students) in pursuing a career in Computer Science and/or the STEM (Science, Technology…
From Putting People First
Microsoft brings Twitter and Facebook to the emerging world with OneApp
Today, Microsoft is launching OneApp, an app for people running Windows Mobile phones with slow processors and not a lot of memory. Basically, it
From Putting People First
The Brooklyn Dollar
Fast Company explores what neighbourhood currency would look like: “Hyper-localized currencies have been popping ever since the economy went sour–not surprising, since local currencies also gained popularity during the Great…
From Putting People First
Steve McCallion on customer experience
Steve McCallion, the executive creative director at Ziba Design, is a bright man whom I had the pleasure of meeting during a service design event in Brussels in December 2007 — we got along immediately. As part of his introduction…
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Open Access: just for articles!
Many funding agencies and some universities now require researchers to publish their articles as open access. That is, research articles must be available to all, freely. The main argument in favor of these policies is social…
From Putting People First
Physical interaction
Rob Tannen, chair of the Human Factors Professional Interest Section of the Industrial Designers Society of America, has published two thoughtful posts – i.e. recommended reading – on physical interaction: Physical interaction…
From The Eponymous Pickle
DotSpot and the Wisdom of Crowds
Interesting Piece out of Knowledge@Wharton:Innovation and Entrepreneurship Farhad Mohit: DotSpots and the Wisdom of Crowds Entrepreneur Farhad Mohit is hardly resting on his laurels, although he could. In 1996, he launched BizRate…
From Putting People First
Your next cell phone
This MIT Technology Review special report on the future of telephony contains more articles than you can possibly read: A smart phone built on web tools Palm’s new smart phone targets Web developers as well as a loyal fan base…
From Putting People First
Book: Designing services with innovative methods
Designing Services with Innovative Methods Miettinen, Koivisto (eds.) 272 pages, colour illustration, soft cover, 2009 This book presents the emerging and increasingly important field of service design. Birgit Mager, K
From Putting People First
Wallet of the future? Your mobile phone
According to CNN, mobile phones in the United States will be able – within five (5!) years – to make electronic payments, open doors, access subways, clip coupons and possibly act as another form of identification. But there…
From Putting People First
LG launches Islamic Phone
LG Electronics (LG) launched two new handsets exclusively equipped with Islamic features. “Launching across the region this August, pan-Arab consumers will benefit from a number of special features, including a Qiblah indicator…
From Wild WebMink
links for 2009-08-24
It used to be said that what's good for IBM is good for America. This article looks at the way more and more of the skilled roles needed by companies like IBM are leaving…
From Putting People First
How smartphones are transforming our lives
Richard Fisher reflects in the New Scientist on how mobile applications are changing the way we live. “While gaming still accounts for the lion’s share of app activity, it is beyond doubt that apps, and the new wave of phones…
From Putting People First
Augmented reality in Africa
Jonathan Gosier, a software developer, writer and social entrepreneur in Kampala, Uganda, shares his ideas on what augmented reality could mean for Africa. “Already people are recording audio, video, and blogging to keep donors…
From Putting People First
Automakers bring the future into focus
Don Hammonds of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the use of market research and ethnographic observations by car manufacturers: “The tool that most people associate with automotive market research is the focus group but…
From Putting People First
BBC Online shares its usability and accessibility methodologies
The User Experience Design blog reports that Jonathan Hassell of BBC online shared a presentation on the challenges and methodologies of the company
From Putting People First
Opinion piece on the value of mobile phones in schools
Juliette LaMontagne argues on the Design Observer that mobile devices aren’t distractions in schools; they’re machines for learning. “When it comes to technology integration, you need to meet students (and teachers) where they…
From Putting People First
Observations on poor people using mobile financial services
CGAP has published a brief entitled “Poor People Using Mobile Financial Services: Observations on Customer Usage and Impact from M-PESA”. “Despite growing agreement on the potential of technology to expand access to finance,…
From Putting People First
Mobile phones drive health IT innovation in developing countries
Paula Fortner, iHealthBeat senior staff writer, reports on how innovative mobile technologies are helping to fundamentally transform health care in many developing countries. “Last month, the Rockefeller Foundation announced…
From Putting People First
Africa
Millions of Africans are using mobile phones to pay bills, move cash and buy basic everyday items. So why, asks the BBC, has a form of banking that has proved a dead duck in the West been such a hit across the continent? “However…