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
Fee-Base WiFi Dying?
I found this article interesting. While there may be fewer fee based WiFi options out there. I also find, when traveling that it is often not that easy to log into free WiFi. I use both my laptop, when I can find a stationary…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Whole Body Nervous System Scan
In Mind Hacks, a link to a form of form of MRI scan which does whole body nervous systems scans. Unclear if this has ever been used to understand any type of human decision making, but worth looking at.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Ad Supported Mobile
Good case study of ad-supported mobile in AdAge: Where Blyk Went Wrong. Mention in particular of L'Oreal's use for consumer engagement which got a 70% response rate. Apparently its downfall was its inability to scale after…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Mapping the Mind
Finished reading Rita Carter's Mapping the Mind. A good easy to read introduction to the links between brain function and internal brain location. If you are new to neuromarketing ideas, this is a good start, though the term…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Learning about New Resources
Sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything accomplished. It can be hard for me to balance my family, career, and personal life. So how can I find time to search for new resources that I need next month…
From Return 42;
The other side of the table: Kent Beck
Time for the next issue of The other side of the table. Today we feature the open question of Kent Beck. We all know Kent is the creator of Extreme Programming and Test Driven Development and as one of the signatories of the …
From Wild WebMink
links for 2009-08-04
From Return 42;
The other side of the table: Maurice Herlihy
This edition of The other side of the table took me a little longer. Basically because I have been busy the past two weeks, both with programming and finishing other posts. Anyways, here is the next one. This week we are happy…
From Return 42;
A little bit more on Quicksort
My previous article On Randomized Algorithms has been the most popular one on this blog so far. It also started a quite an interesting discussion on Reddit. It is surprising how versatile people's opinions about randomized algorithms…
From Return 42;
On randomized algorithms
I wrote this article consecutively to the previous one - The other side of the table: Simon Peyton-Jones. After I finished reading Simon's reply, I thought that it would be interesting to write a bit about randomized algorithms…
From Return 42;
Software Transactional Memory: Yay, Ney or Someday?
Some time ago, a friend of mine and I were working on a little pet project. Nothing too exciting and certainly nothing that would change the world. I am talking about a small, multithreaded FTP client for UNIX with an ncurses…
From Return 42;
The other side of the table: Simon Peyton-Jones
This issue of The other side of the table comes a little bit earlier than usual. Basically due to the fact that it is paired with a follow-up post. Anyways, let's roll out the red carpet for Simon Peyton-Jones.Since 1998 Simon…
From Return 42;
Software Development and Philosophy
Yesterday, Andy Matuschak posted an article called Manifesto on his blog Square Signals. In this post he asks himself the question "What do you want to do when you grow up?".I remember being asked that question at least a hundred…
From Putting People First
From chasm to convergence
Johnathan Bonnell and Jason Theodor explain in a two part series on Experience Matters how technology is increasingly closing the gap between manufacturers and consumers. “The chasm between consumer feedback and product offerings…
From The Noisy Channel
Reminder: HCIR 2009 Submission Deadline is August 24th!
From The Noisy Channel
SIGIR 2009: Day 3, Industry Track: Vendor Panel
The last session of the SIGIR 2009 Industry Track was the enterprise search vendor panel. Originally, I’d hoped to have CTOs (or the equivalent) from Autonomy, Endeca, and FAST–specifically, Peter Menell (CTO of Autonomy), Adam…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Quickline in Grocery
Always wondered why the 'Quick line' used for a long time in banks and elsewhere, had not been tried in grocery. Now Hannford Bros is trying it out. The obvious reason why it is harder to apply in grocery is that people often…
From Putting People First
Book: The myth of digital democracy
The Myth of Digital Democracy by Matthew Hindman Princeton University Press, 2008 Paperback, 198 pages Abstract: Is the Internet democratizing American politics? Do political Web sites and blogs mobilize inactive citizens and…
From BLOG@CACM
Locomotive Complexity
Reflections on the the Japanese railyway system as a modern marvel of efficiency and infrastructure.
From Putting People First
Learning from games: a language for designing emotion
Joe Lamantia, an Amsterdam based experience architect, discussed the role of emotion in game design. In his article, Lamantia draws heavily on the work by Nicole Lazzaro, a leading games researcher and design consultant. “Emotion…
From The Noisy Channel
SIGIR 2009: Day 3, Industry Track: Analyst Panel
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
Hill Tech Happenings, Week of August 3
August 6
Meeting: The President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold its initial meeting (PDF) of the Obama Administration (continues August 7). 10:15 a.m., 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
…From Putting People First
Technology will allow us to become digital nomads
Technology pundit Mike Elgan says on Nokia’s IdeasProject that we’re evolving a new paradigm for the workplace as technology makes it easier for white collar workers to engage in location-independent employment. These “digital…
From Putting People First
Nokia
Nokia
From The Eponymous Pickle
Samsung Smart Cameras
Samsung claims that it will soon revolutionize the way that people take pictures with their smart cameras, called tap and take, to be released later this month. More here. Also at a Samsung teaser site.
From The Eponymous Pickle
IBM and Predictive Analytics
More on IBM's acquisition of SPSS. IBM has always been known for its analytics work. As early as the late 1960s we used IBM optimization software to improve the operation of warehouses, and the architecture of supply chains.…
From The Noisy Channel
SIGIR 2009: Day 3, Industry Track: Nick Craswell
From The Noisy Channel
An Apology to Vijay Gill
From The Noisy Channel
SIGIR 2009: Day 3, Industry Track: Evan Sandhaus
From The Noisy Channel
Are Academic Conferences Broken? Can We Fix Them?