Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2013
From The Eponymous Pickle
On Saving Center Store
In Retailwire: Retail center store is where the staples are, but the profits are not. " ... As traditional retailers attempt to reinvent their perimeter with a more dynamic shopping experience and capitalize on natural and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
One Tablet per Child
Not available in the developed world. But the concept of universal tablets (formerly universal laptops) is spreading again. Aimed at kids. Launches at Walmart.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Active Intelligence
Brought to my attention: Active Intelligence by Teradata. Might this be usable for applications like P&G's Business Sphere? " .... Teradata's customers lead the way on innovative uses of active data to drive business value.…
From The Eponymous Pickle
GE Re-Imagines the Home
Always looking at the future of the home, we looked at the technology involved in the home and tracked their progress. In particular in the area of appliances. GE is promoting the idea with an ad campaign. " ... "The kitchen…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Tableau Visualization in the Cloud
Visualization in the Cloud. A simple thing really, but useful in many cases. Demonstrated to me. " ... Tableau Online, priced at $500 per user per year, is in essence a Tableau-hosted version of Tableau Server. The idea is…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Watch
I like watches with no numbers.
As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Has the Office Started to Look Like the Home?
The home office has not killed the office, But is mobile starting to kill the office? Further has the office started to look like the home? This article from the BBC, and that perhaps is the case in the UK. But have not noticed…
From Schneier on Security
XKeyscore
The Guardian discusses a new secret NSA program: XKeyscore. It's the desktop system that allows NSA agents to spy on anyone over the Internet in real time. It searches existing NSA databases -- presumably including PRISM --…
From Schneier on Security
<i>Cryptography Engineering</i> Book Review
Good review of the strengths and weaknesses of Cryptography Engineering and Applied Cryptography.
Best -- at least to me -- is the list of things missing, which we'll have to address if we do another edition.
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
USACM Outlines Limitations Of Computing For Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) is an independent federal agency established based on recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. It’s responsible for reviewing executive branch actions in relation to counterterrorism…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Computers Really Are Everywhere
Last week I took a little drive. Something around 10 miles in something under 8 minutes I guess. That’s me behind the wheel of a NASCAR race car. I rode with a trainer in the right hand seat and drove around a real race track…
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
A Picture of Me Dancing With Graphs
On Wednesday, I did my annual mentoring with Girls @ Virtual Ventures, the all-female section of the popular science and engineering camp held at Carleton. As usual, the girls made a wonderful audience as I told them what computer…
From The Eponymous Pickle
P&G's Changes in Spending
In AdAge: A good detailed piece on P&G's moves in ad spending. " ... P&G's marketing spend is about one-third digital, CEO says Procter & Gamble is directing as much as 35% of its marketing budget to digital media as the company…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cars Generating Data
It is estimated that the self driving car wll generate a GB of data per second. More opportunity for a dense and volatile data stream for mining.
From BLOG@CACM
Why HCI Should Listen to Mothers
A call for the HCI community to spend some design effort on helping new mothers with the considerable physical and emotional challenges they face.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Changing the Retail Experience
In GigaOM: " ... Its Thanks to the mass market shift to e-commerce and the rise of maker-oriented sites, the way we shop is changing. Grommet a startup out of Boston wants to help innovative products navigate the changing retail…
From Schneier on Security
False Positives and Ubiquitous Surveillance
Searching on Google for a pressure cooker and backpacks got one family investigated by the police. More stories and comments.
This seems not to be the NSA eavesdropping on everyone's Internet traffic, as was first assumed…From The Eponymous Pickle
Electroceuticals
In IEEE Spectrum: And once drugs have been changed to implants, there is no reason we can't also gather data with sensors at the same time. At first I thought this was about pharma dosing, but the idea is more radical than"…
From The Eponymous Pickle
RFID Temperature Sensors
A number of interesting developments. Including a temperature sensor with a probe that could be used for temperature controlled supply chain and on shelf retail applications. Another connection to an internet of things, with…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
USACM Statement to the House Ways and Means Committee on Intellectual Property Provisions in Trade Agreements
The ACM U.S. Public Policy Council today submitted a statement to the House Ways and Means Committee as part of the record for the hearing on “President Obama’s Trade Policy Agenda with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman…
From Schneier on Security
<i>Economist</i> Cyberwar Debate
Richard Bejtlich and Thomas Rid (author of the excellent book Cyber War Will Not Take Place) debate the cyberwar threat on the Economist website.
From Computational Complexity
Why is Multiplication Hard?
Quick. What is 879544 * 528045? Unless you used a calculator or was some sort of savant you it would take you a couple of minutes to figure out a solution. Of course a computer can calculate this very quickly. But what a computer…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Coming Soon to Your Classroom?
"Adaptive learning" has been in the edu-buzz lexicon for some time. A new application of the strategy has recently made notable gains at Career Education, Inc. While their research and development was created and tested with.…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Smart Tooth Sensors
Might be interesting to toothpaste manufacturers. In Mashable: " ... The system places the mouth sensor inside an artificial tooth. A small accelerometer detects mouth movement and small wires send that information to the researchers…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Encouraging the Internet of Things
Gartner Encourages early Adopters. Internet of things has long been developed. Now it is getting closer. " ... Gartner claims IT leaders that get to grips with IoT early will be best placed to take advantage of emerging business…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Tracking your Cellphone Identity
In New Scientist: Had heard of this, but it's apparently more accurate than I had thought. Here in some technical detail.
From Schneier on Security
Scientists Banned from Revealing Details of Car-Security Hack
The UK has banned researchers from revealing details of security vulnerabilities in car locks. In 2008, Phillips brought a similar suit against researchers who broke the Mifare chip. That time, they lost. This time, Volkswagen…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
CS Educator Interview: Rebecca Dovi
Just north of Richmond VA to talk to Rebecca Dovi who teaches at Patrick Henry High School. Rebecca is also very active in the CSTA and is a chapter President. Besides her regular courses she is one of the pilots for the new…
From Putting People First
EthnographyMatters on ethnography and education
This month’s edition of EthnographyMatters is dedicated to education. Says editor Morgan G. Ames, “ethnography is unique in being able to dig below the surface and uncover the complicated processes and contingent effects of education…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Marketing Engineering Revisited
I am reposting my review of this book below. First because I had a need to take another look at it. Second because it now has a second edition, which I have not looked at yet. Love it as a mix of quant and qualitative methods…