Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2012
From The Eponymous Pickle
Predictions for Self Driving Cars
Recorded Future posts one of their future looking views of the future of self driving cars. Another good example of how their technology works, especially for examples where there are relatively few future looking indications…
From The Female Perspective of Computer Science
Interactive Storytelling Talk at a Local Sci-Fi Con
An unexpected opportunity presented itself when I was asked to speak at a local sci-fi convention, Can-Con. A friend had referred me as a potential academic speaker who could talk about augmented reality. But, since my thesis…
From Computational Complexity
A new kind of Spam
(In this post I quote attempted posts to the blog. I transcribe them as they are, so if you see a missing period or awkward language, its not me (this time) its them.) We moderate comments but do so very lightly. There is no…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
IBM’s Watson Collaborating with MDs
A couple weeks ago, we featured the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) release of a new landmark study titled Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America. One of the recommendations in the report…
From Schneier on Security
Homomorphic Encryption
Good summary article.
From Putting People First
Latest RSA Animate on the truth about dishonesty
In this new RSA Animate, Dan Ariely, bestselling author and professor of psychology and behavioural economics at Duke University, explores the circumstances under which someone would lie and what effect deception has on society…
From Putting People First
Book: Observing the User Experience
Observing the User Experience A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research by Elizabeth Goodman, PhD candidate, University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information, National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, and Intel PhD…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Pentaho and Cisco Partner for Big Data Analytcs
In A Press Release: We did lots of work with Cisco, especially in the retail space with devices that enabled price checking. Was involved in a number of innovation brainstorming sessions with them. Surprised to see them involved…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Teaching Students About Their Digital Footprints
This year my high school added a new course that is a survey course for computing. One of the first lessons we did covered what a digital footprint was; how it could affect them, and the consequences. Some of the material was…
From The Eponymous Pickle
How Mobile is Remaking Marketing
A useful presentation by correspondent Phil Hendrix of Immr and GigaOM. Contains a number of good case studies on the subject.
From Schneier on Security
Security Vulnerability in Windows 8 Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)
This is the first one discovered, I think.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Fast Decisions Better than Perfect Data
In Information Management: Under some conditions, and with care. But a good point, what we called 'quick and dirty' analysis is sometimes very valuable to understand the scope and direction of an ultimate, better result.…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Need for Advanced Data Visualization Analytics
Visualization is a form of analytics that integrates the power of human visual processing. Such visualization works best when integrated with analytical methods, whose results can also be visualized. A good view on the visualization…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Target Uses Passbook
Target stores has announced that they will be providing coupons through Apples' Passbook App, available on the new IOS6 operating system on iPhones.
From The Eponymous Pickle
ConAgra View of Innovation
ConAgra's view of innovation. They rightly view an important element is information directly from customers. And the ability to construct platform based solutions rather than one-off products. Plus discussion of private…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Can Design be Free
'Design wants to be Free', the article paraphrases Stewart Brand. But what are the implications for low cost and universally available design? Universally create able via 3D printing. Loss of quality? Are the results similar…
From Putting People First
Why user-centered design is not enough, by John Wood
John Wood, Emeritus Professor of Design at Goldsmiths, University of London, argues on Core77 that the user-centered mindset is based on a one-dimensional map in which only two places exist—master and servant. In the workplace…
From Schneier on Security
SHA-3 to Be Announced
NIST is about to announce the new hash algorithm that will become SHA-3. This is the result of a six-year competition, and my own Skein is one of the five remaining finalists (out of an initial 64).
It's probably too late for…From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Humanitarian Response and CRICIS — A Report from a Grassroots Workshop
The following is a contribution to this blog from Robin Murphy, Raytheon Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and director of the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue at Texas A&M University. Back in April, Robin…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 24 September 2012
Happy Monday. Well try to start the day with a big smile until you actually feel like smiling. It works. Trust me on that. Last week a lot of things crossed my screen but I think I have the best of them to share with you today…
From The Eponymous Pickle
SAP Mobility Design Center
An intriguing effort by SAP to look at design in mobility. With some similarities to our own innovation center work, which in part supported design of many kinds of interfaces between people and things.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Diagnostic Tricorder Challenge
In GigaOM: Via the nonprofit Qualcomm Foundation. The interconnection of a number of complex sensors to a smart phone style telecommunications device. In particular, the sensors that are currently built into smartphones do…
From Putting People First
SAP’s new Mobility Design Center uses user-centered design approach
A few days ago SAP announced the opening of the new SAP Mobility Design Center to help customers meet the growing need for individualized mobile solutions. Headquartered on the company’s campus in Palo Alto, Calif., the center…
From BLOG@CACM
The Moral and Legal Responsibilities When Teaching Computing
Do we have moral and even legal requirements to teach computing well and equitably?
From The Eponymous Pickle
Big Data and Analytics Vendors to Watch
An intriguing list to take a look at. Mostly relatively start up to small companies. Have seen a number of these, but many were new to me. Have talked to a number. Though many will not exist a few years from now, the breadth…
From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
What Is The Object?
A tale of two approaches to solve open problems Jeff Kahn and Gil Kalai are among the top problem solvers in the world, and each has won notable prizes in his great career. Gil just recently visited Georgia Tech, and gave a wonderful…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Augmented Blog
A blog by an employee of Metaio, that covers the augmented reality industry. " ... which develops and provides augmented reality solutions for brands, agencies, industrial clients and anyone looking to include AR in their special…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cybernetic Binoculars
I have been following a number of DARPA developments. Here a project which seeks to link brain waves and sensor interactions. A kind of brain augmentation that we will see more of. " ... DARPA's Cybernetic Binoculars Tap…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Amid Transformation
Short report in AdAge about thriving amidst transformation. That technology breeds innovation, which then leads back to tech again. And that " ... People and Culture Are As Important as Technology in Data-Driven Marketing .…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Talking to Administrators and Board Members About Computer Science
We talk to students every day. We talk to parents a few times a year. How often do you talk to your principal, superintendent or school board members? If it's not at least once a year, you're missing an important opportunity …