Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2013
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
1000 Robots for An Hour of Code
BirdBrain Technologies has announced their intention to lend out 1,000 Finch robots as their contribution to this year's Computer Science Education Week and Code.org's Hour of Code initiative.
The Finch robot grew out of some…From Putting People First
What are users up to when they have an experience?
Understanding the experience of using an object depends on understanding the context of use, argues Jeff Doemland in UX Magazine. However, “The prevailing understanding of user and experience–the understanding behind my clients…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Managing Customer Experience
An impressive writeup about how companies like McDonald's are attempting to manage customer experience. Can it really be optimized, as they say, when people are involved?" ... McDonald's customer experience management (CEM)"…
From Schneier on Security
Matthew Green Speculates on How the NSA Defeats Encryption
This blog post is well worth reading, and not just because Johns Hopkins University asked him to remove it, and then backed down a few hours later.
From Putting People First
The consumer has spoken but is anyone listening?
One would expect that listening to your customers’ needs and wants is a basic prerequisite for any business active in a competitive industry. It also is understandable that no business can satisfy all of its customers’ needs…
From Putting People First
Design, innovation and government
Last week Joeri van den Steenhoven, attended the How Public Design? conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was organized by MindLab, the Danish design lab that has been an inspiration to many in social and public sector innovation…
From The Eponymous Pickle
The Nature of Book Reviews Here
I review books here from time to time. If you have a book that has anything to do with the content subjects seen here, and want to have it reviewed, contact me in the comments to send me a copy. What I usually do is post something…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Limits of Fingerprint Security
The reported inclusion of fingerprint authentication in new iPhones means we will see this approach being used commonly. It is very convenient, but has its limitations. Bruce Schneier, security expert provides details about…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cerf On the Age of Context
Vint Cerf interview on the Age of context. His role as evangelist at at Google, and how the times are changing to adapt in a connected world. " ... “I think it’s attractive to have this certain fantasy that the virtual world…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Harassment in the Computer Science Classroom
Two interesting and initially unrelated links came across my computer screen in the past couple of days. One was an image that said “Everyone talks about leaving a better planet for our children. Why doesn’t anyone try to leave…
From Schneier on Security
iPhone Fingerprint Authentication
When Apple bought AuthenTec for its biometrics technology -- reported as one of its most expensive purchases -- there was a lot of speculation about how the company would incorporate biometrics in its product line. Many speculate…
From The Eponymous Pickle
L'Oreal and E-Commerce
In AdAge CMO Strategy What looks to be a rational way to think about e-commerce, as opposed to pure hype. Contains detail about what L'Oreal and competitors are doing in e-commerce."L'Oreal Attacks Fast-Growing E-Commerce…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
CSTA 2014 CALL FOR PROPOSALS
CSTA members (you are a member right?) should have seen this in their email. The CSTA annual conference is in my humble opinion the single best professional development experience for K-12 computer science teachers. Please think…
From The Eponymous Pickle
McKinsey is Bullish on Digital
McKinsey provides a broad report from a survey and much statistics on the topic."Bullish on digital: McKinsey Global Survey resultsCEOs and other senior executives are increasingly engaged as their companies step up efforts to…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
CISE Issues Mid-Scale Infrastructure Solicitation; Webinar Scheduled
The following is a special contribution to this blog by Keith Marzullo, division director for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS). Last week, the National Science Foundation’s…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Interview on Big Data and Analytics for MidMarket
Friend Paul Gillin runs a Big Data Google Plus Hangout on the use of Big Data methods for Midmarket and beyond. The 37 minute stream brings together current users of these ideas. As a practitioner myself it has always been…
From Schneier on Security
The TSA Is Legally Allowed to Lie to Us
The TSA does not have to tell the truth:
Can the TSA (or local governments as directed by the TSA) lie in response to a FOIA request? Sure, no problem! Even the NSA responds that they "can't confirm or deny the existence"classified…From The Eponymous Pickle
Supermarket Dominance
Why does some retail dominate? A history of the dominance of a company that started in 1919. " ... "It became such a success story because it was aggressive at adapting to consumer trends, diversifying and innovating," says…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Blue Tooth on the Rise
From BBC Future: Makes sense that since we have more devices, letting them network among themselves is getting more popular. This article is a nice survey of what is happening.
From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
Space Is Easier Than Time
We really understand the complexity theory of space Anil Ananthaswamy is the author of the book The Edge of Physics. He also consults for Britain’s New Scientist weekly magazine, and wrote an interesting article on space and…
From CERIAS Blog
Just sayin
In the June 17, 2013 online interview with Edward Snowden, there was this exchange:
Question:
From Computational Complexity
T/F - No Explanation needed VS T/F-Explanation needed.
One of the comments on my blog on Types of question for exams A True/False math question where they have to prove their answer. A student who picks the wrong answer can figure that out during the proof and then correct their…
From Computer Science Teachers Association
Barriers to More CS Teaching and Learning in Schools
Many of us spend a lot of time trying to convince those around us (colleagues, school administrators, district leaders, politicians, etc.) of the importance of computer science education for all students. I have certainly staked…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Free UC Online Innovation Class
Coming October 7! (Background and Video) Full Announcement in BrowserFREE University of Cincinnati Innovation ClassIn this FREE seven-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), participants will learn the tools necessary…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Web Intelligence Driving Business Decisions
From a favorite direction, Recorded Future. An interview with Bob Gourley: "What is it about web intelligence that is such an important opportunity to you?Web intelligence brings new opportunities regarding all-source analysis…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Harvard and MIT Join to Address Intelligence
We were heavily involved in the last Artificial Intelligence hype peak in the late 80s. Despite some big successes we saw it languish, at least in direct practice, for years. Then along came IBM's Watson to show there wasa…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Bullett Journal Note Taking System
New ideas in note taking is something I have not read about in some time, but the claim here is that ' .... The most important step to keeping a great notebook is organization. No one knows that better than web designer Ryder…
From Schneier on Security
Government Secrecy and the Generation Gap
Big-government secrets require a lot of secret-keepers. As of October 2012, almost 5m people in the US have security clearances, with 1.4m at the top-secret level or higher, according to the Office of the Director of National…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Teaching the World to Make Maps
Making Maps. Another example of specialty MOOC. " ... Meet the Man Who Wants to Teach the World to Make Maps. The world’s first digital-mapping MOOC (massive open online course) [ Introduced his course in July ] ... About…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
CCC Launching New Postdoc Best Practices Program with Funding Opportunities
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) seeks to catalyze the computing research community and the pursuit of innovative, high-impact research. Paramount to the Computer Science & Engineering (CS&E) research enterprise is the…