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Discovery: User Manual of the Oldest Surviving Computer in the World
From BLOG@CACM

Discovery: User Manual of the Oldest Surviving Computer in the World

A rare find: the user manual of the oldest surviving computer in the world, the Zuse Z4 relay machine (1945).

The Laughing is Over
From BLOG@CACM

The Laughing is Over

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. Computer Chess Championship in 1970.

Things To Do To An Algorithm
From BLOG@CACM

Things To Do To An Algorithm

What happens when people's fate hangs on machine learning?

Integrating Computing in School Subjects: A Conceptual Framework for Design and Analysis
From BLOG@CACM

Integrating Computing in School Subjects: A Conceptual Framework for Design and Analysis

This post presents a conceptual framework for integrating computing and computational thinking into other domains. The framework is intended to support curriculum...

Closing the 'Trust Gap' in Contact Tracing/Exposure Notification Technology
From BLOG@CACM

Closing the 'Trust Gap' in Contact Tracing/Exposure Notification Technology

The digitization of contact tracing presents an array of challenges.

Can Research Universities Become Exponential?
From BLOG@CACM

Can Research Universities Become Exponential?

We argue that exponential research and exponential teaching may exert mutual influence and foster each other, creating together the exponential research university...

Restoring Industry Participation in Computer Science Conferences
From BLOG@CACM

Restoring Industry Participation in Computer Science Conferences

When I complained at ISCA 2019 about a lack of papers on real industrial products, I was assigned to help fix the problem.

Technology in the Time of Cataclysms
From BLOG@CACM

Technology in the Time of Cataclysms

How is the development of technology, and its more basic cousin science, affected during such cataclysmic times?

The Virus Analogy and Validation
From BLOG@CACM

The Virus Analogy and Validation

The comparison between organic viruses and computer viruses is compelling.  But why?

Is A (Nearly) Zero-Cost Model Plausible for Science and Engineering Programs?
From BLOG@CACM

Is A (Nearly) Zero-Cost Model Plausible for Science and Engineering Programs?

Is a skill-based, multi-level win-win, and (almost) zero-cost model for undergraduate science and engineering programs in a research university plausible?

The COVID Catalyst
From BLOG@CACM

The COVID Catalyst

The coronavirus pandemic has once again demonstrated the great vulnerability of social and economic systems to microbes.

Computational Thinking or Computational Teamwork?
From BLOG@CACM

Computational Thinking or Computational Teamwork?

Computational thinking can sound like "CS-minus." Is there a "CS-plus" that makes CS more attractive and approachable by all?

Clean Code Isn't Enough; It Must Be Crystal Clear, Too
From BLOG@CACM

Clean Code Isn't Enough; It Must Be Crystal Clear, Too

Writing clean code is a great start, but for programmers who really want to master their craft, you have to go further. You need to write clear code that other...

Beware of Hurting Our Weakest Students when Moving Classes Online
From BLOG@CACM

Beware of Hurting Our Weakest Students when Moving Classes Online

Our weakest students should not be the ones bearing the greatest costs of moving classes online.

Voting as Tallying in Public
From BLOG@CACM

Voting as Tallying in Public

Voting requires common acknowledgement.  Can that be achieved in automation?

Developing Computational Solutions With Humility: Recommending Morgan Ames' 'The Charisma Machine'
From BLOG@CACM

Developing Computational Solutions With Humility: Recommending Morgan Ames' 'The Charisma Machine'

Morgan Ames' book highlights the missing HCI design process for the XO Laptop 

The Vote as a Declared Datum
From BLOG@CACM

The Vote as a Declared Datum

A vote is a datum that sheds its original identity but persists.

Leonardo da Vinci's Robot Lion
From BLOG@CACM

Leonardo da Vinci's Robot Lion

We are celebrating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death with a major exhibition of the Renaissance painter's works.

The Size of Computing Education Today, By The Numbers
From BLOG@CACM

The Size of Computing Education Today, By The Numbers

 How many students learn general-purpose programming today, compared to using other computing environments or learning other STEM subjects?

The Shortest Possible Schedule Theorem: Yes, You Can Throw Money at Software Deadlines
From BLOG@CACM

The Shortest Possible Schedule Theorem: Yes, You Can Throw Money at Software Deadlines

As close as we have to a universal law of software engineering management.
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