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Why Big Data Has Some Big Problems When It Comes to Public Policy
From ACM Opinion

Why Big Data Has Some Big Problems When It Comes to Public Policy

For all the talk about using big data and data science to solve the world’s problems—and even all the talk about big data as one of the world’s problems—it seems...

5 Things That Will Remake Big Data in the Next 5 Years
From ACM Opinion

5 Things That Will Remake Big Data in the Next 5 Years

Big data has evolved a lot of the past few years; from a happy buzzword to a hated buzzword, and from a focus on volume to a focus on variety and velocity.

The White House Is Going to Study Big Data. Here Are 5 Things It Should Know
From ACM Opinion

The White House Is Going to Study Big Data. Here Are 5 Things It Should Know

The White House announced via blog post on Thursday that it's forming working group focused on understanding the promises and pitfalls of big data (with a heavy...

When Google Closes the Nest Deal, Privacy Issues For the Internet of Things Will Hit the Big Time
From ACM Opinion

When Google Closes the Nest Deal, Privacy Issues For the Internet of Things Will Hit the Big Time

Google rocked the smart home market Monday with its intention to purchase connected home thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion, which will force a much-needed...

Here's What You Need to Know About the Future of Gesture-Based ­i Design
From ACM Opinion

Here's What You Need to Know About the Future of Gesture-Based ­i Design

Smartphone screens across the globe are embracing clean design in an effort to feature content on high-end pixel real estate.

Did Facebook Miss a Massive Opportunity By Building a Walled Garden Instead of a Truly Open Platform?
From ACM Opinion

Did Facebook Miss a Massive Opportunity By Building a Walled Garden Instead of a Truly Open Platform?

When Facebook first launched its platform strategy in 2007, it seemed as though a new world of opportunity had opened up for anyone interested in the social web—a...

Why Google Is the Big Data Company That Matters Most
From ACM Opinion

Why Google Is the Big Data Company That Matters Most

Every now and then, someone asks "Who’ll be the Google of big data?"

How Technology Is Slowly Developing Its Sense of Smell
From ACM Opinion

How Technology Is Slowly Developing Its Sense of Smell

Last week I attended what was, I think it is fair to say, the oddest conference I have been to yet. It was the first world congress of the Digital Olfaction Society...

The Increasingly Blurry Line Between Big Data and Big Brother
From ACM Opinion

The Increasingly Blurry Line Between Big Data and Big Brother

The potential benefits of "big data" have been well described, both by us and others: the ability to spot flu trends earlier and potentially save lives, for example...

We Don't Need More Data Scientists; Just Make Big Data Easier to ­se
From ACM Opinion

We Don't Need More Data Scientists; Just Make Big Data Easier to ­se

Virtually any article today about big data inevitably turns to the notion that the country is suffering from a crucial shortage of data scientists.

Why Nate Silver and Others Predicted the Election Perfectly
From ACM Opinion

Why Nate Silver and Others Predicted the Election Perfectly

Guess what, accurately predicting the outcomes of elections really isn't a partisan affair.

5 Ideas to Help Everyone Make the Most of Big Data
From ACM Opinion

5 Ideas to Help Everyone Make the Most of Big Data

Big data is going mainstream, but there are still plenty of lessons to be learned from Silicon Valley data scientists whose businesses depend on data to survive...

Big Data and Dna: What Business Can Learn from Junk Genes
From ACM Opinion

Big Data and Dna: What Business Can Learn from Junk Genes

The science world was rocked Wednesday by the discovery that the 80 percent of the human genethat scientists throught was "junk" actually contains genetic regulators...

How Will Apple Restore Icloud Trust?
From ACM Opinion

How Will Apple Restore Icloud Trust?

After being on the receiving end of a truly awful hacking attack, Wired writer Mat Honan explained how it happened in detail. And he was very clear about two of...

Why the Days Are Numbered For Hadoop As We Know It
From ACM Opinion

Why the Days Are Numbered For Hadoop As We Know It

Hadoop is everywhere. For better or worse, it has become synonymous with big data. In just a few years it has gone from a fringe technology to the de facto standard...

How and Why You Should Do Data Journalism
From ACM Opinion

How and Why You Should Do Data Journalism

One of the big areas of focus for technology companies over the past year has been "big data"—in other words, the idea that there can be a lot of value in finding...

Physical Media Is Dead
From ACM Opinion

Physical Media Is Dead

Over the weekend, Hunter Walk (a friend of mine who works for YouTube) tweeted about brands offering apps built on the Spotify platform. Spotify is likely to ...
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