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| Current Topic: Technology |
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Beyond 'Couch Potatoes' | First Monday |
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| Topic: Technology |
12:32 am EST, Dec 16, 2002 |
The fundamental challenge for computational media is to contribute to the invention and design of cultures in which humans can express themselves and engage in personally meaningful activities. Cultures are substantially defined by their media and tools for thinking, working, learning, and collaborating. New media change (1) the structure and contents of our interests; (2) the nature of our cognitive and collaborative tools; and, (3) the social environment in which thoughts originate and evolve, and mindsets develop. MemeStreams is not Yet Another Web Site. Beyond 'Couch Potatoes' | First Monday |
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| Topic: Technology |
4:27 pm EST, Nov 27, 2002 |
I witnessed one of the most exciting technologies in years ... GfK, Germany's largest market research firm, has a new device for measuring TV watching and radio listening habits. It's a wristwatch! You are selected to wear the watch for two weeks. The watch takes a four-second "fingerprint" of ambient sound every minute. At the end, the watch is returned and the fingerprints are matched to determine exactly what you watched and listened to. The software behind this system appears similar to that of Shazam, which Tom blogged in early November. Tracking Moves Offline |
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Apple's Quirky Ads Evoke Parodies of Themselves |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:39 pm EST, Nov 25, 2002 |
A Sunday NYT article provides URLs for several "switch" parodies, including the switch-to-Canada ad discussed here recently. Apple's Quirky Ads Evoke Parodies of Themselves |
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A Nation of Bloggers and Googling by E-Mail |
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| Topic: Technology |
2:10 pm EDT, Aug 23, 2002 |
The number of Weblogs now tops a half-million, by most estimates. So it's no surprise that some bloggers, as the writers of these link-filled, diarylike sites are known, are carving some order out of chaos. There is no easy way to search for blogs by content or popularity. But a bevy of new sites offer interesting ways, if somewhat esoteric ones, to browse the blog universe. A Nation of Bloggers and Googling by E-Mail |
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Toward Distraction-Free Pervasive Computing [PDF] |
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| Topic: Technology |
6:38 pm EDT, Aug 17, 2002 |
The most precious resource in a computer system is no longer its processor, memory, disk, or network, but rather human attention. Project Aura aims to minimize distractions on a user's attention, creating an environment that adapts to the user's context and needs. This article was published in the April/June issue of IEEE Pervasive Computing. It is available here from the Project Aura web site. Toward Distraction-Free Pervasive Computing [PDF] |
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Robot Grass Cutter Cuts Through Tedium of Mowing |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:02 pm EDT, Aug 16, 2002 |
Tired of mowing the lawn? New Zealand researchers say they have a device that could make your neighbors green with envy. It's a lawnmower operated via the Internet. "The next step is an automatic vacuum cleaner." The story isn't very good, but the meme is. Cnet and CNN have both picked this up. Now, I've been talking about this for years. Simple innovations that free people's time up have tremendous impacts on the economy. There are lawn mowers available on the market. There are vacuums in the lab. The biggest barrier to making this stuff really work is the limitations of battery power. I don't think this kind of thing will be widespread until you see lots of portable fuel cells, which may not be too long from now. Robot Grass Cutter Cuts Through Tedium of Mowing |
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Knowledge Management on the Internet |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:32 pm EDT, Jul 13, 2002 |
It is estimated that there are over two billion Web pages, and thousands of newsgroups and forums, on the Internet - covering virtually every topic imaginable. However, many users find that searching the Internet can be a time consuming and tedious process. This has driven the development of improved search and information retrieval systems. However, we now need ... to present the user only with the information they need, rather than a large set of relevant documents to read. ... community Web sites could help ... just by adopting the current generation of knowledge management systems ... Metadata has useful role ... but it has limitations ... [XML is a] key opportunity ... good user-friendly, and "intelligent", tools will be critical ... The success of Internet based knowledge management, and the Semantic Web, will require the development and integration of various data standards, ontology definitions, and knowledge management and agent technologies. It will take a concerted and significant effort to get there. The likely longer-term benefits are much more effective Internet searches and smart information extraction services, which present the user with concise relevant extracts. In the meantime, perhaps we should also think about how authors represent knowledge and present information, and how users apply knowledge, in a more structured and meaningful way. Knowledge Management on the Internet |
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| Topic: Technology |
2:19 pm EDT, Jul 5, 2002 |
Some innovative projects at Microsoft are described here amid an annoying, starry eyed discussion of Big Bill. Big Bad Bill |
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CS 6604: Recommender Systems (Spring 2001) |
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| Topic: Technology |
12:10 am EDT, Jun 28, 2002 |
In Spring 2001, Virginia Tech professor Naren Ramakrishnan taught an entire course on the topic of recommender systems. Here you can browse the syllabus, review slides from the lectures, and review the reading list. Course overview: CS 6604 concentrates on algorithms, methodologies, systems, and larger-scope issues (economic, commercial etc.) pertaining to reducing information overload. The unique aspect of this course will be how it integrates ideas from diverse areas: numerical analysis (strange but true), information systems, human-computer interaction, and algorithmics. Over the past three years, a large body of literature on recommender systems, filtering, and personalization technologies has been developed. Even though the field is driven by commercial trends and industrial developments, many of the ideas are nearing a stage of stabilization when their use is becoming common place (textbook material). CS 6604 will help illustrate the interplay between these different areas and demonstrate how ideas from diverse backgrounds can be combined in novel and sophisticated ways. CS 6604: Recommender Systems (Spring 2001) |
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When Navajos Fought Japanese for Ne-He-Mah |
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| Topic: Technology |
11:46 am EDT, Jun 15, 2002 |
It is the most romantic story in American cryptology. To keep the Japanese from getting American secrets in World War II, Navajos -- among the original Americans -- spoke over the radio in their native tongue. In a sidebar to the movie review for "Windtalkers", David Kahn, author of the crypto classic _The Codebreakers_, retells the true story of Marine Corps codetalkers in World War II. When Navajos Fought Japanese for Ne-He-Mah |
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