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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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Global Information Warfare: How Businesses, Governments, and Others Achieve Objectives and Attain Competitive Advantages |
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| Topic: Computer Security |
11:54 pm EDT, Aug 14, 2002 |
Like no other book before it, Global Information Warfare illustrates the relationships and interdependencies of business and national objectives, of companies and countries, and of their dependence on advances in technology. This book sheds light on the "Achilles heel" that these dependencies on advanced computing and information technologies create. It underscores how hostile countries, business competitors, terrorists, hacktivists and others are waging Information Warfare (IW) against their adversaries. This may sound like science fiction, but it has been happening for years and continues to this day -- anyone and everyone can be a target and a casualty. Global Information Warfare: How Businesses, Governments, and Others Achieve Objectives and Attain Competitive Advantages |
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BIODYNOTICS Workshop | DARPA |
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| Topic: Biotechnology |
11:25 pm EDT, Aug 14, 2002 |
Biologically Inspired Multifunctional Dynamic Robotics Workshop The goals of this DARPA workshop are to explore the use of biologically inspired practices, principles, multifunctional materials, sensors, and signal processing to demonstrate energy efficient and autonomous locomotion and behavior in challenging unplanned environments (e.g. rubble of different sizes, flight in wind, turbulent water). We are interested in exploring new modalities of locomotion such as climbing (trees, cliffs, cave walls), jumping, and leaping and the ability to manipulate the world with an appendage that allows grasping and digging. The ability to exploit biological inspirations enabling autonomous recognition and navigation to targets of interest in cluttered backgrounds is also of interest. BIODYNOTICS Workshop | DARPA |
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ASIA GRACE by Kevin Kelly |
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| Topic: Non-Fiction |
11:04 pm EDT, Aug 14, 2002 |
Kevin Kelly has a new book out in September. (It's a coffee table book for the wired world traveler.) But you want it now! You're in luck; there's a web site. Here's the blurb from Amazon: Co-founder of the digital culture magazine Wired, Kevin Kelly leads a double life: cyber-culture editor and independent photographer. For the past thirty years, and completely independently of his work on Wired, he has been traveling the far reaches of Asia photographing the ins and outs of daily life. Kelly has the unique perspective of someone who lives in the digital fast lane and yet craves to experience and understand cultures far different from his own. In approximately 600 stunning, richly-colored images, with no text whatsoever, Kelly shares his vision of Asia from East to West, from Afghanistan to Japan. The scope of this book is so vast, flipping through the pages is like a journey, more akin to an epic film than a book. In Kelly's words: "My book is a wordless experience in remote Asia. The idea is that you open the book and fall into it. You become immersed in Asia." ASIA GRACE by Kevin Kelly |
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| Topic: Computers |
10:59 pm EDT, Aug 14, 2002 |
There are a couple of interesting papers ... Approximate Information Flows: Socially-based Modeling of Privacy in Ubiquitous Computing [from Intel, UCB, and U. Washington] Social Aspects of Using Large Public Interactive Displays for Collaboration [IBM] Issues in Personalizing Shared Ubiquitous Devices [from Xerox PARC] Gregory Abowd (Georgia Tech) is a panelist for the closing session on "Ubiquitous Computing in Domestic Environments." UbiComp 2002 Conference |
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Trust and Reputation Building in e-Commerce |
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| Topic: Technology |
10:51 pm EDT, Aug 14, 2002 |
Abstract: Transactions on online markets require a great deal of trust among anonymous trading partners. To mitigate some of the risks involved in anonymous transactions, several online market sites have implemented reputation management mechanisms that differ in structure and probably functionality. In a series of experiments, this study examines the impact of two simple reputation management mechanisms on the evolution of trust and trustworthiness in a repeated trust game among strangers. Follow the link "RC22533.pdf" to access the full text in PDF. Trust and Reputation Building in e-Commerce |
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Sept. 11 Strikes at Labs' Doors |
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| Topic: Science |
6:16 am EDT, Aug 13, 2002 |
University officials and leading scientists are warning that new government regulations on biological research adopted in the wake of Sept. 11, and simultaneous efforts to inhibit publication, threaten to undermine the fundamental openness of science and campus life. "This has the potential for changing the definition of science, the way people do science, and even what we mean when we say science." Under the new laws, only researchers with a "legitimate need" may have access to "select agents." If research could prove useful in making biological weapons, does it belong in the public forum, or should it be suppressed by scientists or the government? Sept. 11 Strikes at Labs' Doors |
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'A Thread Across the Ocean': The (Telegraph) Cable Guy |
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| Topic: History |
6:08 am EDT, Aug 13, 2002 |
this is an oddly delightful and unsettling book. "A Thread Across the Ocean" is about an achievement that seems archaic in these Internet days: the laying of the first telegraph cables between Europe and North America, completed in 1866. But it's still apt. We have become so accustomed to the technology that supports our lives that we've forgotten how difficult that structure was to build. This book reminds us, excruciatingly, agonizingly, unforgettably. 'A Thread Across the Ocean': The (Telegraph) Cable Guy |
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Towards a deterministic polynomial-time Primality Test |
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| Topic: Cryptography |
5:53 am EDT, Aug 13, 2002 |
We examine a primality testing algorithm and show that this test is stronger than some of the most popular tests. From this, we show the correctness of the algorithm based on a widely believed conjecture. We also show that any n which is accepted by the algorithm must be an odd square-free number. Thus, it is arguably the simplest and yet the strongest test for primality. The full report is available in PostScript. Towards a deterministic polynomial-time Primality Test |
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New Method Said to Solve Key Problem in Math |
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| Topic: Cryptography |
5:49 am EDT, Aug 13, 2002 |
Three Indian computer scientists have solved a longstanding mathematics problem by devising a way for a computer to tell quickly and definitively whether a number is prime. MIT professor Shafi Goldwasser: "This was one of the big unsolved problems in theoretical computer science and computational number theory. It's the best result I've heard in over 10 years." Bell Labs' Carl Pomerance: "This algorithm is beautiful." New Method Said to Solve Key Problem in Math |
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It's Not About the Technology |
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| Topic: Society |
10:52 pm EDT, Aug 12, 2002 |
People, given the ability to connect to one another, will connect to each other. That's been the power driving the Internet (and all communications technologies) since the beginning. There's been plenty written about "viral marketing," but finding viral success has been elusive. There's also been a lot of talk about building word of mouth, but that can be pretty tough, too. Three rules are clear: * Information must be of value to more than one person; the virulence of the information increases proportionally with the number of people who find it valuable. * Information must be timely. * Information must be easily portable and transmittable. In the end, the key to creating effective Internet communications is understanding that it's not about the technology. It's about connecting people to other people... and facilitating further connections. Connect the dots and win! It's Not About the Technology |
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