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| There are great benefits to connectedness, but we haven't wrapped our minds around the costs. |
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Groupware Communication & Conversation |
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| Topic: Human Computer Interaction |
12:21 am EDT, Jun 20, 2004 |
There is a facet of groupware that is important to keep in mind when designing collaborative applications. A good groupware system has a balance between communication and conversation. You may be able to exchange information efficiently, and be able to chat informally as well. When designing a groupware application, build both the formal communication and the informal conversation channels. Structure is important, but so is the ability to work freely around it. Look for the right balance. Groupware Communication & Conversation |
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Why Reform the US Patent System? |
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| Topic: Intellectual Property |
12:02 am EDT, Jun 20, 2004 |
This article appears in the June 2004 issue of Communications of the ACM. Computing professionals have been complaining for years about "bad" software and Internet-related patents. Now there's something they can do about it. Do something! Why Reform the US Patent System? |
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Third Annual Workshop on Economics and Information Security |
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| Topic: Computer Security |
10:55 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
How much should we spend to secure our computer systems? Can we determine which investments will provide the best protection? How will we know when we've reached our goals? Can market forces ensure that firms will act to improve security? Can incentives align the goals of employees with the security goals of their employers? Papers from the workshop include: "Is finding security holes a good idea?", by Eric Rescorla
"Who Signed Up for the Do-Not-Call List?", by Hal Varian
"The Economics of Censorship Resistance", by Ross Anderson
"On dealing with adversaries fairly", by Ross Anderson
"Free-Riding and Whitewashing in Peer-to-Peer Systems", by Ion Stoica
"Towards an Economic Analysis of Trusted Systems", by Scott Shenker
"A Worst-Case Worm", by Vern Paxon Third Annual Workshop on Economics and Information Security |
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The Voting, Vote Capture, and Vote Counting Symposium |
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| Topic: Elections |
10:50 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
Can every vote be counted? How does technology influence uncertainty in voting and in vote compilation? What technical and operational policies enable the responsible evolution of voting in the information age? This symposium addressed these questions in terms of institutions, governance, and technology. Technology, rather than providing a simple panacea for these problems, has introduced a host of new election woes. Technology alone cannot address the problems, as technology is embedded in a larger organizational context. The Voting, Vote Capture, and Vote Counting Symposium |
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Musings on the Internet, Part 2, by Vint Cerf |
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| Topic: High Tech Developments |
10:43 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
In "Musings on the Internet," Vint Cerf offered his ideas about what was happening, at that time, in the Internet world -- its technology, policy, economics, and philosophy. Now, nearly two years later, he continues the discussion, touching on the topics of R&D, security, IPv6, RFID, telecom regulation, ICANN, and the Interplanetary Internet. Musings on the Internet, Part 2, by Vint Cerf |
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McLuhan's New World, by Tom Wolfe |
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| Topic: Society |
10:36 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
After the dot-com bust and the telecom nightmare, Marshall McLuhan, a man who died well before the coming of e-mails and webpages, remains the most clear-eyed prophet of our increasingly wired world. This article appears in the Spring 2004 issue of The Wilson Quarterly. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand or bookseller. McLuhan's New World, by Tom Wolfe |
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OverQoS: An Overlay based Architecture for Enhancing Internet QoS |
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| Topic: Computers |
10:17 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
This paper describes the design, implementation, and experimental evaluation of OverQoS, an overlay-based architecture for enhancing the best-effort service of todays Internet. Using a Controlled loss virtual link (CLVL) abstraction to bound the loss rate observed by a traffic aggregate, OverQoS can provide a variety of services including: (a) smoothing packet losses; (b) prioritizing packets within an aggregate; (c) statistical loss and bandwidth guarantees. OverQoS: An Overlay based Architecture for Enhancing Internet QoS |
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Listen and Whisper: Security Mechanisms for BGP |
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| Topic: Computer Security |
10:14 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
BGP, the current inter-domain routing protocol, assumes that the routing information propagated by authenticated routers is correct. This assumption renders the current infrastructure vulnerable to both accidental misconfigurations and deliberate attacks. To reduce this vulnerability, We present a combination of two mechanisms: Listen and Whisper. Listen passively probes the data plane and checks whether the underlying routes to different destinations work. Whisper uses cryptographic functions along with routing redundancy to detect bogus route advertisements in the control plane. These mechanisms are easily deployable, and do not rely on either a public key infrastructure or a central authority like ICANN. The combination of Listen and Whisper eliminates a large number of problems due to router misconfigurations, and restricts (though not eliminates) the damage that deliberate attackers can cause. This work received the best student paper award at the First Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation. Listen and Whisper: Security Mechanisms for BGP |
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Shaping the Network Society |
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| Topic: Society |
6:42 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
Information and computer technologies are used every day by real people with real needs. The authors contributing to Shaping the Network Society describe how technology can be used effectively by communities, activists, and citizens to meet society's challenges. In their vision, computer professionals are concerned less with bits, bytes, and algorithms and more with productive partnerships that engage both researchers and community activists. These collaborations are producing important sociotechnical work that will affect the future of the network society. Traditionally, academic research on real-world users of technology has been neglected or even discouraged. The authors contributing to this book are working to fill this gap; their theoretical and practical discussions illustrate a new orientation -- research that works with people in their natural social environments, uses common language rather than rarefied academic discourse, and takes a pragmatic perspective. The topics they consider are key to democratization and social change. They include human rights in the "global billboard society"; public computing in Toledo, Ohio; public digital culture in Amsterdam; "civil networking" in the former Yugoslavia; information technology and the international public sphere; "historical archaeologies" of community networks; "technobiographical" reflections on the future; libraries as information commons; and globalization and media democracy, as illustrated by Indymedia, a global collective of independent media organizations. Manuel Castells had this to say: "It is essential reading for students and practitioners of the new forms of democracy in the Information Age." Shaping the Network Society |
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The Hidden Power of Social Networks |
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| Topic: Business |
5:57 pm EDT, Jun 19, 2004 |
"Understanding How Work Really Gets Done in Organizations" The Hidden Power of Social Networks offers the most comprehensive application of social network analysisa technique that reveals who is connected to whom in large, distributed groupsto the work of managers and leaders. Promote vibrant employee networks by: * Bridging strategically important disconnects between departments or organizations
* Improving a network's ability to sense and respond to opportunities
* Aligning the organizational context to energize and support networks
* Identifying overburdened employees and redistributing workloads
* Eliminating information bottlenecks
* Recognizing and supporting key "connectors"
* Pulling in peripheral people who represent untapped expertise The Hidden Power of Social Networks |
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