One of the biggest buzz words in the computer industry today is actually two words: Big Data. Massive increases in computing power have made mountains of data accessible to businesses and governments. How does big data affect you? A page on the IBM site gives a quick overview of the business world of big data, while a pair of NPR stories aired in late 2011 focus on the impact of big data on our lives.
Category: -Updates
One of the biggest tech trends isn’t a new gadget or tool; it’s a relatively new way of using gadgets and tools as agents of change. This article in CBC News explains why and how “hacktivism” is becoming an important—and potent—force in our world.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/02/06/hacktivism-.html
Google has been getting plenty of of publicity lately because of major changes in its privacy policy. These two articles, one from Huffington Post and one from Consumer Reports, explain how these changes affect you and what you can do about them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/google-privacy-policy-changes_n_1310506.html
http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2012/03/google-launches-its-new-privacy-policy-today.html
The world’s biggest social network has a nasty habit of changing its user interface often enough to confuse and anger users all around the world. The latest Facebook iteration, the Timeline. presents your history (and may threaten your privacy) in a whole new way. This Macworld article tells you what you need to know to make the Timeline work for you.
www.macworld.com/article/164999/2012/01/your_complete_guide_to_facebook_timeline.html
www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/11/27/in-race-for-fastest-supercomputer-china-outpaces-u-s.html
For decades the fastest computers in the world were all American. Not anymore. In this short Newsweek article, Daniel Lyons describes the state of the great supercomputer race between China and the USA—and the high stakes of that race.
Steve Jobs has been called one of the greatest visionaries of our time. In this brilliant, inspiring 2005 Stanford University commencement speech, Jobs reflects on life, death, and values. This man lived every day as if it was his last, and changed the world in the process.
news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
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QR Codes–those odd, pixellated squares that are popping up on everything from business cards to billboards–are designed to make it easy for people to use their phones to get more information quickly. But as this NPR story suggests, a newer technology called near-field communication has the potential to make QR codes seem as old-fashioned as Pac-Man.
If you’d like to try making your own QR codes for free, like the one pictured here (the code for this site) try this Online QR Generator.
The world of programming is dominated by males and money. But there’s a movement afoot to change the gender balance and, at the same time, the factors that motivate programmers.
This Fast Company article describes Hampton Hackathon for Humanity, a gathering of young female programmers intent on making the world a better place.
During his tenure as CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs had a profound impact on computers, the music industry, home entertainment, phones, and (most importantly) our day-to-day lives. He transformed Apple from a garage startup into the most valuable company in the world. When he announced his resignation as CEO, the press responded with many thoughtful articles about this iconic visionary, including these: