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-Updates 1.2 Computers in Perspective 5.0 Doug Engelbart Explores Hyperspace

Doug Engelbart (1925–2013): The Man Who Saw the Future

DougEngelbartIf you’re reading this, take a moment to thank Doug Engelbart. At a time when computers were big, expensive, isolated, finicky, and terribly difficult to program and use, this unassuming genius had a vision of a digital future that was so far ahead of its time that few of his peers took it seriously. He is widely credited with inventing the mouse, but that’s just a tiny part of his grand vision. Graphical user interfaces, interactive computing, the Internet, and more, owe their existence at least in part to Engelbart’s visionary work. Thank you, Doug.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/technology/douglas-c-engelbart-inventor-of-the-computer-mouse-dies-at-88.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&smid=tw-share
 

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-Updates 10.4 Security and Reliability 14.5 The State of Software 5.5 The Spreadsheet: Software for SImulation

Spreadsheets are Spreading Misinformation

spreadsheet_errorIf you misspell a word in a paper or use the wrong font in a presentation, your error may be embarrassing. If you use the wrong formula in a spreadsheet, your error might be devastating. According to a recent study, the typical spreadsheet is riddled with math errors. This short Market Watch article should serve as a wake-up call to scientists, engineers, business people, students and others who do high-consequence work with numbers.
marketwatch.com/Story/story/print?guid=DB151EDA-A776-11E2-A57C-002128040CF6

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-Inventing the Future 4.4 The User Interface: The Human-Machine Connection 4.7 Inventing the Future: Tomorrow's User Interfaces I 5.8 Inventing the Future: Multisensory Interfaces

Will You Be Waving Goodbye to Your Touch Screen Soon?

Just as the mouse made the command-line interface of early PCs seem primitive, the touch screen may soon put the mouse out of a job. But after you see this short video, you may think that even the touch screen is old-fashioned. Once again, science fiction points the way to future technology.
wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/01/leap-motion-asus
 

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-Updates 1.3 Computers Today: A Brief Taxonomy 3.4 The Computer System: The Sum of Its Parts 5.7 Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation Chapter 1 Exploring Our Digital Planet

Super Competition for the Fastest Supercomputer

The balance of power is shifting westward in the high-stakes competition for the most powerful computer in the world. The latest US champ is based in part on technology pioneered in the gaming industry. Like most supercomputers, this one will be used to produce ever-more-accurate simulations for scientific research and engineering applications.
money.cnn.com/2012/10/29/technology/innovation/titan-supercomputer/

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-Context 5.5 The Spreadsheet: Software for SImulation

Correlation vs. causation

With the vast amount of information available on the internet, it’s possible to create data mashups to support any trend, real or imagined. These tongue-in-cheek examples use real data to “prove” bogus relationships.
i.imgur.com/PedqQ.jpg
 

Categories
-Inventing the Future 5.8 Inventing the Future: Multisensory Interfaces

The Sound of Movement

Computers generally sense human movements by seeing or feeling it. But this Microsoft research project suggests that your devices may soon be able to hear your gestures through ultrasonic waves.
mashable.com/2012/05/07/gesture-control-system-sound/

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-Inventing the Future 4.7 Inventing the Future: Tomorrow's User Interfaces I 5.8 Inventing the Future: Multisensory Interfaces 6.5 Inventing the Future: Shared Virtual Spaces 7.0 The Google Guys Search for Tomorrow 7.5 Inventing the Future: Embedded Intelligence and Ubiquitous Computing

Will Your Glasses Be Smarter than You?

Project Glass
The brave new world of augmented reality may be closer than you think. If it becomes a popular product, Google’s Project Glass may make touch-screen smart phones seem positively old-fashioned. This Huffington Post article describes this intriguing wearable technology, and the video gives you a sense of what it might feel like to spend time behind the lenses of smart glasses.

Categories
-Context 11.4 Education in the Information Age 3.1 Input: From Person to Processor 4.4 The User Interface: The Human-Machine Connection 5.8 Inventing the Future: Multisensory Interfaces

Touching the Future

NPR.org/2011/12/26/144146395/the-touchy-feely-future-of-technology
A few years ago touch-screen devices were novelties; today they’re everywhere. Hundreds of millions of smart phones and tablets are profoundly changing the ways people interact with tools, the Internet, and each other. This excellent NPR report covers the evolution of touch technology. Segments examine unusual uses, social implications, and future applications of this rapidly-changing technology. The site includes both text and audio versions of the story.

Categories
-Multimedia 1.4 Computer Connections: The Internet Revolution 5.0 Doug Engelbart Explores Hyperspace 6.0 Tim Berners-Lee Weaves the Web for Everybody 9.2 Inside the Web

Where Did the Web Come From?

In this five-minute TED talk, Ian Ritchie gives one of the best short answers to this question we’ve seen. At the same time, he confesses to making a multi-million dollar misjudgment. Fascinating and fun.
[ted id=1244]

Categories
-Cross Currents 10.5 Human Questions for a Computer Age 5.4 Beyond the Printed Page 8.5 Interpersonal Computing: From Communication to Communities

Social Media and the Stories They Can’t Tell

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are overflowing with stories of real people living real lives. Or are they? This thought-provoking article by Paul Ford takes a hard look at what’s missing in the stories people tell through social media. This is one of the best pieces we’ve seen on the changing roles of social media and traditional journalism.