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The Netflix Prize, Computer Science Outreach, and Japanese Mobile Phones

The Communications Web site, http://cacm.acm.org, features more than a dozen bloggers in the BLOG@CACM community. In each issue of Communications, we'll publish excerpts from selected posts. Greg Linden writes about machine learning and the Netflix Prize, Judy Robertson offers suggestions about getting teenagers interested in computer science, and Michael Conover discusses mobile phone usage and quick response codes in Japan.

Designing Effective Warnings

Computer security warnings are something we all see everyday, but many people find them annoying and ignore them. What are better ways of designing warnings?

CS Education in the States

Decisions about whether there is computer science in the classroom are largely state-based. The most recent example is the State of Kansas, which is moving to remove computing courses from the content students are required to take. This could undercut computer science education. ACM and the Computer Science Teachers Association recommend a different approach asking that the State include computer science in students' core requirements.

Smart Grids: Getting Personal

How many electronic devices do you own? It is tempting to answer, “Just a handful,” but the truth is much more nuanced. Here’s a simple experiment that will (quite literally) illuminate the truth. Some evening, after darkness has fallen, turn off all the lights in your house, walk from room to room and count the number of lighted power indicators, blinking LEDs and glowing screens. I suspect you will be surprised.

The World Is Small

Not that many years ago international travel meant one was largely inaccessible to colleagues at home. Today, when my plane lands, I will turn on my smart phone, connect to the local GSM network and download queued messages.  Now if I could just catch up on my email deluge.

Venture Research

HCI research is moving out of the lab and onto the web.  This new style of research -- Venture Research -- calls for a different set of skills and different metrics for success than traditional research.  

Breaking the Cycle

Today's practice of a deadline-driven approach to research is potentially bad for our field. Instead, our focus should be on the quality of the research we do. And our goal should be on advancing the frontiers of science and engineering.

Shape the Future of Computing

ACM encourages its members to take a direct hand in shaping the future of the association. There are more ways than ever to get involved.

Get Involved

Communications of the ACM (CACM) is now a fully Open Access publication.

By opening CACM to the world, we hope to increase engagement among the broader computer science community and encourage non-members to discover the rich resources ACM has to offer.

Learn More