theJBJshow / tags / computing

Tagged with “computing” (8) activity chart

  1. The physical reality of our digital world - Future Tense - ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

    We often think of our digital world as something that’s not about physical stuff, but about things that happen out there in the air, in space. We speak of cyber space and cloud-computing. But how much of our digital infrastructure is grounded in physical reality? And what are some of the future implications of the growing push to move more of our data into cloud based technology?

    Guests:
    Andrew Blum, Correspondent for Wired and Contributing Editor to Metropolis. Author of ‘Tubes: Behind The Scenes At The Internet’.

    Dr danah boyd, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research and Research Assistant Professor in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University.

    Ted Striphas, Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at Indiana University’s Department of Communication and Culture.

    John Naughton, Professor of the Public Understanding of Technology at the Open University in the UK and columnist for The Observer Newspaper.

    Gary Cook, Senior Policy Analyst, Cool IT Campaign, Greenpeace International.

    Rich Wolski, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Eucalyptus Systems Inc. And Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

    Publications:
    Title: Tubes: Behind The Scenes At The Internet
    Author: Andrew Blum
    Publisher: Viking (Penguin Australia)

    Further Information:
    Andrew Blum’s website (http://andrewblum.net/)
    Rich Wolski’s webpage (http://www.cs.ucsb.edu/~rich/)
    Ted Striphas website (http://www.indiana.edu/~cmcl/faculty/striphas.shtml)
    GreenPeace Cool IT Challenge (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/)
    danah boyd’s website (http://www.danah.org/)
    John Naughton’s Guardian Profile (http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/johnnaughton)

    http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/futuretense/the-physical-reality-of-our-digital-world/4150766

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow 9 months ago

  2. Cory Doctorow: The Coming Century of War Against Your Computer - The Long Now

    Who governs digital trust?

    Doctorow framed the question this way: "Computers are everywhere. They are now something we put our whole bodies into—-airplanes, cars—-and something we put into our bodies—-pacemakers, cochlear implants. They HAVE to be trustworthy."

    Sometimes humans are not so trustworthy, and programs may override you: "I can’t let you do that, Dave." (Reference to the self-protective insane computer Hal in Kubrick’s film "2001." That time the human was more trustworthy than the computer.) Who decides who can override whom?

    The core issues for Doctorow come down to Human Rights versus Property Rights, Lockdown versus Certainty, and Owners versus mere Users.

    Apple computers such as the iPhone are locked down—-it lets you run only what Apple trusts. Android phones let you run only what you trust. Doctorow has changed his mind in favor of a foundational computer device called the "Trusted Platform Module" (TPM) which provides secure crypto, remote attestation, and sealed storage. He sees it as a crucial "nub of secure certainty" in your machine.

    If it’s your machine, you rule it. It‘s a Human Right: your computer should not be overridable. And a Property Right: "you own what you buy, even if it what you do with it pisses off the vendor." That’s clear when the Owner and the User are the same person. What about when they’re not?

    There are systems where we really want the authorities to rule—-airplanes, nuclear reactors, probably self-driving cars ("as a species we are terrible drivers.") The firmware in those machines should be inviolable by users and outside attackers. But the power of Owners over Users can be deeply troubling, such as in matters of surveillance. There are powers that want full data on what Users are up to—-governments, companies, schools, parents. Behind your company computer is the IT department and the people they report to. They want to know all about your email and your web activities, and there is reason for that. But we need to contemplate the "total and terrifying power of Owners over Users."

    Recognizing that we are necessarily transitory Users of many systems, such as everything involving Cloud computing or storage, Doctorow favors keeping your own box with its own processors and storage. He strongly favors the democratization and wide distribution of expertise. As a Fellow of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (who co-sponsored the talk) he supports public defense of freedom in every sort of digital rights issue.

    "The potential for abuse in the computer world is large," Doctorow concluded. "It will keep getting larger."

    http://longnow.org/seminars/02012/jul/31/coming-century-war-against-your-computer/

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow 9 months ago

  3. The Most Human Human: A Defence of Humanity in the Age of the Computer

    Author Brian Christian will talk on the subject of his debut book The Most Human Human a superbly engaging re-evaluation of what it means to be human in the light of breathtaking advances in artificial intelligence.

    Brian Christian is an Author and Poet. He holds a dual degree in computer science and philosophy and an MFA in poetry.

    http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/videoAndAudio/channels/publicLecturesAndEvents/player.aspx?id=985

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow one year ago

  4. Square eyes and blue faces

    The world is stuffed with data and we’re becoming dependent on screens. What alternatives do we have, and why should we care? A talk by Ben Bashford at Skillswap Brighton.

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow one year ago

  5. The Digital Life

    The Digital Life is an online radio show that explores important, timely topics in the world of digital design and technology. Created by Involution Studios, a top software design agency whose clients include Apple, Microsoft and Oracle.

    Luke Wroblewski recently sat down with Jim Leftwich and Dirk Knemeyer on The Digital Life to talk about mobile and future trends in computing.

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow 2 years ago

  6. In Our Time: Ada Lovelace

    Melvyn Bragg explores the life and achievements of Ada Lovelace, daughter of Byron and prophet of the computer age. With him to discuss the "enchantress of numbers" are Patricia Fara, Fellow of Clare College and an Affiliated Lecturer in the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University; Doron Swade, Visiting Professor in the History of Computing at Portsmouth University and John Fuegi, Research Fellow in Media and Gender Studies at the Universities of Stanford and Maryland.

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow 2 years ago

  7. American Bombe: How the U.S. Shattered the Enigma Code

    Many people know the story of Alan Turing and his work at Bletchley Park in designing the British bombes, the machines used to crack the German Enigma codes. What most people don’t know is what happened afterward. When the German military added a fourth rotor to the Enigma, a new type of machine was needed in order to crack the codes and keep Allied intelligence out of darkness. These American bombes were the first multifunction computers ever built, and are an important part of the history of modern computing. It’s the incredible, gripping story of an enterprise that rivaled the Manhattan Project in secrecy and complexity, and ultimately led to the first modern digital computer.

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow 2 years ago

  8. The Science Show - Smart computing to save energy

    From http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2010/3090471.htm Computing can be done almost anywhere. So there is an advantage in placing major power hungry computing facilities where the power used would otherwise go to waste. These server farms could be positioned in places with abundant renewable power such as wind, where transporting the power would be wasteful, but transporting the data in and out might be feasible.

    —Huffduffed by theJBJshow 2 years ago