Instrument Fiero
Posted by cadsmith on March 7, 2011
A/B testing supported by Optimizely and SumoOptimize. Firefox 4 Beta announced. RStudio is an IDE for R.
Intendix produces brain computer speller. Mogwee app is for mobile social group chat. Battery made from aerogel. Geotrio posts video tours. Senate maps wireless spectrum.
Security avatar questions travellers. Geminoid is a realistic android. Robotics react to human emotions and play basketball. There were twenty recent links.
Book Reviews:
Reality is Broken: why games make us better and how they can change the world, McGonigal, 2011. Video
The author looks at trends in collaboration and augmented reality. Games provide a satisfying and social way to accomplish tasks and improve skills using positive emotional activation. They show how to tackle unnecessary obstacles. One of the goals is to develop massively multiplayer foresight. This is expected to be a 68 billion dollar industry in 2012. Ten instances of global epic scale efforts are detailed for health, climate, peace, and economics. There are three parts for fourteen chapters. Book site.
The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, Morozov, 2011. Video
The internet, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter, are used to promote democracy and activism, but are also a means of surveillance, censorship and propaganda by authoritarian governments. Cases are shown in China, Iran, and Russia. There are eleven chapters.
Sixty percent of the population will be urban by 2030. Carbon dioxide will cause air temperatures to rise. The author is an economist and optimistically expects a successful capitalist response from many innovations. There are several lessons. Each city will respond differently. There will be migration, rebuilding and booms in the aftermaths. Government activism increases risk-taking, taxes go up and corruption degrades quality. Climate models vary on predictions of rates and amounts of sea level rise which will impact coastlines. The scenarios for NYC, LA and China are looked at in depth. There are nine chapters. Also see synopses here and here.
Thinking Machines and the Philosophy of computer Science: Concepts and Principles, Vallverdú, 2010
The papers show summaries of multiple opinions on research topics such as information, biological computing, quantum mechanics, robotics, and security.
There are five sections for twenty-two chapters by thirty-two contributors in addition to the editor. Also on Safari.
