We believe in the power of the Internet to foster innovation, research, and education. Requiring the published results of taxpayer-funded research to be posted on the Internet in human and machine readable form would provide access to patients and caregi

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (10)

Mat Hampson Game creator Jordan Mechner wanted to teach the next generation. So the man behind the groundbreaking 1989 Apple II game Prince of Persia recently posted his original 6052 assembly source code to Github. But getting the code from decades-old floppy disks "covered with dust" was no simple task. Mechner employed the services of vintage computer expert Tony Diaz and digital archivist Jason Scott to extract the bits from the floppies and assemble it into a readable code file. Without Di...  show all text

posted by friends:  (2)

posted by friends of friends:  (10)

Libraries, archives and museums have a long history of participation and engagement with members of the public. In a series of blog posts I am going to work to connects these traditions with current discussions of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is a bit of a vague term, one that comes with potentially exploitative ideas related to uncompensated or undercompensated labor. In this series of I’ll try to put together a set set of related concepts; human computation, the wisdom of crowds, thinking of ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (2)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

(This is the text of my five minute position statement on the role of computational literacy in computers and writing. I delivered this statement during a “town hall” meeting at the annual Computers and Writing Conference, hosted at North Carolina State University on May 19, 2012.) I want to briefly run through five basic statements about computational literacy. These are literally 5 statements in BASIC, a programming language developed at Dartmouth in the 1960s. As some of you might know, BAS...  show all text

posted by friends:  (2)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)

HEY, DID I MISS ANYTHING? Kids: A few hours ago, I landed in Los Angeles, turned on my phone, and confirmed what you already know. Sony Pictures Television is replacing me as showrunner on Community,...

posted by friends:  (1)

posted by friends of friends:  (6)

At the end of his career, Dr. Robert L. Spitzer has reached a painful conclusion: “I believe,” he wrote in a letter, “I owe the gay community an apology.”

posted by friends:  (0)

posted by friends of friends:  (11)

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

If you’re plugged into the Internet, chances are you’ve seen a TED talk – the wonky, provocative web videos that have become a sort of nerd franchise. TED.com is where you go to find Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg explaining why the world has too few female leaders, or Twitter cofounder Evan Williams sharing the secret power of listening to users to drive company improvement. The slogan of the nonprofit group behind the site is “Ideas Worth Spreading.”

posted by friends:  (2)

posted by friends of friends:  (15)

The associate editor of Genomics says its publisher Elsevier effectively denies developing world access to research findings Today I resigned from the editorial board of a well respected journal in my field – Genomics.  No longer can I work for a system that provides solid profits for the publisher while effectively denying colleagues in developing countries access to research findings. It has not been an easy decision to make. Some may feel that I'm grandstanding or making a futile gesture. And  show all text

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (11)

Four and a half years ago, I proudly joined the ranks of America's Finest News Source, a/k/a The Onion. For a comedian, tech geek and politics and news junkie, it was and remains an epic high in my life. Today, with a deep sense of nostalgia, I'm excited to move to the next chapter of that insane life having stepped down as Director of Digital to pursue more entrepreneurial ventures. It’s been an amazing ride. Acting as politics editor, I played a part in The Onion's 2008 "War For The White H...  show all text

posted by friends:  (1)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

I’ve been thinking of a way to explain to straight white men how life works for them, without invoking the dreaded word “privilege,” to which they react like vampires being fed a garlic tart at high noon. It’s not that the word “privilege” is incorrect, it’s that it’s not their word. When confronted with “privilege,” they fiddle with the word itself, and haul out the dictionaries and find every possible way to talk about the word but not any of the things the word signifies. So, the challenge: ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (16)

posted by friends:  (13)

posted by friends of friends:  (20)

An ode to the father of the electric age. View

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (11)

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (9)

posted by friends:  (4)

posted by friends of friends:  (6)

Some authors, like the novelist James Patterson, are producing 12 or more books a year to satisfy readers who are increasingly used to on-demand entertainment.

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (9)

Nearly everyone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is borrowing money, and as prices soar, a college degree often comes with an unprecedented financial burden.

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (9)

Overall there is good news for libraries in the decision issued late yesterday in the Georgia State University e-reserves copyright case.  Most of the extreme positions advocated by the plaintiff publishers were rejected, and Judge Evans found copyright infringement in only five excerpts from among the 99 specific reading that had been challenged in the case. That means she found fair use, or, occasionally, some other justification, in 94 instances, or 95% of the time. But that does not make th...  show all text

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

You’ve probably heard the old adage:  Often the best way to prepare for an emergency is to plan for one.  When I lived on the Gulf of Mexico, where the threat of hurricanes each year is very real, many people taught me how to prepare for such a natural disaster.  These kind folks told me to keep cash on hand, to keep the gas tank in my car filled, and to keep a stock-pile of food and water in the house.  They also encouraged me to create an emergency supply kit that would include a can opener, ...  show all text

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (3)

Speaker: Donald Brinkman, Microsoft Digital Dialogues: Digital Dialogues Fall 2012 Date: Monday, September 10th 2012 City: College Park Venue: Country: US Age restrictions: Open to the Public Notes: Details TBA Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

Gina Trapani says the technology companies that promote a culture of frat house fun will lose out in attracting the smartest people.

posted by friends:  (0)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

Mitt Romney’s campaign has turned to his youthful antics to highlight his less-stiff side, but some of his classmates at the elite and clubby Cranbrook prep school recall a prankster who sometimes took things too far.

posted by friends:  (4)

posted by friends of friends:  (5)

By publicly endorsing same-sex marriage in a television interview, the president took a definitive stand on one of the most contentious and politically charged social issues of the day.

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

posted by friends:  (5)

posted by friends of friends:  (6)

Gay rights laws in America have evolved to allow — but in some cases ban — rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people on a range of issues, including marriage, hospital visitation, adoption…

posted by friends:  (1)

posted by friends of friends:  (16)

Mr. Sendak, known in particular for “Where the Wild Things Are,” was widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century.

posted by friends:  (4)

posted by friends of friends:  (24)

When we published Naomi Schaefer Riley’s blog posting on Brainstorm last week (“The Most Persuasive Case for Eliminating Black Studies? Just Read the Dissertations”), several thousand of you spoke out in outrage and disappointment that The Chronicle had published an article that did not conform to the journalistic standards and civil tone that you expect from us. We’ve heard you, and we have taken to heart what you said. We now agree that Ms. Riley’s blog posting did not meet The Chronicle’s ba...  show all text

posted by friends:  (6)

posted by friends of friends:  (13)

posted by friends:  (3)

posted by friends of friends:  (16)

posted by friends:  (2)

posted by friends of friends:  (8)

‘Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.’ British philosopher, mathematician, historian, and social critic Bertrand Russell endures as one of the most intellectually diverse and influential thinkers in modern history, his philosophy of religion in particular having effected the work of such modern atheism champions as Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Richard Dawkins. From the third volume of The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell: 1944...  show all text

posted by friends:  (2)

posted by friends of friends:  (4)