Search Results for Google

Among the many, many things we talk about when we discuss curriculum for the Computational Media degree is how to make learning programming facile and appealing all throughout a student’s career. Many sub-problems arise, for example, how can one help students learn new languages and environments after they’ve become familiar with one or two? Just after having some of these… read more

I’ve been trying out Microsoft’s new search engine Bing, mostly out of curiosity, and partly to see how alternatives to Google feel for everyday use. Naturally, one of the first queries I conducted was an ego search. The results are reasonable enough, but what really caught my eye is that I am for sale. Given the tough economic conditions, I’m… read more

Some recent book reviews, one each of all my books: First, LB Jeffries wrote about Unit Operations at Pop Matters. It’s nice to see that title getting covered outside of the usual academic venues. Second, from Jennifer deWinter an extensive review of Persuasive Games, including a blow-by-blow for each section and chapter. This review is gratifying because it sits squarely… read more

Graham Harman mentions Manuel DeLanda’s new book, which boasts a title that should intrigue anyone reading this website: Philosophy, Emergence and Simulation. Here’s a three-minute video of DeLanda talking about it a bit more. It sounds like the book is mostly about animal intelligence, with the connection to simulation having to do with the way different intelligence other than the… read more

We just rejoined Netflix after several years away from it. While recreating preferences and ratings on a fresh account, we noticed something surprising: Netflix doesn’t allow a user to judge things as “just ok.” Take a look at the tool-tip explanations for their five-star ratings: Netflix’s recommendation system is generally considered its most valuable asset, so much so that the… read more

Last week I had the opportunity to visit in Cairo with philosopher Graham Harman, someone whose work I’ve known and admired for some time now. It was nice to meet him in person for the first time, not to mention having a local guide for getting around this enormous, insane city. I also got to deliver Graham’s first copy of… read more

Dear Expert, I am a journalist writing for Publication, a newspaper/ magazine/ website serving a Major Market or Niche Audience. I am working on a story about Your Area of Expertise, although I’ll admit don’t know much about it. I wonder: instead of doing research myself on the story I am required to write, would you be willing to talk… read more

I often worry about the consequences of what Siva Vaidhyanathan calls Googlization, the way Google is changing and disrupting the creation and dissemination of ideas. I’ve resisted using Google services like Gmail and Google Docs, despite their popularity and, in some cases, their convenience. I’ve mostly been disinterested in allowing Google to mine and profit from my information, but this… read more

As regular readers may have noticed, I have an interest in photography. I’ve started a photography section on this website, where you can view some of the photographs I have taken. Right now I’ve added galleries for Objects, Places, and People, as well as a photo project I’m slowly working on called Street Portraits. Over the last year I’ve gone… read more

From a business perspective, it was my impression that one of the great promises of Facebook and other social networking sites is that they can offer extremely selective ad targeting. Facebook users willingly provide large amounts of enormously specific information about themselves, from their age and location to their artistic interests and sexual preferences. Why, then, are Facebook ads targeted… read more