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| Current Topic: Technology |
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Optimization of Robustness and Connectivity in Complex Networks |
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| Topic: Technology |
8:55 pm EDT, Jul 28, 2004 |
Scale-free networks rely on a relatively small number of highly connected nodes to achieve a high degree of interconnectivity and robustness to random failure, but suffer from a high sensitivity to directed attack. In this paper we describe a parametrized family of networks and analyze their connectivity and sensitivity, identifying a network that has an interconnectedness closer to that of a scale-free network, a robustness to attack closer to that of an exponential network, and a resistance to failure better than that of either of those networks. Optimization of Robustness and Connectivity in Complex Networks |
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Mastering the Art of the Swipe |
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| Topic: Technology |
9:59 am EDT, Jul 25, 2004 |
Like the heads in a VCR, the ones in card readers can wear out. After all, they are reading cards at an extraordinary rate. The busiest turnstile in the subway system, turnstile No. 10 in the middle array by the escalators in the main entrance to the subway below Grand Central Terminal, reads a whopping 236,000 cards a month. I thought that was a neat factoid. I can imagine New Yorkers saying to themselves, "I know that turnstile!" The article is rich in trivia about heavy-duty magnetic card readers and the millions of people who (ab)use them. Mastering the Art of the Swipe |
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World-Wide Media eXchange |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:08 pm EDT, Jul 24, 2004 |
What can you do with a gazillion photos on a single database indexed by their location? World-Wide Media eXchange |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:41 am EDT, Jul 24, 2004 |
This can't go on. I believe we have reached the event horizon of complication and crap (craplexity). The present paradigm is in for a big fall. That is my hope and the center of my effort. The trick is to make people think that a certain paradigm is inevitable, and they had better give in. They were wonderful and innovative for their time, but are now tired, clumsy and extremely limiting. Computer Lib |
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Bicycles and Tricycles: An Elementary Treatise on Their Design and Construction |
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| Topic: Technology |
4:21 pm EDT, Jul 17, 2004 |
Published in 1896, Bicycles and Tricycles was the first serious, scientifically based study of the bicycle. It begins with a general exposition of mechanical principles: dynamic, static, and straining forces. It then covers successive experiments at bicycle and tricycle design, including several "mechanical monstrosities." With the aid of elegant, sometimes humorous drawings, the book examines various designs for their relative stability, steering advantages, gearing and resistance properties. The final selection discusses the design of individual components in detail, including the frame (from the point of view of stress analysis); wheels; bearings; chains and chain gearing; toothed-wheel gearing; the lever-and-crank gear; tires; pedals, cranks and bottom brackets; springs and saddles; and brakes. A definitive work in its own time, Bicycles and Tricycles is a collector's item for history-lovers as well as bicycle-enthusiasts -- a treat for tinkerers and all those interested in the history of invention. Yeah, it's like that. Bicycles and Tricycles: An Elementary Treatise on Their Design and Construction |
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Reliably Blocking (Flash) Advertisements in Gecko-based Browsers |
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| Topic: Technology |
3:05 pm EDT, Jul 5, 2004 |
Advertisements on websites are annoying, often breaking up text and flashing to get your attention. To stop about 99% of the ads on the internet from even showing, add the following code to your userContent.css file: I was finally sufficiently annoyed by obtrusive Flash advertisements at the Washington Post that I tracked down this information on hiding them from view. In the course of working through this issue, I was also annoyed to find that the Washington Post inserts web bugs of the form http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/google/tracker.gif?794673 on every story that it feeds. It's not exactly clear what they're doing with it, and why it's called a Google tracker, because they show up even when you're not coming from Google News. Reliably Blocking (Flash) Advertisements in Gecko-based Browsers |
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Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness |
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| Topic: Technology |
11:25 am EDT, Jul 4, 2004 |
NORA answers the question "Who knows who?" If security is the value proposition, then your ability to detect suspicious connections between individuals internal and external to your organization significantly decreases the threats of fraud, collusion, conflicts of interest, or even of the potential for corporate sabotage or terrorism. NORA enables companies to identify and address a problem before it becomes a problem. Like Keith, on Six Feet Under! (How's that for a non-obvious connection!) The software is optimized to adjust to the data terrain within an enterprise and performs just as well using poor data as it does using pure data. No Garbage In, Garbage Out to worry about here! Are you not eerily reminded of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Ask yourself, how many degrees are there between you and Osama bin Laden? It may be less than you think. Are you uncomfortable yet? Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness |
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BGPlay - graphical visualisation of BGP updates |
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| Topic: Technology |
1:13 pm EDT, Jul 3, 2004 |
BGPlay is a Java application which displays animated graphs of the routing activity of a certain prefix within a specified time interval. Its graphical nature makes it much easier to understand how BGP updates affect the routing of a specific prefix than by analyzing the updates themselves. BGPlay - graphical visualisation of BGP updates |
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After Losing Jobs, Scott Sassa Wins Friendster |
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| Topic: Technology |
12:07 am EDT, Jun 29, 2004 |
I couldn't find an open copy of this article ... and you can get the "news" aspect of this through many sources, but I found this particular excerpt rather amusing: Sassa and the brain trust are hoping that Friendster will emerge as a powerful peer-to-peer tool that allows people not only to connect socially but also to experience (and pay for) something more, something great, something ... well, they're not really sure yet. "We may not know exactly what the business model is," Sassa admits, "but the notion of having like-minded people provide you with a trusted referral is a really powerful marketing concept." http://www.nonstick.com/wsounds/daffyeah.wav and http://members.fortunecity.com/fatzutroy/smibur.htm (download spruce.wav) come to mind. After Losing Jobs, Scott Sassa Wins Friendster |
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| Topic: Technology |
8:50 am EDT, Jun 24, 2004 |
"I've taken a lot of American people to Dalian, and they are amazed at how fast the China economy is growing in this high-tech area. Americans don't realize the challenge to the extent that they should." Dalian has become the Bangalore of China. "We have 22 universities and colleges with over 200,000 students in Dalian." More than half graduate with engineering or science degrees, and even those who don't are directed to spend a year studying Japanese or English and computer science. Have your kids finished their homework? Doing Our Homework |
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