Reed's Ruminations: The Past, Present, and Future
Reflections on science, technology, and computing — leavened by personal experience
Category: Information Technology
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Extraordinary Times, Challenges and Opportunities
The American research university has changed radically and repeatedly over the past century. It emerged from Cold War as a government-funded instrument of social change, economic competitiveness and national security. There is no reason, indeed ample precedent to the contrary, to believe that it will not continue to evolve rapidly and radically. The current culture…
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Twitter Is Three
Yesterday (March 21, 2009), Twitter, the microblogging service, turned three years old. I’ve been twittering for two years now, watching the evolution of social networking and the nature of the participants.
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Electronic CACM Is Now Live
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Communications of the ACM (CACM) was about to “go live,” together with a series of blogs, including one written by yours truly. CACM is now live, and the blog (Blog@CACM) is live as well. My first two blog entries are entitled Pipelining, Computing Innovation and Economic Growth…
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A Few Thoughts on the Stimulus Package
Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, recently spoke to the U.S. House Democratic Caucus Retreat. Although you can read the complete speech, I would like to highlight a few excerpts that emphasize Microsoft’s strong support for innovation and the importance of continued investment in basic research.
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Publication Quarks
Over the past thirty years, I have accumulated the common artifact of an academic research career – bookshelves overflowing with research journals and conference proceedings. Each time I pull an old and yellowing volume from my shelves, it is simultaneously nostalgic and thought provoking to read a few randomly selected articles. Not only does this…
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Innovation: The Fierce Urgency of Now
Today, we face economic challenges that are unprecedented in the memory of most of the living. The proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (aka the economic stimulus package) emphasizes investment in infrastructure construction, reminiscent of the CCC and WPA, health care, education, efficient energy and one of the key foundations of our…