Dec
2016
twitter search
Twitter starts showing search results by relevance, not reverse chronological order
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more about Twitter in this IMS blog
Digital Literacy for St. Cloud State University
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more about Twitter in this IMS blog
BY TOM BRANT OCTOBER 28, 2016 04:45PM EST
http://www.pcmag.com/news/349154/google-researchers-create-ai-that-builds-its-own-encryption
Alice and Bob have figured out a way to have a conversation without Eve being able to overhear, no matter how hard she tries.
They’re artificial intelligence algorithms created by Google engineers, and their ability to create an encryption protocol that Eve (also an AI algorithm) can’t hack is being hailed as an important advance in machine learning and cryptography.
Martin Abadi and David G. Andersen, explained in a paper published this week that their experiment is intended to find out if neural networks—the building blocks of AI—can learn to communicate secretly.
As the Abadi and Anderson wrote, “instead of training each of Alice and Bob separately to implement some known cryptosystem, we train Alice and Bob jointly to communicate successfully and to defeat Eve without a pre-specified notion of what cryptosystem they may discover for this purpose.”
same in German
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more on AI in this IMS blog:
http://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=artificial+intelligence
http://www.rubedo.com.br/2016/08/38-great-resources-for-learning-data.html
Data storytelling is the realization of great data visualization. We’re seeing data that’s been analyzed well and presented in a way that someone who’s never even heard of data science can get it.
Google’s Cole Nussbaumer provides a friendly reminder of what data storytelling actually is, it’s straightforward, strategic, elegant, and simple.
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more on text and data mining in this IMS blog
hthttp://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=data+mining
People who have long entertained right-wing populist ideas, but were never confident enough to voice them openly, are now in a position to connect to like-minded others online and use the internet as a megaphone for their opinions.
The resulting echo chambers tend to amplify and reinforce our existing opinions, which is dysfunctional for a healthy democratic discourse. And while social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter generally have the power to expose us to politically diverse opinions, research suggests that the filter bubbles they sometimes create are, in fact, exacerbated by the platforms’ personalization algorithms, which are based on our social networks and our previously expressed ideas. This means that instead of creating an ideal type of a digitally mediated “public agora”, which would allow citizens to voice their concerns and share their hopes, the internet has actually increased conflict and ideological segregation between opposing views, granting a disproportionate amount of clout to the most extreme opinions.
In political philosophy, the very idea of democracy is based on the principal of the general will, which was proposed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 18th century. Rousseau envisioned that a society needs to be governed by a democratic body that acts according to the imperative will of the people as a whole.
There can be no doubt that a new form of digitally mediated politics is a crucial component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: the internet is already used for bottom-up agenda-setting, empowering citizens to speak up in a networked public sphere, and pushing the boundaries of the size, sophistication and scope of collective action. In particular, social media has changed the nature of political campaigning and will continue to play an important role in future elections and political campaigns around the world.
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more on the impact of technology on democracy in this IMS blog:
http://blog.stcloudstate.edu/ims?s=democracy
https://fcw.com/articles/2016/05/23/big-data-fairness.aspx
At a Ford Foundation conference dubbed Fairness by Design, officials, academics and advocates discussed how to address the problem of encoding human bias in algorithmic analysis. The White House recently issued a report on the topic to accelerate research into the issue.
The FTC released two studies on how big data is used to segment consumers into profiles and interests.
U.S. CTO Megan Smith said the government has been “creating a seat for these techies,” but that training future generations of data scientists to tackle these issues depends on what we do today. “It’s how did we teach our children?” she said. “Why don’t we teach math and science the way we teach P.E. and art and music and make it fun?”
“Ethics is not just an elective, but some portion of the main core curriculum.”
more on big data in this IMS blog:
04/28/2016 – 18:21 Kim Cobb
SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering will lead a multi-university team funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build a theoretical framework for creating a computer-generated image of an object hidden from sight around a corner or behind a wall.
The core of the proposal is to develop a computer algorithm to unscramble the light that bounces off irregular surfaces to create a holographic image of hidden objects.
Similar technologies purused by MS Hololense as reported in this IMS blog entry:
By David Nage 02/25/16
Are you ready to deal with “denial of sleep” attacks? Those are attacks using malicious code, propagated through the Internet of Things, aimed at draining the batteries of your devices by keeping them awake.
In November 2015, the Open University released the latest edition of its ‘Innovating Pedagogy’ report, the fourth rendition of an annual educational technology and teaching techniques forecast. While the timelines and publishing interval may remind you of the Horizon Report, the methodology for gathering the trends is different.
The NMC Horizon Team uses a modified Delphi survey approach with a panel of experts.
Based upon a review of previous editions, the report tries to categorize pedagogical innovation into six overarching themes:
“What started as a small set of basic teaching methods (instruction, discovery, inquiry) has been extended to become a profusion of pedagogies and their interactions. So, to try to restore some order, we have examined the previous reports and identified six overarching themes: scale, connectivity, reflection, extension, embodiment, and personalisation.”
Follow these links to blog posts and EdITLib resources to further explore selected trends:
full article can be found here:
Innovating Pedagogy: Which Trends Will Influence Tomorrow’s Teaching and Learning Environments?
LITA listsrev has an excellent discussion on password management.
I personally am using LastPass for two years: great free option, paid one can be used on mobiles.
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From: lita-l-request@lists.ala.org [mailto:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org] On Behalf Of Michael J. Paulmeno
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 1:36 PM
To: lita-l@lists.ala.org
Subject: RE: [lita-l] Question on password management
I second Keepass. Not only is it free, open source, and multi-OS, but it lives on your computer, not in the cloud (although the database can be put on a shared drive or in DropBox for access across devices). Personally that makes me feel much safer. There are clients available for Windows, Mac, Linux, IPhone, Android and even Blackberry.
Cheers,
Mike
From: lita-l-request@lists.ala.org [mailto:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org] On Behalf Of Ronald Houk
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 12:38 PM
To: lita-l@lists.ala.org
Subject: Re: [lita-l] Question on password management
I use lastpass as well. However, LastPass was just bought by LogMeIn, so lots of people are holding their breath hoping that things stay good. Another open source, multi-os, alternative is keepass (keepass.info)
On Wed, Jan 6, 2016 at 11:43 AM, Yvonne Reed <yvonner@ranchomiragelibrary.org> wrote:
Hi Everyone,
I would like offer or recommend a password management tool to my library staff that’s reliable and easy to use. Do any of you have one you can recommend?
Thank you,
Yvonne Reed
Technology Librarian
Rancho Mirage Public Library
71-100 Hwy 111
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
(760)341-7323 x770
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From: lita-l-request@lists.ala.org [mailto:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org] On Behalf Of O’English, Lorena
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 12:51 PM
To: lita-l@lists.ala.org
Subject: RE: [lita-l] Question on password management
I really like Dashlane (dashlane.com) – it has a lot of options, including the ability to give someone else access to your passwords in certain situations (plus, they support Firefox financially via low-impact ads). I think of this sometimes when I think about what would happen if a piano fell on me tomorrow – what a mess it would be for my spouse to cope with my digital life! That said, although I use Dashlane, I still have not quite managed to get myself to use all its functionality.
Lorena
***
Washington State University Libraries
wsulorena: Twitter, Skype, GTalk, Yahoo IM
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—–Original Message—–
From: lita-l-request@lists.ala.org [mailto:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org] On Behalf Of Cary Gordon
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 12:37 PM
To: lita-l@lists.ala.org
Subject: Re: [lita-l] Question on password management
1Password ++
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—–Original Message—–
From: lita-l-request@lists.ala.org [mailto:lita-l-request@lists.ala.org] On Behalf Of COLLINS, MATTHEW
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2016 12:35 PM
To: lita-l@lists.ala.org
Subject: RE: [lita-l] Question on password management
I have used Roboform for at least 10 years and never had a problem. It manages passwords for logins and bookmarks on my PCs, my iPhone and iPad. It synchs online so work, home, tablet and phone all have the same info. It also stores personal info (name & multiple addresses) and confidential notes and other info.
–Matthew
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Has anyone mentioned Password Safe? http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/
It’s worked well for organizing and managing usernames/passwords.
Angela Stangl
Digital Services Coordinator
Rodney A. Briggs Library
University of Minnesota, Morris
(320) 589-6164
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FEATURES
http://keepass.info/features.html
PLUGINS
http://keepass.info/plugins.html
Note: CAPS is used here and there to call attention without extra Gmail formatting, not to shout at anyone. Still…I know I look like I yell here. I have flogged myself, I will now bathe in the River Salt.
MWoT
Ok, check it out.
Plugins, macros, group/profile/source/target/timing locks, separate DBs and separate metadata for these if you like, INTERNALLY-ROTATING SUPERKEYS via REGULAR KEY TRANSORMATIONS and TWO-CHANNEL AUTO-TYPE OBFUSCATION (for obfuscating your auto-typed passwords or keys, if you select Auto)….!!!…
…and well-reasoned, well-EXPLAINED approaches to certain critical areas of password management in general and to KeePass in particular.
For instance: In the FAQ, read the logic breakdown (thought-by-thought explanation) of why Keepass does NOT lock itself when a SUB-dialogue box is open in Keepass whle the user then LOCKS the workstation. =)
Why doesn’t KeePass lock when Windows locks and a KeePass sub-dialog is open?
http://keepass.info/help/base/faq_tech.html#noautolock
My support of Keepass as a primary, then a close alternative, comes from four of my six years in IT being in direct computer and network security roles. Sure, not the most trench years out there, but they are all engineering and tiered-analyst roles for several major US corporations.
I’m proud of that…and in terms of relevance, I worked – and still work – with and around many engineers, analysts, and scientists (data, algorithmic). I look up to these people a great deal, and many of these coworkers come fully assembled having forgotten more than I’ll ever know and still learning faster than I could ever talk about… and even THEY use Keepass and they use it powerfully.
Detection of each site’s contact (HTTP GET, form forcus, etc) or “touch” can be different with each browser it integrates into, and that’s just for starters. One can also script up a different timing to use before the credentials are passed….;)….one can also relegate references to a central database, or one can refer only to the local system or even just a specific profile that can access said .kdbx file (KeePass database), or one can limit the data source to just one .kdbx single-instance database file, or one can use the .kdbx as a secondary for some other central repository failure, if that happens.
One can make several .kdbx files for different uses…no requirement to have just one! Each a diffferent base of unique data keys, each wtih a different direction administered on when it is referenced, how it is run, and where it lives on a system.
Aaaaaand it can integrate with other DBMs, it’s not an island!
Keepass is not the end-all be-all, but it IS FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software, great for investigating its machinery). Also it is:
– Programmable (via the Plugins model, you can write some yourself if you like!)
– Modularizable (again, via the Plugins model)
– Profile lockable, (<— really neat!)
– SMM (Secure Memory Manageable, for Windows Clipboard and the like)
– and more!
Anyway, Keepass is rad for its cost, but, like the others on this thread, I will second LastPass as well. LastPass is a an alternative to Keepass. =)
Daniel Strickland
linkedin.com/in/dwstrickland
Matthew Collins
Director of the Ernest Miller White Library Associate Professor of Research and Bibliography Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
1044 Alta Vista Road
Louisville, KY 40205
mcollins@lpts.edu| 502.992.5420
is it possible that the Iranian government realized the evolution of social media and his respective obsolescence and this is why they freed him prematurely?
Blogs were gold and bloggers were rock stars back in 2008 when I was arrested.
The hyperlink was a way to abandon centralisation – all the links, lines and hierarchies – and replace them with something more distributed, a system of nodes and networks. Since I got out of jail, though, I’ve realised how much the hyperlink has been devalued, almost made obsolete.
Nearly every social network now treats a link as just the same as it treats any other object – the same as a photo, or a piece of text. You’re encouraged to post one single hyperlink and expose it to a quasi-democratic process of liking and plussing and hearting. But links are not objects, they are relations between objects. This objectivisation has stripped hyperlinks of their immense powers.
At the same time, these social networks tend to treat native text and pictures – things that are directly posted to them – with a lot more respect. One photographer friend explained to me how the images he uploads directly to Facebook receive many more likes than when he uploads them elsewhere and shares the link on Facebook.
Some networks, like Twitter, treat hyperlinks a little better. Others are far more paranoid. Instagram – owned by Facebook – doesn’t allow its audiences to leave whatsoever. You can put up a web address alongside your photos, but it won’t go anywhere. Lots of people start their daily online routine in these cul-de-sacs of social media, and their journeys end there. Many don’t even realise they are using the internet’s infrastructure when they like an Instagram photograph or leave a comment on a friend’s Facebook video. It’s just an app.
A most brilliant paragraph by some ordinary-looking person can be left outside the stream, while the silly ramblings of a celebrity gain instant internet presence. And not only do the algorithms behind the stream equate newness and popularity with importance, they also tend to show us more of what we have already liked. These services carefully scan our behaviour and delicately tailor our news feeds with posts, pictures and videos that they think we would most likely want to see.
Today the stream is digital media’s dominant form of organising information. It’s in every social network and mobile application.
The centralisation of information also worries me because it makes it easier for things to disappear.
But the scariest outcome of the centralisation of information in the age of social networks is something else: it is making us all much less powerful in relation to governments and corporations. Surveillance is increasingly imposed on civilised lives, and it gets worse as time goes by. The only way to stay outside of this vast apparatus of surveillance might be to go into a cave and sleep, even if you can’t make it 300 years.