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Tag Archives: society

Languages and automata, part 1

Computing is very new as a science. Blaise Pascal devised a mechanical calculator in 1645, but Charles Babbage’s analytical engine, widely considered the first programmable computer, was not conceived of until the mid-19th century. However, it was never constructed (unlike Babbage’s simpler “difference engine”), and even at this time there was almost no theory to […]

Posted 06 July 2009 † johan § Computer science § Philosophy ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: , , ,

Iran, Twitter and information control

We’ve now had just over a decade of truly mainstream access to and use of the internet. I think I personally took my first stumbling steps on the web around 1995-1996. At the time, it was a limited phenomenon, rife with poor design. It was hard to see what was eventually going to come out […]

Posted 26 June 2009 † johan § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,

Why are micropayments not taking off?

Micropayments are an old idea. Examples of services using something that might be called micropayments today are Apple’s App Store (for the iPhone), Sony’s Playstation Network, various MMORPGs, etc. However the typical payment sizes are still quite large:  the smallest possible payment on the App Store is 100 yen (1 dollar). With even smaller payments, […]

Posted 17 June 2009 † johan § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Computing in and with the physical world

Computers are connected to people, and to the physical world, through input/output devices. These are not just keyboards, mice, monitors, printers etc, but also various sensors, e.g. temperature, light, movement sensors and video cameras, and output devices like industrial control systems or robots. Every day, we increase the extent of what computers can observe, and […]

Posted 11 June 2009 † johan § Computer science § Philosophy ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,