When authorities realized the Paris terrorists used strong encryption to send messages to one another they went off the encryption deep end. Now, many nations are considering legislation to ban strong encryption. If strong encryption is banned, only terrorists will have it. Moreover, restricting strongly encrypted speech over the Internet would be a victory for the terrorists. After all, one aim of terrorism is to scare us into giving up our freedoms. Once we give up our freedom to communicate privately we are sliding down the slippery slope of despotism—and the terrorists win. Continue reading The Backdoor is a Victory for Terrorists
All posts by Ted Lewis
My GPS Car Is Smarter Than Your Honor Student
Driverless cars may know how to negotiate intersections and park themselves better than humans, but so far I haven’t read about a smart car that can get me through Silicon Valley faster during rush hour. The problem isn’t with drivers, the problem is with pavement. There just doesn’t seem to be enough roadway to accommodate everyone at the same time. Perhaps the solution lies in data, not just driverless technology. Continue reading My GPS Car Is Smarter Than Your Honor Student
Who Shaped Modern Computing — Part 2?
In part one, I asked the question “Who is big in computing?” and probed the answer by constructing a social network gleaned from the references listed below. As expected, the network is scale-free, meaning it contains a handful of highly connected nodes—people, places, and things—and a majority of sparsely connected nodes. Furthermore, the most-connected nodes in the social network are languages, John Backus, and Edsger Dijkstra. Continue reading Who Shaped Modern Computing — Part 2?
Who is Big in Computing – Part 1?
More than 70 years into computing, Moore’s Law keeps on doubling performance of the basic engine of the post-industrial information age. Looking back at this incredible progress makes me wonder, “Who has had the biggest influence on computing since electronic digital computers were designed and built for the first time in the 1940s?” Continue reading Who is Big in Computing – Part 1?