IBM Fellow Grady Booch, co-creator of UML and object-oriented programming, has launched “a transmedia project” seeking to engage “audiences of all ages in the story of technology that has changed humanity.” He’s hoping to put together a multi-part television documentary, together with a book, e-book, website, app, and educational curriculum to tell the story about computing to the general public. The goal, he says, is to “teach the essential science of computing, present the stories of the people, events, and inventions of computing, examine the strong connections among computing, science, and society, [and] contemplate the future.” According to the project website:

…became “the center of your world.” So says technology writer/editor Joshua Topolsky — founding editor-in-chief of The Verge and former editor-in-chief of Engadget — in an year-end technology review for The Washington Post. It’s worth a quick read (emphasis added below): As far as years in technology go, 2011 was one for the record books.   It wasn’t just about big battles like Apple vs. Samsung, Microsoft vs. Google, AT&T vs. the world, or Hewlett-Packard vs. itself. It wasn’t just about the growth of apps and the ever-increasing pervasiveness of the Web in our daily lives, though there were plenty of amazing developments both these realms. It wasn’t just about hardware or […]

msnbc.com’s Cosmic Log is out with its list of the top 11 scientific twists from 2011 this morning: The past year brought us the supercomputer that trounced flesh-and-blood champions on the “Jeopardy” TV show … genetic discoveries that showed us the tangles in humanity’s family tree … a tsunami that shouldn’t have been as catastrophic as it was … and neutrinos that shouldn’t be going as fast as they seem to. Which scientific twist of 2011 do you find most intriguing? Now’s the time to cast your vote for the top science story of 2011…   In this list, I’m stressing the twists in science and technology that go against expectations […]

The New York Times published a two items last Friday about computer security research efforts to supplement, and perhaps one day eliminate, passwords. From the print edition: Passwords are a pain to remember. What if a quick wiggle of five fingers on a screen could log you in instead? Or speaking a simple phrase?   Neither idea is far-fetched. Computer scientists in Brooklyn are training their iPads to recognize their owners by the touch of their fingers as they make a caressing gesture. Banks are already using software that recognizes your voice, supplementing the standard PIN.   And after years of predicting its demise, security researchers are renewing their efforts to supplement and perhaps one day obliterate […]

As we celebrate the holidays and get set to close the books on 2011 — a banner year for the CCC Blog, with more than twice as many page views as in any previous year — we thought we would take a quick look back at some of the most popular topics on the Blog in the past year. After the jump, a rundown of our 10 most viewed posts since January 1 (not handicapped by date):

Google is calling for applications to its 2012 Google Policy Fellowships, which offer undergraduate, graduate, and law students interested in Internet and technology policy “the opportunity to spend the summer contributing to the public dialogue on these issues, and exploring future academic and professional interests.” According to Google: Fellows will have the opportunity to work at public interest organizations at the forefront of debates on broadband and access policy, content regulation, copyright and trademark reform, consumer privacy, open government, and more. Participating organizations are based in either Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, Ottawa or Toronto, Canada and include: American Library Association, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, Center for Democracy […]