An interview-based news report about how automation is coming to large farm machinery (such as tractors) worldwide.

An online report on the Heidelberg Laureate Forum, which gathers recipients of the world’s most prestigious math and computer science awards (Turing, Fields, Abel, Nevanlinna) with 200 advanced young researchers. Includes two original photos.

Coverage of DARPA’s Cyber Grand Challenge, a competition in Las Vegas where seven teams trained computers to hack each other for over three million dollars in prizes. Here’s the video I produced at this event.

An article about “drones as a service”: companies that offer to fly drones for various purposes on an as-needed basis.

An article about recent developments in computer programs that mimic human conversation (“chatbots”), particularly the use of modern artificial intelligence techniques to improve their discourse.

An article about use of digital resources and mobile devices to improve crops worldwide.

An article about the special position of the United States in internet privacy law, a topic under special scrutiny after the revelations of Edward Snowden.

An article about apps that attempt to discern when their users exhibit signs of depression, mania, and other mental issues.

An article reviewing whether search engines et al. isolate us from unusual ideas and beliefs through a “filter bubble”.

Article about vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, touching on vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) efforts, government involvement, and models that feature V2V technologies.

Article about using power gathered from radio waves, heat, and motion to power small devices such as sensors and cell phones.

Ph.D.s: Want a month of all-expenses-paid training, with a six-figure job waiting for you when you’re done? That’s what a new crop of “data-science boot camps” offer — for those who qualify. (Online-only article.)

The “smart” electric grid has held great promise for 15 years, but it’s not always been clear how deeply it’s penetrated our infrastructure — or what benefits it’s delivered. This article summarizes the current state of smart-grid technology, who’s implemented it, and where improvements are likely to appear. Online only.

I was afraid to work on this article about the gender gap in computing because it’s a topic surrounded by dogma, strong feelings, and poorly conceived statistics. As a result, most coverage on it is timid and shallow. But I think the hours of interviewing and research paid off. I’m happy with how it turned out. Online-only.

It’s gotten lots of coverage:

• Interview subject Meta Brown’s mention in her series, “Meta’s Binder Fulla Women”
• Slashdot article with a misleading attribution in the headline. (My comment on it.)
• Andrew Leonard’s thoughtful musings, again with a misleading attribution. (My comment on it.)
• The Spiceworks community forum for IT/tech professionals is hosting a heated discussion in response to the article.

A column for Volume 4, Issue 1 of “Drupal Watchdog”, the print magazine distributed at the semi-annual DrupalCon. It discusses the importance of an “easy entry” to technology, and the struggles Drupal has experienced in that regard.

An article in the May 2014 issue of CACM about data storage for very long times, e.g. a million years.

A short elegy to rust-belt towns, as told through the decay of buildings and bodies.

An article in the January 2014 issue of CACM about “affective computing”, which enables your computing device to perceive react to your emotions and moods.

My first article for Belt Magazine, “an online magazine devoted to long-form journalism, essay, and commentary with a distinctly Rust Belt sensibility”. It examines why locals seemed to warn me away by asking, “Why would anyone move here?” Four of my photographs were also featured.

“Crowdfunding for technology gains traction” — an online-only article covering technology funding venues including Fundable, Gittip, Bountysource, and others, with commentary from various players including Eric S. Raymond and the National Crowdfunding Association.

An article for CACM about competing technologies to repurpose the Internet’s host-centric architecture so it’s more appropriate for small, often-mobile devices.

A column for Volume 3, Issue 2 of “Drupal Watchdog”, the print magazine distributed at the semi-annual DrupalCon. This one describes how to get Drupal to do what you want, despite having no knowledge of Drupal’s main languages, PHP and JavaScript.

An article for CACM online about lifelogging, touching on the related subjects of veillance and “the quantified self”.

My guesses for the future of this popular cryptocurrency.

An article about legal challenges to the decentralized virtual currency Bitcoin, specifically on how the question of its definition affects its place in law.

A column for Issue #5 of “Drupal Watchdog”, a print magazine distributed at DrupalCon Portland.

A very short report on the popularity of exascale computing at the International Supercomputing Conference 2012.

A review of the book by Kevin Savetz. (I liked it.)

A feature article about Disney’s Touché sensor project, which explores new ways of controlling electronics with touch.

A very brief article about whether survey respondents believe that technology companies in the democratic West will increasingly help repressive governments.

A feature article about a $50,000 challenge issued by DARPA and its solutions, including quotes from the First and Second Place winners.

A column for Issue #4 of “Drupal Watchdog”, a print magazine distributed at DrupalCon Munich.

A feature article about modern applications of speech recognition, in particular how they’ve combined with complementary technologies to produce such consumer products as Siri.

A column for Issue #3 of “Drupal Watchdog”, a print magazine distributed at DrupalCon Denver.

A very brief article about a U.S. Government report on whether high-performance computing is cost-effective using cloud-computing techniques.

A short online-only article about how supercomputer developers are teaming up with application specialists to make the hardware’s power more useful.

A news report on the Privacy Identity Innovation conference in Menlo Park, November 2011, which focused largely on how social media are changing the landscape for consumers.

An article about vision systems that recognize actions, rather than just objects.

A column for Issue #2 of “Drupal Watchdog”, a print magazine distributed at DrupalCon London and later made available online.

A review of Asia’s recent ascendency in the Top500 list of the world’s leading supercomputers, and the supercomputing field generally.

Article about advances in electronic displays that can bend, be made in irregular shapes, and be produced through a print-like process.

A column for Issue #1 of “Drupal Watchdog”, a print magazine distributed at DrupalCon Chicago. (Content not available online.)

This article compares the three CMSes in terms of user base, code maturity, richness of plug-ins, and business acceptance. Commissioned by Peachpit Press to support my recently published book, Drupal 7: Visual QuickStart Guide.

Abstract: “A presidential report asserts the value of U.S. government investments in the cross-agency Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program and specifies areas needing greater focus.”

News story about the Association for Computing Machinery’s expansion into China. (Published in Communications of the ACM.)

Feature story about sensors to monitor energy consumption and other environmental data in residences. (Published in Communications of the ACM.)

Article about “e-heritage”, digitization of large-scale historical sites such as the Bayon Temple in Cambodia.

Article written for the publisher of my book, Drupal 7: Visual QuickStart Guide. I wrote it at a time when Drupal 7 seemed primed for imminent release, but it ended up taking a year more. The article is still fairly accurate, though.

Article about “claytronics” — ensembles of tiny robots that self-assemble into larger functional units.

Reporting on a three-day conference about technology policy. This was my biggest case of preparation overkill: 12,000 words of notes went into a 575-word article.

Short, online-only news article about brain-machine interfaces — or, as I call it, “MONKEYS CONTROLLING ROBOTS WITH THEIR BRAINS!!!”

A review of the productivity and life-tracking app, OmniFocus.

As the registered company Geller Guides, I found, oversaw, coached, and edited subcontracted writers for a couple of technical articles that appeared on the Apple Developer Connection section of Apple’s website. (I’ll provide copies of the articles on request.)

A feature article about the perceptual gap between images of real human faces near-human representations.

Abstract: “What makes some near-human characters scary while others are merely laughable? More important, why do some human and humanlike characters fail to arouse our sympathy? Visual artists and roboticists face these questions as they seek to alternately frighten and endear. Recent attempts to create accurate human replicas have brought these questions to the fore with increased urgency.”

Rediscovered this forgotten interview with me by an unnamed reporter. Fun!

Review of the productivity and personal-tracking application, OmniFocus (known at the time as “The Omni Group Omnifocus”).

The third part in a series of three articles about the death (and rebirth) of cities, particularly in the U.S. Rust Belt. (Note: As of August 2013, these articles are incorrectly attributed to another author in the byline, but are correct in the footer.)

The second part in a series of three articles about the death (and rebirth) of cities, particularly in the U.S. Rust Belt. (Note: As of August 2013, these articles are incorrectly attributed to another author in the byline, but are correct in the footer.)

The first part in a series of three articles about the death (and rebirth) of cities, particularly in the U.S. Rust Belt. (Note: As of August 2013, these articles are incorrectly attributed to another author in the byline, but are correct in the footer.)

An article for the Apple Developer Center (ADC) about how someone created a popular developer’s tool using Apple technologies. (Article is no longer on ADC; available by request.)

A feature article about how Aluminum went from being a precious metal (in its elemental form) to being cheap enough to use as a construction material, focusing on the 1880’s work of two chemists who discovered, almost simultaneously, the process to extract it.

Introduction: “In the mid-1800s aluminum was more valuable than gold. Napoléon III’s most important guests were given aluminum cutlery, while those less worthy dined with mere silver; fashionable and wealthy women wore jewelry crafted of aluminum. Today aluminum is a critical component of modern life, found in airplanes, automobiles, soft drink cans, construction materials, cooking equipment, guardrails, and countless other products. The difference between scarcity and abundance (and between obscurity and ubiquity) of this metal depended solely on scientists’ ability to find the way to release it—the third most common element in the earth’s crust by weight—from its ore.”

A feature detailing how the website Weather Underground manages data, produces weather graphics, and collects crowdsourced information to put together its content.

A feature article about real-estate tours in the “virtual world” of Second Life.

A news story about an astronomical discovery.

Intro: “Astronomers have found an unexpected treat on a star first described more than 400 years ago – the streak of a 13-light-year-long tail. The tail, the first seen of its kind, could provide clues about how celestial bodies are formed from the material spat out by such aging stars.”

The third part in a series of three articles about how old properties are being used for new purposes. (Note: As of August 2013, these articles are incorrectly attributed to another author in the byline, but are correct in the footer.)

The second part in a series of three articles about how old properties are being used for new purposes. (Note: As of August 2013, these articles are incorrectly attributed to another author in the byline, but are correct in the footer.)

The first part in a series of three articles about how old properties are being used for new purposes. (Note: As of August 2013, these articles are incorrectly attributed to another author in the byline, but are correct in the footer.)

A news story about checkers being “solved” — that is, proven that it’s possible to draw against even a perfectly played game.

Written for the the premiere issue of a newsletter by software publisher Quark, this article discusses their flagship product’s globalization-friendly features.

A feature article about tax auctions in the Bay Area, for the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle’s real-estate section.

A review of the text editor/organizational program for writers.

A review of the popular illustration program.

A feature article about the chemical history of cannabinoids — the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana — touching on medical and legal issues. No longer available on the Chemical Heritage site.

A news article about wireless power transmission.

Intro: “Annoyed by the tangle of power cords under your desk? A sheet of plastic invented by researchers in Japan could one day make for tables and walls that power devices placed on them — without any need for wires or plugs. Computers could be powered through the desks on which they sit, for example, or flat-screen televisions through the walls where they hang.”

A short review of an illustration program. Part of a package of three: EazyDraw, Intaglio, and Lineform.

A short review of an illustration program. Part of a package of three: EazyDraw, Intaglio, and Lineform.

A short review of an illustration program. Part of a package of three: EazyDraw, Intaglio, and Lineform.

An article for the Apple Developer Connection that shows how Apple technologies facilitated the creation and production of a graphic-design tool. Copy available on request.

Intro: “Will Thimbleby didn’t set out to write an illustration program. He needed to create drawings for a project, but he found he couldn’t afford the market-leading application and was unable to find a lower-cost option that suited him. So the 25-year-old doctoral student opened Apple’s Xcode tools and built his own.The result is Lineform, a vector drawing program that challenges the features of pricey competitors while sporting a far more accessible interface. His homegrown “scratch-an-itch” project won the 2006 Apple Design Award for Best Mac OS X Student Product, and soon after was picked up by software publisher Freeverse, Inc.”

A feature article for Computer Graphics and Applications, a publication of IEEE.

Abstract: “Consumer sites such as MapQuest, Yahoo! Maps, and Google Maps compete to improve their interfaces and data relevance to better appeal to the browsing public. But innovation in online mapping isn’t limited to these household names. Sites for the public good, such as those the US government manages, provide graphical access to data buried in such sources as the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the decennial census. Meanwhile, community mapping sites let the public provide local details, find nearby colleagues, and organize information in ways unknown 10 years ago.”

An article for the Apple Developer Connection that shows how Apple technologies facilitated the creation and production of a game. Copy available on request.

Intro: “The 11-person team at Freeverse, Inc. might be small, but the company has scored big with the action arcade game Wingnuts 2: Raina’s Revenge , which won the 2006 Eddy Award for Best Game and was named runner-up for the 2006 Apple Design Awards for Best Mac Game. Freeverse created a fun and addictive game, and according to the development team, the road to outstanding creative development was paved with Apple technologies such as Xcode, QuickTime, Core Image, the platform’s OpenGL implementation, and Mac OS X as a whole.”

My first feature article for the “Applications” section of Computer Graphics and Applications, a publication of IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).

Abstract: “Just as online shopping is a bellwether of advanced online technologies, so are museum and gallery showcases for the best in computer display and interface technology. In the first case, commerce demands that speed and reliability get priority, in the latter, technological invisibility is foremost. The museum experience is an unusually tactile, sensual one, and the standard keyboard-mouse-and-screen setup might seem out of place. This trend toward sensual involvement is particularly noticeable in tabletop displays, as they appeal to two aspects of familiar daily life: the horizontal surface as a workspace, and hand gestures (or common objects) as tools for manipulating information.”