Imagine if Twitter and Paypal had a love child. Meet Venmo, the latest, hippest tool for oversharing (and possibly overpaying) with your friends. The mobile app pairs with people’s bank accounts to let them pay each other or request money. The difference is that Venmo lets its users make those payments and their associated messages public on social… Read More »
Computer Showcase now carries secure Aegis drives from Apricorn, providing encrypted removable media with layers of protection to keep sensitive data safe in transit. The Aegis Padlock Fortress is a 500GB USB 3.0 hard drive with 2 levels of military grade encryption, unique PIN access with programmable auto-lock features, and rugged physical attack protection. Aegis Secure Key offers… Read More »
Silicon Valley has long portrayed the H-1B visa program for skilled foreign workers as a win-win, providing much-needed tech talent and fueling innovation and economic growth. Critics say it disadvantages American workers by allowing companies to hire cheaper foreign labor for jobs that would have gone to U.S. workers. A new study by researchers from U-M and the University… Read More »
A security loophole that lets someone add extra steps to your Fitbit might seem harmless, but a group of computer security researchers at U-M and the University of South Carolina say it points to the broader risks that come with technology embedding itself into our lives. They found a vulnerability that allows them to compromise devices through the tiny accelerometers that… Read More »
Authoritarian rule and fake news are among the topics for the University of Michigan Teach-Out Series, a new open online opportunity for global learners. President Mark Schlissel kicked off an Academic Innovation forum March 13 with the announcement of the first four global community learning events on the edX platform, intended to encourage public discourse about relevant issues.… Read More »
Extremely short, configurable “femtosecond” pulses of light demonstrated by an international team could lead to future computers that run up to 100,000 times faster than today’s electronics. The researchers, including engineers at U-M, showed that they could control the peaks within the laser pulses and also twist the light. The method moves electrons faster and more efficiently than… Read More »
The School of Information has announced the future establishment of two new information centers to improve communications infrastructure in underserved communities, and advance data usage by organizations that serve populations in those areas. The centers will be designed and managed by Edward Happ, a global IT leader with a background in nonprofit management, consulting, financial information services, and technology.… Read More »
Timothy A. McKay, professor of physics, astronomy, and education, thinks it’s time for the academic transcript to catch up with 21st century information technology. In a recent blog post, he examines how higher education has undergone dramatic changes over the last two decades, particularly in the way that much of what happens in college is digitally mediated. Courses are… Read More »
A good accountant is hard to find. Some companies are avoiding the search by replacing human bean counters with computer software. The increasing use of software is also changing how students and schools are approaching accounting education, according to Cathy Shakespeare, faculty director for the masters of accounting program at U-M. She said basic bookkeeping skills are becoming… Read More »
Gina Brandolino, an instructor in the Sweetland Center for Writing and the English Language and Literature department, wanted to move from grading physical papers to using online tools, but she wanted to preserve her ability to hand write comments as opposed to typing inline comments. An LSA-ISS Teaching Transformed grant enabled her to spend a summer adapting her work… Read More »
Recent research suggests that racial bias can have a measurable impact on internet-based, sharing services like Airbnb. For example, a 2014 study from the Harvard Business School revealed that non-black Airbnb hosts can charge 12 percent more than black hosts for a similar property. To curb discriminatory practices, the study authors recommend concealing basic information, such as photos and names, until… Read More »
Scott DeRue, dean of the Ross School of Business, thinks higher ed needs a new business model. DeRue’s vision is akin to Spotify’s offering to music fans, with users able to download lectures and teaching material for a small subscription fee. The dean is relaxed about giving away some teaching material for free as now happens with MOOCs. However,… Read More »
Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher and his colleagues at U-M developed a web-based application that allows health-care providers and researchers to create icon array graphics that help patients make informed decisions about their care. Their research found that presenting information in such formats can help patients better understand their treatment options and the associated benefits and risks. His research also… Read More »
Recently, BBC Future Now launched a series about the grand challenges we face in the 21st Century. Many on their panel of experts named the breakdown of trusted sources of information as one of the most pressing problems today. Among them was Paul Resnick, professor of information at U-M. Working out who to trust and what to believe has always been… Read More »
When it comes to coming up with dystopian visions of the future, researchers in artificial intelligence can match even the best science fiction writers. Just ask U-M computer science professor Michael Wellman, who dreamed up a stock-market manipulation scenario for a recent AI doomsday workshop which took place at Arizona State University with funding from Tesla Inc. co-founder Elon Musk… Read More »
Nue Lee, a PhD student in Higher Education at U-M, details a comprehensive, three-layered back-up storage approach she uses to make sure her academic work is protected. “No one likes to talk about it, because it may be admitting that you don’t do it,” writes Lee, “but as graduate students, we must have a dedicated backup system.” Lee recommends grad students… Read More »
Around 2010, the meme began to take off as a pervasive mode of digital communication and soon became a source of merchandising and commercialization. Some of it even benefited the meme creators. But however egalitarian the internet was supposed to be, creatives’ ability to profit off their viral content seems to depend on their race. André Brock, who teaches race,… Read More »
From World War I through the 1940s, the Black Bottom neighborhood was the heart and soul of Detroit’s African-American community. Then, in the early 1950s, the area was bulldozed in the name of “slum clearance” and eventually replaced with the Chrysler Freeway and Lafayette Park. Emily Kutil, a Detroit architect with a master’s degree in architecture from U-M, hopes to help… Read More »
Waze, the crowdsourced traffic and navigation app owned by Google is joining the SmartDeviceLink Consortium and working with automakers and developers on open source protocols for connecting smart phones to car dashboard screens. This gives Waze—and therefore Google—a lot more data about you, your habits, and your car. This kind of info collection might worry some users. But Erik Gordon, who studies… Read More »
U-M VPIT-CIO Kelli Trosvig shares what she’s enjoyed so far about her time at U-M and how teams across our campuses are asking tough questions and working together to support the missions of the university.