Entries by ChalkLabs

Crowdsourcing Killer Outbreaks

Nanowerk’s article “Crowdsourcing killer outbreaks” presents an idea that is both a forward-thinking and efficient technological step for science, and a world-shaking challenge to the traditional concept of priority in the sciences. Here we see two dangerous pathogens, one that threatens human lives and the other that is scarring ecosystems. In both cases speed is […]

Opportunities Ripe for Data

With today’s technology, we are able to record a large amount of data on our daily lives.  We leave a history of the websites that we visit, our phones can track our location and companies can see what you are buying with your credit card.  Big Data is about taking in this huge amount of […]

Map-Based Visualizations

The trend in computing today is questioning every aspect of life and compiling data on it.  We can take massive volumes of data and identify deficiencies in the way we run our lives. Directions Magazine’s article, “New map-based visualization provides insight into Seattle commuting data” is an excellent example of this.  IDV Solutions is a […]

The Implications of Google Maps

The Atlantic’s article, “How Google Builds Its Maps – and What It Means for the Future of Everything” isn’t an article about Google Maps as much as it is about Google’s approach to handling data.  As one would expect, there is a lot more to the inner structure of Google Maps than a map from […]

Connection Revolution

If you had asked the computer scientists of the late 1960s, it’s unlikely that their theories regarding the effects of connecting the world’s computers via the Internet would bear any resemblance the interconnected world we live in today.  The Internet ushered in a digital age, and today we see the far-reaching effects of connecting computers […]

Privacy and Big Data

Big data, while providing an amazing resource for businesses to optimize their sales and advertising, can also run the risk of invading a person’s privacy if not properly utilized. As FCW’s article “Big data affects hiring, privacy” points out, there is currently very little by way of regulation for the new and developing science of […]

Big Data Analytics for Small Businesses

Rather than maintaining the trend of simply discussing Big Data principles as they relate to large companies and organizations, Forbes’ “Big Data Analytics: Not Just for Big Business Anymore” explores how smaller business can apply the tools of the information age in order to improve their sales.  The suggestions provided are well laid out, and […]

The Rise and Benefits of Big Data

In The Wall Street Journal’s “Big Data is on the Rise, Bringing Big Questions”, author Ben Rooney explores the business significance of Big Data through his coverage of the Silicon Valley Comes to Oxford event and examination of the varied benefits of Big Data analysis. In particular, Rooney discusses that while many businesses are aware […]

Chicago as the New Silicon Valley

In Amy Scott’s article “Creating the Next Silicon Valley in Chicago” for Marketplace, she discusses the possibility of an upcoming technological boom in Chicago. Specifically, she references the presence of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign as a potential source of talent for such a boom; the school itself is widely respected, but “its […]

Voting Online and Computer Security

In his piece entitled “Why We Still Can’t Vote Online, and Why That May be a Good Thing”, Marketplace’s David Brancaccio responds to an article (“Why Can’t We Vote Online?” from the Verge) concerning the questions regarding and possibility of election voting being conducted online. The Verge’s article presents a thorough overview of the issue, […]