Does Information Really Have to be Licensed?    

Discusses the proposed Article 2B of the Uniform Commercial Code, which will be presented to US state legislatures for enactment. It would 'validate shrinkwrap and other mass-market licenses of information' and establish other electronic commerce rules. Samuelson sees a danger in such licenses, in that consumers are said to have agreed to their provisions by 'token assent' such as clicking 'I agree.'

Samuelson, Pamela. Communications of the ACM (1998). Articles>Intellectual Property>Contracts

Does Typography Affect Proposal Assessment?  

Experience from assisting in the review of 30 proposals to a major funding agency suggests that mundane aspects of proposal formatting have an effect on proposal assessment. Why do these apparent connections between mundane formatting and actual funding occur? Here are a few possibilities.

Berleant, Daniel. Communications of the ACM (2000). Articles>Grants>Proposals>Typography

DRM {and, or, vs.} the Law    

Copyright industries are hoping that digital rights management (DRM) technologies will prevent infringement of commercially valuable digital content, including music and movies. These industries have already persuaded legislatures in the U.S., the European Union, and other countriesto adopt broad anti-circumvention rules to protect DRM from being hacked, and courts have interpreted these statutes even more broadly than the lawmakers intended.

Samuelson, Pamela. Communications of the ACM (2003). Articles>Intellectual Property>Copyright

Legally Speaking: Does Information Really Want To Be Licensed?  

Although Louisiana and Illinois once passed laws to validate software shrinkwrap licenses, neither statute survived closer review. In the Vault v. Quaid decision, federal judges refused to enforce the Louisiana law insofar as license terms interfered with consumer rights under federal copyright law. The Illinois software shrinkwrap license enforcement statute was subsequently repealed due to industry dissatisfaction with it.

Samuelson, Pamela. Communications of the ACM (1998). Articles>Intellectual Property>Contracts

Universal Usability    

An early definition of universal usability.

Schneiderman, Ben. Communications of the ACM (2000). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability

XML Fever    

Don't let expectations or excitement about XML develop into a virulent strain of XML fever.

Wilde, Erik and Robert J. Glushko. Communications of the ACM (2008). Articles>Information Design>XML

Toward 2^W, Beyond Web 2.0  

From its inception as a global hypertext system, the Web has evolved into a universal platform for deploying loosely coupled distributed applications. As we move toward the next-generation Web platform, the bulk of user data and applications will reside in the network cloud. Ubiquitous access results from interaction delivered as Web pages augmented by JavaScript to create highly reactive user interfaces. This point in the evolution of the Web is often called Web 2.0. In predicting what comes after Web 2.0--what I call 2^W, a Web that encompasses all Web-addressable information--I go back to the architectural foundations of the Web, analyze the move to Web 2.0, and look forward to what might follow.

Raman, T.V. Communications of the ACM (2009). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design