Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2009
From ACM TechNews
Even the Most Sophisticated Computers Can't Tell a Dog From a Cat
Chris Bishop, chief research scientist for Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England, says there is still much that needs to be explored about digital intelligence. Bishop says that it is still very difficult for computers to…
From ACM TechNews
W Med Students Prepare With Cutting Edge Technology
The University of Washington (UW) is increasingly requiring all medical, nursing, and pharmacology students, and those in similar fields, to perfect their skills in simulated environments before interacting with a human patient…
From ACM TechNews
Energy Drain By Computers Stifles Efforts at Cost Control
Higher-education institutions are having a hard time keeping computing costs under control because of power-thirsty data centers. Experts say colleges and universities have been slow to realize the value of energy-saving methods…
From ACM TechNews
Nearly 1 Million Jobs Could Be Created By It Stimulus Package, Think Tank Says
A $30 billion investment in the U.S. IT industry would create or help retain nearly 1 million jobs, concludes "The Digital Road to Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity and Revitalize America," a new report…
From ACM TechNews
Teaching Intangibles With Technology
European and Israeli researchers have developed an education system that focuses on teaching students critical thinking, social interaction, discourse, rhetoric, and self-expression. The system helps instructors track who is…
From ACM TechNews
A New Web of Trust
A year after security researchers exposed a flaw in the Domain Name System (DNS), a permanent solution is finally being implemented. The DNSSEC protocol, which verifies DNS messages with digital signatures, is being implemented…
From ACM TechNews
More and More, Schools Got Game
Teachers are increasingly incorporating video games, virtual reality, and simulations to improve education. Business and science classes are starting to use sophisticated software that allows students to test out potential careers…
From ACM TechNews
Information Architecture For Digital Libraries
The libraries of the 21st century will be Web-based, but the technologies, standards, and architecture that future digital libraries will use are still being defined, writes University of South Florida information scientist Scott…
From ACM TechNews
New Years Honours - Dame Wendy Hall
ACM President Wendy Hall, a computer science professor at the University of Southampton and a former head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science, has been appointed to The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire…
From ACM TechNews
Artificial Intelligence: Robots Rule When It Comes to Holiday Shopping
Retailers are using robots to help warehouse workers find fast-selling products more quickly. The robots, built by Kiva Systems, are programmed with maps of the warehouse they operate in, and have artificial intelligence (AI)…
From ACM TechNews
Leaving the Rat Race to Save the World
Companies are offering their IT employees the opportunity to volunteer for projects in developing countries, and some IT workers, frustrated by a lack of purpose, are leaving the corporate world and lending their expertise to…
From ACM News
The Long Slow Road to a $1 Million Millennium Prize
In 2006, the journal Science named the solution to the century-old Poincaré Conjecture as its "breakthrough of the year." Three years later, the Clay Mathematics Institute, which had pledged to award $1 million to the personMillennium…
From Communications of the ACM
Calculating the Future
Climate researchers have no shortage of scientific issues on which to expend computer power. The biggest problem is choosing which one to tackle first.
From Communications of the ACM
The Universe in Your Computer
Two virtual astronomical telescopes promise to transform the way people view and study the cosmos.
From Communications of the ACM
Context-Aware Smartphones
Future generations of smartphones will be context aware, tracking your behavior, providing information about the immediate environment, and anticipating your intentions.
From Communications of the ACM
A Pioneer Woman
Programmer Jean Bartik is inducted into the Computer History Museum's Hall of Fellows.
From Communications of the ACM
ACM's Annual Report
I would be hard-pressed to recall in my four decades as an ACM member a time as eventful and exceptional as recorded by ACM in FY08.
From Communications of the ACM
The Long Road to 64 Bits
The sometimes contentious development of 64-bit systems shows how technology decisions can have unexpected, enduring consequences.