Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2010
From ACM TechNews
Fcc Looks at Ways to Assert Authority Over Web Access
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering aggressive moves to claim its authority over consumer access to the Internet as part of the Obama administration's plan to treat broadband Internet as a national…
From ACM News
Darpa: U.s. Geek Shortage Is National Security Risk
Sure, we’re all plugged in and online 24/7. But fewer American kids are growing up to be bona fide computer geeks. And that poses a serious security risk for the country, according to the Defense Department.
The Pentagon’s far…From ICT Results
Europe and China Create Intercontinental Research Grid
An EU-funded programme that lets European and Chinese computing grids work together has already produced results in aircraft design, drug development and weather prediction.
From ACM News
Nanostructures Hold Promise as Fast Switches for Resistive RAM
Building microscopic materials known as superlattices on the surface of gold may lead to a treasure for researchers interested in faster, smaller, and more energy efficient computing devices, say researchers at Missouri University…
From ACM TechNews
Chemical Computer That Mimics Neurons to be Created
A team of international researchers is developing a new way of building computing machinery inspired by chemical processes in living systems. The project, led by the University of Southampton's Klaus-Peter Zauner, makes use…
From ACM News
Group Thinker: Researcher Gets $2.9 Million to Further Develop Swarm Intelligence
Swarm intelligence is a branch of artificial intelligence that attempts to get computers and robots to mimic the highly efficient behavior of colony insects such as ants and bees. Ants, for example, use pheromone trails to mark…
From ACM TechNews
Web Guru Berners-Lee Highlights Open Data
Linked data will transform the Internet because Web browsing would give way to using programs that automatically seek out and find useful information, according to World Wide Web Consortium director Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
From ACM TechNews
Cryptographic Showdown, Round 2: NIST Picks 14 Hash Algorithms
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has completed round one of its open competition to create a new Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA). The cryptographic community narrowed the first round's 64 submissions…
From ACM TechNews
Social Science Meets Computer Science at Yahoo
Yahoo Labs is hiring social scientists, including cognitive psychologists, economists, and ethnographers, to help it understand what motivates users to click and remain on certain Web site features, while dismissing others.…
From ACM News
How Google Ranks Tweets
To deliver useful search returns from the so-called real-time Web--such as seconds-old Twitter "tweets" reporting traffic jams--Google has adapted its page-ranking technology and developed new algorithmic tricks and filters to…
From ACM TechNews
Aussie Quantum Experiment Challenges Einstein, Computer Science
University of Queensland (UQ) and Harvard University researchers have completed an experiment that could have massive ramifications for science through the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry to predict molecular reactions…
From ACM TechNews
Hidden Sensor Network Detects Explosives
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communications, Information Processing, and Ergonomics have developed Hazardous Material Localization and Person Tracking (HAMLeT), a sensor network system for detecting explosives.…
From ACM News
American Companies Capture Less Than Half of 2009 .s. Patents
For the second straight year, foreign companies collectively captured a slight majority of new U.S. patents awarded to corporations by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). According to an annual corporate ranking by …
From ACM News
Social Media Campaigns Hint at Widening 'digital Divide'
Washington and Lee University Associate Professor Claudette Artwick sees evidence of a 'digital divide' in recent social media campaigns to locate missing persons.
From ICT Results
Faster, Easier Way to Access Audiovisual Assets
Millions of hours of old shows sit collecting dust in the basements of TV and radio broadcasters. Digging through these audiovisual treasure troves is becoming faster and easier thanks to software developed by European researchers…
From ACM News
Science and Technology Heads to Make Networks Green
Alcatel-Lucent's research division, Bell Labs, spearheaded the launch of a global consortium of academics, operators and vendors on Monday (January 11), tasked with the remit of developing technologies capable of making the global…
From ACM News
Computer Programmed to Read Human Faces
Scientists have programmed computers to read human expressions and to tell whether one is in pain. "Each facial expression is made up of many different components — a twitch of the mouth here, a widening of the eyes there — some…
From ACM News
Tech Recession 'Is Unofficially Over'
After an extended slump, technology spending will rev back to life in 2010, according to analyst firm Forrester. "The technology downturn of 2008 and 2009 is unofficially over," says Andrew Bartels, Forrester analyst and vice…
From ACM News
Now, Electronics That Obey Hand Gestures
The technology industry is going retro — moving away from remote controls, mice and joysticks to something that arrives without batteries, wires or a user manual.
It’s called a hand.
In the coming months, the likes of Microsoft…From ACM News
Wireless Operators Struggle to Deliver Broadband
AT&T's bandwidth crisis for iPhone users was pushed aside by wireless operators and handset developers disclosing new smartphones, netbooks, and smartbooks with broadband connections. But North American service…
From ACM TechNews
Faster and More Efficient Software For the Air Force
The U.S. Air Force should have more confidence in its software as a result of a new research project at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The Nebraska team has conducted research on finding faults earlier and more often…
From ACM News
Maryland: The State of Cyber Security
Maryland's leaders want the state to take a lead role in the cyber security field in an effort to land thousands of jobs as the federal government and high-tech firms shift their focus to digital threats. "This is not a war that's…
From ACM News
Canada Picks p Pace in Computer, Tech Spending
Canadian companies have been picking up their spending on computers, software and other technology, but they still lag the U.S., according to an annual study. Businesses spending on information and communication and technology…
From ACM TechNews
Feds Hand Out $47 Million in Grants For Green Data Centers
The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded $47 million in federal stimulus money to 14 private projects aimed at making data centers more energy efficient. The grants will be matched by $70 million in private industry donations…
From ACM TechNews
MIT and First Ally to Encourage STEM Educational Careers
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are collaborating on a program designed to encourage K-12 students to pursue science, technology, engineering…
From ACM TechNews
Making Tv Social, Virtually
Researchers from Motorola, BT, and Intel are developing ways to combine social networking technology with TV viewing. The goal is to get as close as possible to physically sharing the viewing experience. "The one huge key is…
From ACM TechNews
White House Calls for IT Boost to Fight Terrorism
A new White House report says the U.S. government needs better information technology (IT) to counter potential terrorist attacks, such as the recent attempt to detonate an explosive device on an airplane. The report outlines…
From ACM TechNews
Can the World's Fastest Supercomputer Combat Health Care Waste?
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have proposed using Jaguar, a recently upgraded Cray XT5-based supercomputer, to help with U.S. government health care reform. Combining and analyzing health care data could save as…
From ACM TechNews
DHS Eyes Science and Technology Research
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Science and Technology Directorate is seeking proposals for conducting research in a wide range of technology-related areas. Research areas of interest include cybersecurity…
From ACM TechNews
India: A Nation Develops
India is making the transition from a global outsourcing center to a global innovation nexus, but lingering challenges include persistent infrastructure difficulties and an educational system in need of improvement.