Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2014
From ACM TechNews
Nasa's New Robots May Revolutionize Space Exploration
U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers are developing a interstellar robot that could land on a planet by hitting the surface and bouncing.
From ACM TechNews
Listen Up: Online Spies Can Hear Your Computer
Researchers say it is possible to access a non-connected computer through its speakers.
From ACM News
IBM Doubles Down on Watson
IBM plans to jumpstart Watson with a $100-million venture fund to build a business around the supercomputer that famously beat two human champions at the TV game show "Jeopardy!" in 2011.
From ACM News
New Algorithm Can Dramatically Streamline Solutions to the 'max Flow' Problem
Finding the most efficient way to transport items across a network like the U.S. highway system or the Internet is a problem that has taxed mathematicians and computer scientists for decades.
From ACM News
Sculpting Geometry
Carlo Séquin lives in a world of impossible objects and mind-bending shapes.
From ACM News
Does Bitcoin Have a Future in Politics?
Representative Steve Stockman (R-Tex.) is no stranger to provocative proposals.
From ACM TechNews
By 2018, Cars Will Be Self-Aware
"Cars will become the first robot most of us experience in our lifetime," says Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski.
From ACM TechNews
A Makeover For Maps
Graphic designers are experimenting with new ways of presenting data, to better display the information people download over a range of devices.
From ACM TechNews
Tau Computer Algorithm Identifies 'aging Genes'
Researchers have developed an algorithm that predicts which genes can be turned off to fight aging.
From ACM TechNews
Simulator Recreates Virtual Taste Online
Online tasting could become another staple for people who live the digital life.
From ACM TechNews
Basketball, Football, and Hockey Are All the Same Game
Researchers have found that college and professional football, hockey, and basketball are much less complicated than most people think.
From ACM Opinion
When Doctors 'google' Their Patients
I remember when I first looked up a patient on Google.
From ACM News
How Google Cracked House Number Identification in Street View
Google Street View has become an essential part of the online mapping experience.
From ACM TechNews
3D Webcams Will Help Pcs Read Human Emotions, Intel Says
Intel says its new three-dimensional webcam can combine with voice, touch, and gesture to make human interaction more natural and intuitive.
From ACM News
Wind-Driven Data
Green-conscious data centers increasingly will be powered by renewable energy.
From ACM News
Selling Social Media Clicks Becomes Big Business
Celebrities, businesses, and even the U.S. State Department have bought bogus Facebook likes, Twitter followers or YouTube viewers from offshore "click farms," where workers tap, tap, tap the thumbs up button, view videos or…
From ACM News
This Clear, Flexible Electronic Circuit Can Fit on the Surface of a Contact Lens
Over the past few years, electronics have evolved way past the silicon wafer.
From ACM News
NASA's Kepler Provides Insights on Enigmatic Planets
More than three-quarters of the planet candidates discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft have sizes ranging from that of Earth to that of Neptune, which is nearly four times as big as Earth.
From ACM News
When the Future Isn't a Keyboard
Intel says it has seen the future, and it doesn’t include a keyboard.
From ACM News
This Eerie Game Was Made by Artificial Intelligence
If there's one human characteristic that’s difficult to emulate in artificial intelligence, it's creativity.
From ACM News
How To Track Vehicles Using Speed Data Alone
Location is a key indicator of personal travel patterns and habits.
From ACM TechNews
Pirate Bay Unveils Ambitious New Software Scheme to Foil Anti-Piracy Measures
The Pirate Bay is developing a tool designed to thwart copyright enforcers.
From ACM TechNews
Google's 4k Video Format to Hit Tvs, Mobile Devices, Pcs
Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, LG, and Sharp have introduced TVs that support VP9, Google's new 4K video format.
From ACM TechNews
Nsa Encryption Backdoor Proof of Concept Published
A security freelancer has published a proof-of-concept code for exploiting a security flaw in the Dual Elliptic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generator.
From ACM News
Apps For Mobile Viewing Challenge Cable Operators, Tv Networks
U.S. cable and satellite television operators, already locking horns with programmers over subscriber fees, are now squaring off over the mobile apps that viewers are increasingly using to watch TV.
From ACM News
How the Nsa (may Have) Put a Backdoor in Rsa's Cryptography: A Technical Primer
There has been a lot of news lately about nefarious-sounding backdoors being inserted into cryptographic standards and toolkits.
From ACM News
Decade-Old Rover Adventure Continues on Mars and Earth
Eighth graders didn't have Facebook or Twitter to share news back then, in January 2004.
From ACM News
Titan's Seas Get an Earthly Stand-In as Robot Explores Chilean Lake
Early Mars rovers had little more intelligence than a fancy remote-controlled car.
From ACM TechNews
Man and Machine: Cognitive Computing in the Enterprise
The next generation of cognitive computers aims to serve as cognitive assistants that will supplement human intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
Ok, Glass, Find a Killer App
A select group of developers have been experimenting with Google Glass for months and have created apps that could indicate where the technology will go in the future.