Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2013
From ACM TechNews
Mit's 'kinect of the Future' Looks Through Walls With X-Ray-Like Vision
A device dubbed the "Kinect of the future" can see through walls and pinpoint the movements of someone with an accuracy of plus or minus 10 centimeters.
From ACM TechNews
'spaf' on Security
Purdue University professor Eugene Spafford, chair of ACM's U.S. Public Policy Council, says not enough serious consideration is given to computer security.
From ACM Opinion
What Last Week's Anti-.s. Shift in Internet Governance Means to You
Last week a group of the Internet's governing organizations announced they were effectively turning their backs on the United States.
From ACM News
The Future of Prosthetics Could Be This Brain-Controlled Bionic Leg
About a year ago, Zac Vawter climbed all 103 flights of stairs of the Willis Tower in Chicago.
From ACM Careers
Cyber Warrior Shortage Hits Anti-Hacker Fightback
For the governments and corporations facing increasing computer attacks, the biggest challenge is finding the right cyber warriors to fight back.
From ACM Opinion
Intel Sees a Future Where We Will Form 'relationships' with Our Gadgets
Rugged individualists aside, many people find themselves increasingly connected not just to one another but also to the devices that make those connections possible.
From ACM TechNews
Researcher Eyes Display on Contact Lens
The IMEC research institute is conducting research on display technology for contact lenses.
From ACM TechNews
Facial Recognition Is More Accurate in Photos Showing Whole Person
People rely on non-facial cues, such as body shape and build, to identify people in challenging viewing conditions, such as poor lighting.
From ACM TechNews
In Quantum Computing, Light May Lead the Way
Researchers say they have developed a method to have light play a bigger, more versatile role in the future of quantum computing.
From ACM News
Bit By Bit, Virtual Reality Heads For the Holodeck
While sitting in a stuffy Hollywood hotel conference room recently, I plotted my next move outside a snow-covered, ancient castle.
From ACM News
A Blow To Computer Security Research
A British court blocks publication of a scientific paper on wirelessly lockpicking a vehicle immobilizer.
From ACM News
Here's Everything You Should Know About Nsa Address Book Spying in One Faq
A new report from The Washington Post, based on documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, reveals that the National Security Agency is collecting hundreds of millions of address books around the world, including many…
From ACM News
Cyber-Shield: Brazil Announces Govt System to Block Nsa Snooping
Brazil is creating an email system intended to shield the government from NSA spying.
From ACM News
Accelerometer Ids Smartphones in Seconds
One afternoon late last month, security researcher Hristo Bojinov placed his Galaxy Nexus phone face up on the table in a cramped Palo Alto conference room. Then he flipped it over and waited another beat.
From ACM News
On Its Way to Jupiter, Nasa's Juno Probe Sends Snapshot of Earth
Following the speed boosting slingshot of Earth on Wednesday, Oct. 9, that sent NASA's Juno orbiter hurtling towards Jupiter, the probe has successfully transmitted back data and the very first flyby images despite unexpectedly…
From ACM News
3D Printing a Masterwork For Your Living Room
You may never be able to get to Italy to see Michelangelo's David—but advances in 3D printing technology are making it possible for you to create an almost perfect replica.
From ACM TechNews
Several Top Websites se Device Fingerprinting to Secretly Track sers
Researchers have found that 145 of the Internet's top 10,000 websites track users without their knowledge or consent.
From ACM TechNews
An Early Report Card on Massive Open Online Courses
Massive open online courses could help transform education, but face challenges to realizing their full potential.
From ACM TechNews
Printed Electronics: A Multi-Touch Sensor Customizable With Scissors
Researchers have developed a printable multi-touch sensor whose shape and size can be altered.
From ACM TechNews
Your Car Is About to Go Open Source
Automakers are working to standardize a Linux-based operating system for in-vehicle infotainment systems that would make cars act more like smartphones.
From ACM TechNews
Bbc Plans to Help Get the Nation Coding
The British Broadcasting Corporation will launch an initiative in 2015 promoting software programming in the United Kingdom.
From ACM TechNews
Better Robot Vision
Researchers have developed a robot-vision algorithm they say is 15 percent better than its best competitor at identifying familiar objects in cluttered scenes.
From ACM TechNews
Touchscreens Get Curves Thanks to 3d Printed Optics
Papillion enables designers to create surfaces that can display wraparound interactive imagery.
From ACM News
What Our 3d-Printed Future Looks Like
On-demand organs, Terminator-style arms, and aviation nostalgia—the best of 3D printing is on show in 3D: Printing the Future at London's Science Museum.
From ACM News
This Is Mars in Extremely High Resolution
On March 10, 2006, seven months after an Atlas rocket boosted it into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter fell into place in the Red Planet's orbit.
From ACM TechNews
3D Printing: The Greener Choice
Making products with a three-dimensional printer uses less energy than mass-producing them in a factory.
From ACM TechNews
Fear Multicore Apps? Reactive Programming to the Rescue
Programs that react to events instead of simply running commands are gaining popularity as a way to program on multicore processors, particularly with Java.
From ACM News
Virtual Reality Gaming Is Nearly Here; We Just Need the Right Controller
Video games have long promised to offer their players "immersive experiences," but full-blown virtual reality—the holodeck or the matrix—was still a fantasy.
From ACM TechNews
Nsa's Own Hardware Backdoors May Still Be a 'problem From Hell'
Computer hardware into which secret backdoors have been inserted by the U.S. National Security Agency and its adversaries is a tremendous security problem.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Beef Up Flash Memory With Protein
Researchers in Asia say they have created the first three-dimensional flash memory device made with protein.