Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2008
From ACM News
Learning By Blogging
European researchers have created software that links student blogs and other social software tools into a virtual collaborative learning environment. The three-year iCAMP (Intercultural learning campus) project wanted to close…
From ACM News
Stanford to Host Engineering Symposium in India
Stanford University's School of Engineering has announced the Stanford Engineering Symposium India to be held on December 18-19, 2008 in Bangalore, India. The event will provide a forum for eight distinguished Stanford faculty…
From ACM TechNews
Swapping Your Body Becomes a Virtual Reality
Neuroscientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, have used camera technology to create the illusion that a human being has swapped his or her body with a mannequin. The researchers had a male volunteer wear …
From ACM TechNews
DARPA Seeks to Mimic in Silicon the Mammalian Brain
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded contracts for the first stage of the Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) initiative, which aims to produce electronic …
From ACM TechNews
10 Microsoft Research Projects
Microsoft is supporting a host of projects in its research and development division that are focused on tackling real-world technical challenges but could have a potentially dramatic impact on computing. One such project is …
From ACM TechNews
Speed Within Reach at Affordable Prices
Supercomputers have reached new power and performance benchmarks while also increasing their availability to businesses in the past year. In June, IBM's Roadrunner machine at the Los Alamos National Laboratory reached the petaflop…
From ACM Careers
Meet Nicole, the Virtual Personal Assistant
Meet "Nicole." She's a glamorous personal assistant who can help with tasks around the office, play music, turn on the lights, tell the time, read news headlines and search for files on your computer. Nicole is not real; she…
From ACM TechNews
A Human Approach to Computer Processing
University of Nottingham scientists are researching "granular computing," a computer paradigm that examines groups or sets of information, called information granules, instead of looking at each piece of information individually…
From ACM TechNews
Professor's Work Erases Technological Barriers
University of Washington computer scientist Richard Ladner is working with people with disabilities to help them get more out of technology. Ladner has launched a variety of projects to make life easier for those without hearing…
From ACM TechNews
Open-Source Developers Set Out Software Road Map for 2020
A group of open source software advocates have published a report that establishes a road map for the software industry through 2020. The report makes several predictions about the role that free, libre, and open source software…
From ACM TechNews
Internet2: Full Speed Ahead
The Internet2 nonprofit consortium is engaged in the development, implementation, and use of networking technologies to tap a massive volume of new URL address space, along with a multitude of middleware and security capabilities…
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers Could Excel in Modeling Chemical Reactions
Quantum computers could potentially improve upon the capabilities of conventional computers in modeling and predicting complex chemical reactions, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard University, the Massachusetts…
From ACM TechNews
Six Ways to Build Robots That Do Humans No Harm
A new book by Yale University ethicist Wendell Wallach and Indiana University professor Colin Allen, titled "Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong," argues that we need to establish how to make robots both moral and…
From ACM TechNews
They're Robots, but Not as We Know Them
Neural networking was the focus of the 15th International Conference on Neuro-Information Processing in Auckland. Researchers discussed how a better understanding of the brain could lead to more intelligent computer systems.…
From ACM TechNews
Reding Calls for Continued R&D Investment
Europe must continue to invest in ICT-related research and development during the economic downturn, European Union commissioner Viviane Reding told delegates at ICT 2008 in Lyon. "At this time of economic uncertainty, we must…
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Agency Sees Robots Replacing Humans in Service Jobs By 2025
The U.S. National Intelligence Council's (NIC's) report, "Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World," outlines the military, economic, and environmental challenges the United States will face over the next 17 years. The report …
From ACM TechNews
Semantic Desktop Paves the Way For the Semantic Web
The European Union-funded Nepomuk project has developed innovative software to make finding and sharing information on a computer significantly easier, potentially solving the "chicken and egg" problem that has hindered the development…
From ACM TechNews
Agent-Based Computer Models Could Anticipate Future Economic Crisis
The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory is working to create new economic models that will provide more realistic pictures of different types of markets to help prevent future economic crises. Argonne systems…
From Communications of the ACM
Making a Difference
The Grace Hopper Celebration featured technical talks, workshops, networking events, and lively discussions about increasing the number of women in computer science.
From Communications of the ACM
Living Machines
Researchers of molecular computing and communication are focusing on the type of breakthroughs needed to make the vision of ultrasmall, biocompatible computers a reality.
From Communications of the ACM
Upwardly Mobile
Mobile phones are bridging the digital divide and transforming many economic, social, and medical realities, particularly in developing nations.
From Communications of the ACM
Touching the Future
In combination with finger and hand gestures, multitouch input is enabling users to manipulate and display information in innovative and unprecedented ways.