Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2012
From ACM TechNews
House Approves Resolution to Keep Internet Control Out of Un Hands
The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed a resolution that calls on the U.S. government to oppose a United Nations effort to control the Internet.
From ACM News
Nasa-Noaa Satellite Reveals New Views of Earth at Night
Scientists unveiled today an unprecedented new look at our planet at night.
From ACM News
What If NASA Could Figure Out the Math of a Workable Warp Drive?
When, a few weeks ago, astronomers announced that an Earth-sized planet had been detected orbiting a Alpha Centauri B, a star in the closest system of stars to our own, and that this planet might, just might, mean that there…
From ACM TechNews
How Tin Whiskers Screw Up Everything From Servers to Smartphones
Tin whiskers are tiny metal filaments that grow inside electronic devices, and they have been known to contribute to problems since the 1940s. New research sheds light on why they have interfered with everything from satellites…
From ACM TechNews
Illinois Robotics Lab's Hytaq Moves in Air, Rolls on Land
Illinois Institute of Technology researchers have developed the Hybrid Terrestrial and Aerial Quadrotator (HyTAQ), a robotic vehicle that can move on land and through the air.
From ACM TechNews
3-D Print Yourself Something Big, Piece By Piece
Princeton University's Linjie Luo and colleagues have developed Chopper, software that could enable home 3-D printers to print larger and more useful objects.
From ACM Careers
Michael Bloomberg Wants to Do Something Cool with New York's Phone Booths
Just 15 years ago, New York City had 35,000 phone booths. Thanks to cell phones it now has just 11,000, most of which serve little purpose for anyone but Clark Kent. Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to change that.
From ACM TechNews
App Tracks Air Quality; Instant Data For People With Respiratory Issues
University of Alabama in Huntsville researchers have developed the Mobile Air Quality Index (MobileAQI), a free mobile phone application that provides instant up-to-date local reports on key air pollutants.
From ACM News
Whither Nasa?
Two years ago, President Obama told a crowd of more than 200 people assembled in Cape Canaveral, Fla., that a manned mission to an asteroid by 2025 would be among one of NASA's goals.
From ACM News
Death By Algorithm: West Point Code Shows Which Terrorists Should Disappear First
Paulo Shakarian, a professor at West Point's Network Science Center, has an algorithm that might one day help dismantle al-Qaida — or at least one of its lesser affiliates.
From ACM News
Leaping Into the Gesture-Control Era
A trip to any big electronics store this fall will tell you that computer makers from Samsung to Microsoft think laptop and desktop computers need touch screens. But that notion could seem outdated by early next year—thanks to…
From ACM News
Hacker Locates John Mcafee Through Smartphone Tracks
Weeks of international intrigue about the whereabouts of tech millionaire John McAfee ended Tuesday after the Internet pioneer made an elementary digital mistake that highlighted the fraught relationship Americans have with what…
From ACM TechNews
Smartphones Might Soon Develop Emotional Intelligence
University of Rochester researchers say they have developed software that gauges human feelings through speech, with significantly greater accuracy than conventional approaches.
From ACM TechNews
DARPA Program Aims to Find, Shut Backdoor Malware Holes in Commercial It Devices
DARPA's Vetting Commodity IT Software and Firmware program aims to develop systems that can verify the security of commercial IT devices.
From ACM TechNews
Preventing 'cyber Pearl Harbor'
Human factors/ergonomics researchers Varun Dutt, Young-Suk Ahn, and Cleotilde Gonzalez say the key to protecting online operations is a high degree of cybersecurity awareness. Their computer model gauges security analysts' ability…
From ACM TechNews
The Robotic Equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have developed milli-motein, a tiny robot that could lead to future devices that can fold themselves into almost any shape.
From ACM Careers
Texas Teen Wins $100,000 National Science Prize
A high school student from Texas has won a $100,000 scholarship for a developing a computer algorithm that helps robots navigate around obstacles, an algorithm that could be used in applications like driverless cars.
From ACM TechNews
A Computer For Your Car's Windshield
General Motors and Daimler AG are developing new windshields that use augmented reality to display driving directions, text messages, or oncoming hazards, all without requiring the driver to look away from the road.
From ACM News
Nasa Voyager 1 Encounters New Region in Deep Space
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered a new region at the far reaches of our solar system that scientists feel is the final area the spacecraft has to cross before reaching interstellar space.
From ACM News
The Robotic Equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife
The device doesn't look like much: a caterpillar-sized assembly of metal rings and strips resembling something you might find buried in a home-workshop drawer.
From ACM News
For Lonely Astronauts, a Robotic Companion
You know the only thing lonelier than Sgt. Pepper's Hearts Club Band, and the Heartbreak Hotel, and the number one? Being alone and also not on Earth.
From ACM TechNews
Naval Academy to Add Cybersecurity Major
The U.S. Naval Academy plans to offer an accredited cybersecurity major by 2016, and also wants to build a $100 million cybersecurity facility on campus, says Vice Adm. Michael Miller.
The Naval Academy would be one of …From ACM Careers
The ps and Downs of Making Elevators Go
You press a button and wait for your elevator. How long before you get impatient and agitated? Theresa Christy says 20 seconds.
From ACM News
Silencing the Voices of Militants on Twitter
Twitter, perhaps more than any other social media outlet, has become one of the most powerful tools to promote democracy in the Middle East.
From ACM TechNews
For Syria’s Rebel Movement, Skype Is a seful and Increasingly Dangerous Tool
Syrian rebels responded to the recent nationwide Internet shutdown by relying on satellite technology to coordinate within the country and to communicate with foreign activists.
The rebels have spent months smuggling communications…From ACM News
Nasa Mars Rover Fully Analyzes First Soil Samples
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has used its full array of instruments to analyze Martian soil for the first time, and found a complex chemistry within the Martian soil.
From ACM Opinion
How Martin Odersky Rewrote the Rules of Coding For a Mobile World
Next time you pull out your smartphone to use a popular application—whether it's to price check items in a store, to tweet or to check your cloud-based calendar—you might thank Martin Odersky.
From Communications of the ACM
Zoom In, Zoom Out
Drilling down to more detail on a computer screen, or moving out to see the context, is basic. But it's hardly simple and, after 20 years, innovations are still occurring.
From Communications of the ACM
Quantum Quests
Three breakthrough experiments involving photons have extended coherence times and indicated scalable production.
From Communications of the ACM
In the Year of Disruptive Education
As college tuitions soar, various online models vie to educate college students worldwide — at no cost.