Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2010
From ACM TechNews
Intel Experimental Processor Adapts to Environmental Challenges on the Fly
Intel has created a microprocessor that is capable of delivering its specified throughput without requiring any reserve cycles to account for dips in power, changes in temperature, and aging transistors. With its built-in error…
From ACM TechNews
New Technology Offers Secure Electronic Payment via Mobile Phones
University of Oxford researchers have developed a protocol for facilitating secure peer-to-peer and person-to-person payments using mobile phones.
From ACM News
Science Education Should Begin at Age Three
Your child comes home from pre-K and tells you to shut off the lights to save electricity. Don't feel scolded; your child may be a budding scientist. To support these interests, one academic says children should begin learning…
From ACM News
Surgeons Perform Robot-Assisted Cystectomy
UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeons completed the North Texas region's first robot-assisted bladder removal using the DaVinci system, a four-armed robot controlled by the surgeon via a joystick.
From ACM News
More Than 75,000 Systems Hacked in Cyber Attacks, Security Firm Says
More than 75,000 computer systems at nearly 2,500 companies in the United States and around the world have been hacked in what appears to be one of the largest and most sophisticated attacks by cyber criminals discovered to date…
From ACM Careers
The Painful Truth About Age Discrimination in Tech
There are bold programmers but no old programmers. That fear-tinged saying echoes even more today among software developers, who fear the recession provides a handy cover for age discrimination. But a closer look suggests that…
From ACM TechNews
War Game Reveals .s. Lacks Cyber-Crisis Skills
The Bipartisan Policy Center recently staged the Cyber ShockWave, a simulation to demonstrate the plausibility of a cyberattack that could be as crippling as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes.
From ACM TechNews
Graduation Gaps For Science Majors
A recent University of California, Los Angeles survey found that more students are interested in majoring in science and technology fields, but those students are graduating at lower rates than students not pursing science and…
From ACM TechNews
Hold Vendors Liable For Buggy Software, Security Experts Say
Security experts from more than 30 organizations recently called on enterprises to put more pressure on security vendors to ensure secure code development.
From ACM TechNews
New Fiber Nanogenerators Could Lead to Electric Clothing
University of California, Berkeley researchers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that can be woven into clothing and textiles. The nano-sized generators have piezoelectric properties, which enables them to use mechanical…
From ACM TechNews
A Conference Keen on Finding Open Communication
Alcatel-Lucent recently launched an initiative to connect network operators with software developers to develop mobile applications that work with multiple networks and operating systems. More than 50 operators have expressed…
From ACM TechNews
.s., Eu, Russia Set Aside $13.6m For Exascale Software Work
The United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom have agreed to fund projects aimed at developing software for the next generation of supercomputers.
From ACM TechNews
Humanoid Robots to Gain Advanced Social Skills
European robotics researchers are developing humanoid robots that can interact with groups of people in a realistic, anthropomorphic way. The HUMAVIPS project aims to design algorithms that will enable robots to focus their…
From ACM News
DARPA Looks to Build Real-Life C3p0
Right now, troops trying to listen in on enemy chatter rely on a convoluted process. They tune into insurgency radio frequencies, then hand the radio over to local interpreters, who translate the dialogues. It’s a sloppy process…
From ACM News
A Faster Wireless Web
Transfers of large amounts of data across the Internet to wireless devices suffer from a key problem: The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) used to send and receive that data can be unnecessarily slow.
A company called Aspera…From ACM News
.s. Networks and Power Grid nder (mock) Cyber-Attack
Unknown hackers have taken out U.S. cellphone networks in an ongoing cyber-attack that will soon knock out parts of the nation's electricity grid – say the officials who helped plan today's mock assault on the nation's defences…
From ACM TechNews
Nasa: Robots 'essential' to Endeavour Mission's Success
Robots have a vital role on the space shuttle Endeavour's mission to install two new pieces of the International Space Station. Robotics technology is a critical part of the effort to build the space station, says NASA's Scott…
From ACM TechNews
Researcher Finds 'network Privacy' an Online Oxymoron
Northeastern University (NU) professor Alan Mislove has developed an algorithm that can predict the personal information of any given Facebook user in the Rice University network.
From ACM News
How Advanced Technology Helped East Coast Blizzard Emergency Crews
Emergency management and transport agencies along the Mid-Atlantic coping with the recent blizzards used an advanced visualization and data fusion system that put on one screen real-time traffic, accident and weather information…
From ACM News
Sensor Exploits Traditional Weakness of Nano Devices
By taking advantage of a phenomenon that until now has been a virtual showstopper for electronics designers, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Panos Datskos is developing a chemical and biological sensor with unprecedented…
From ACM News
Do-It-Yourself Genetic Engineering
It all started with a brawny, tattooed building contractor with a passion for exotic animals. He was taking biology classes at City College of San Francisco, a two-year community college, and when students started meeting informally…
From ACM TechNews
Despite Glitches, Electronics Make Cars Safer
Future cars will have even more complex electronics and robotic-like control systems that monitor driving conditions and assist drivers, but experts say that will only make cars safer.
From ACM TechNews
Australia Builds Secret Database to Fight Cyber-Terrorism
Australia's federal government has been given sensitive data from utilities, banks, and other organizations for the Critical Infrastructure Protection Modeling and Assessment (CIPMA) program.
From ACM TechNews
Ntu Launches One of the World's Greenest Supercomputers
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) researchers recently launched the High Performance Computing (HPC) Centre, which features sustainability features such as the use of water-cooled technology that reduces electrical consumption…
From ACM TechNews
Berkeley Discusses Progress in Parallel Programming
University of California, Berkeley researchers recently discussed their progress in finding new parallel programming models for multicore processor architectures. Researchers have produced seven high-performance applications…
From ACM TechNews
Nsf Launches Open Government Web Page
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) recently launched a new Web site at http://www.nsf.gov/open designed to encourage participation and collaboration between the agency and the citizens it serves.
From ACM News
Stanford Finds Cheating
Allegations of cheating at Stanford University have more than doubled in the past decade, with the largest number of violations involving computer science students.
In 10 years, the number of cases investigated by the university's…From ACM News
Computer Simulations Can Be as Effective as Direct Observation in Teaching Science
Students can learn some science concepts just as well from computers simulations as they do from direct observation, new research suggests.
From ACM News
Researchers Envision High-Tech Applications For 'multiferroic' Crystals
Two of Florida State University's most accomplished scientists' recent collaborative research project has yielded results that could lay the groundwork for future researchers seeking to develop a new generation of computer chips…
From ICT Results
Digital Teaching Aids Make Math Fun
It will come as a surprise to schoolchildren everywhere: Learning the intricacies of algebra, calculus and geometry can be fun. So say a team of European researchers who believes they have cracked the code to making mathematics…