Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2013
From ACM News
A Window Into Europa's Ocean Right at the Surface
If you could lick the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, you would actually be sampling a bit of the ocean beneath.
From ACM News
Web-Connected Cars Bring Privacy Concerns
Cars will soon be so linked into wireless networks they will be like giant rolling smartphones—with calling systems, streaming video, cameras, and apps capable of harnessing the unprecedented trove of data vehicles will produce…
From ACM News
Massive Fiber-Optic Installation Lights p Library Queries
Getting a glimpse into the curious minds of others has never been so beautiful—or so bright.
From ACM News
Next, 4d Printers?
Now that the promise of 3D printing has landed on the national agenda, researchers want to increase the stakes—with so-called 4D printing.
From ACM News
Here's What Law Enforcement Can Recover From a Seized Iphone
You may think of your iPhone as a friendly personal assistant. But once it’s alone in a room full of law enforcement officials, you might be surprised at the revealing things it will say about you.
From ACM TechNews
NDSU Researchers Develop Method for Embedding RFID in Paper
A new method for embedding ultrathin passive RFID chips on paper or other flexible substrates could lead to the production of RFID-enabled paper at low cost.
From ACM Opinion
Computer Interfaces: Tech's Next Great Frontier
Consider the tongue. It's sensitive yet muscular, packed with taste buds and nerves, and without its acrobatic ability humans wouldn’t be able to eat or talk. It's also our most versatile sense organ, and some computer engineers…
From ACM TechNews
Ucsb Physicists Make Discovery in the Quantum Realm By Manipulating Light
New methods for building the quantum devices of the future, including super-fast quantum computers, are based on manipulating light on superconducting chips.
From ACM TechNews
Google Publishes Zopfli as Open Source Compression Algorithm to Speed p Web Downloads
A new general purpose data compression library from Google can be used to accelerate Web downloads.
From ACM Opinion
The Dangerous Logic of the Bradley Manning Case
After 1,000 days in pretrial detention, Private Bradley Manning offered a modified guilty plea for passing classified materials to WikiLeaks. But his case is far from over—not for Manning, and not for the rest of the country.
From ACM Opinion
Why Teens Are Tiring of Facebook
To understand where teens like to spend their virtual time nowadways, just watch them on their smartphones.
From ACM News
How Much Does a Botnet Cost?
The cost of a botnet is contingent largely upon the physical location of the malware-infected computers inside of it.
From ACM News
Small Gadgets That Make You Healthier
At any moment, someone in the U.S. most likely is having an asthma attack.
From ACM News
Rodent Mind Meld: Scientists Wire Two Rats' Brains Together
It's not exactly a Vulcan mind meld, but it's not far off.
From ACM TechNews
New Technology for Animation Film Experts
Researchers have developed a technique for creating virtual worlds that they say will simplify the work of animators, and assist doctors and athletes with motion analysis.
From ACM TechNews
Salford Ph.d. Student Develops Revolutionary Elderly Care Robot
University of Salford researchers have created an interactive care robot designed to help care for elderly people in nursing homes.
From ACM TechNews
'wet' Computer Server Could Cut Internet Waste
Researchers are testing a liquid-cooled computer server that they say could greatly reduce the carbon footprint of the Internet.
From ACM TechNews
Connecting the (Quantum) Dots
Researchers have developed a method that better preserves qubits for use in quantum computers.
From ACM TechNews
Supercomputing Challenges and Predictions
The future of supercomputing likely will include improved weather forecasting and faster discovery of new drugs.
From ACM TechNews
Considering Data's Effect on Society
A group of academics, business executives, and journalists recently discussed how data can drive society.
From ACM News
Cloud se Grows, and So Does Security Threat
Holding everything from highly personal medical and social media material to confidential financial and corporate documents, Internet-based cloud services are gathering an enormous trove of information—already a quarter of the…
From ACM TechNews
Vint Cerf Sees an 'Interspecies Internet' to Talk With Animals
Technology evangelists have proposed a new inter-species Internet that would facilitate communication between humans and animals.
From ACM News
Wireless Connections Creep Into Everyday Things
A car that tells your insurance company how you're driving. A bathroom scale that lets you chart your weight on the Web. And a meter that warns your air conditioner when electricity gets more expensive.
From ACM Opinion
Mobile Computing Is Just Getting Started
Mobile computers are spreading faster than any other consumer technology in history.
From ACM News
Computer Swap on Curiosity Rover
The ground team for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has switched the rover to a redundant onboard computer in response to a memory issue on the computer that had been active.
From ACM News
Connecting the Neural Dots
In setting the nation on a course to map the active human brain, President Obama may have picked a challenge even more daunting than ending the war in Afghanistan or finding common ground with his Republican opponents.
From ACM TechNews
What Is the Internet of Everything?
In the Internet of Everything, all people and objects will be connected to a common Internet backbone.
From ACM TechNews
Lessons From Cockroaches Could Inform Robotics
Researchers studying how biological systems stabilize themselves, to help them design steadier robots, are testing how cockroaches maintain their footing.
From ACM News
Teaching Robots Lateral Thinking
Many commercial robotic arms perform what roboticists call "pick and place" tasks: The arm picks up an object in one location and places it in another.
From ACM Careers
China Has No Cyber Warfare Troops: Spokesman
A military spokesman said Thursday that China does not have any soldiers engaging in cyber warfare.