Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2011
From ACM News
Google Goes Shopping For Patents
Google has made a $900m bid for the patent portfolio of Nortel Networks, the bankrupt Canadian telecom equipment maker. The patents could help arm it against potential lawsuits aimed at its Chrome browser and Android mobile…
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Researchers Tout Low-Cost, Programmable Prototype Data Center Switch
Microsoft researchers are developing ServerSwitch, a programmable, low-cost switching chip that could supplement cloud and other network-based services.
From ACM TechNews
University Scientists Reach Beyond the Clouds With a Mobile Phone App to Explore the Outer Atmosphere
A mobile phone served as the on-board data logger, payload tracker, and communications relay during a test flight of the Atmospheric Science Through Robotic Aircraft project.
From ACM TechNews
Store Data in Your Body Without Cyborg Modification
MIT's Pranav Mistry has developed Sparsh, a system that enables users to transfer files from one device to another by simply touching their screens.
From ACM TechNews
New Tool Makes Programs More Efficient Without Sacrificing Safety Functions
North Carolina State University researchers have developed software that helps programs run more efficiently on multicore chips without sacrificing safety features.
From ACM Opinion
Where Will Larry Page Lead Google?
In the 10 years since the last time Larry Page was Google's chief executive, the company has changed a bit. It has gone from an ambitious startup to a publicly listed giant of the Internet which generates cash and has 24,000…
From ACM News
Gravity Satellite Yields 'potato Earth' View
It looks like a giant potato in space. And yet, the information in this model is the sharpest view we have of how gravity varies across the Earth.
From ACM News
Ancient Greek Computer Had Surprising Sun Tracker
The world's oldest astronomical calculator is famous for having intricate gear systems centuries ahead of their time. But new work shows the Antikythera mechanism used pure geometry, as well as flashy gears to track celestial…
From ACM News
Ruling Spurs Effort to Form Digital Public Library
Is the tantalizing dream of a universal library dead? Some scholars and librarians across the country fear it may be, now that a federal judge in New York has derailed Google’s bold plan to build the world’s largest digital…
From ACM News
Google Making App that Would Identify People's Faces
Google is working on a mobile application that would allow users to snap pictures of people's faces in order to access their personal information, a director for the project said this week.
From ACM News
Social Search, Without a Social Network
Google may be built on an algorithm for taming the Web, but yesterday the company added social features that will let your friends help determine what ranks high in the search results you see. The approach requires Google…
From ACM TechNews
National Science Board Talks "big Data"
The U.S. National Science Board recently held a panel discussion exploring the data challenges facing the future of science and engineering research, with the goal of identifying guiding principles for establishing policies on…
From ACM TechNews
Targeted Results
MIT and Tel Aviv University researchers recently presented a mathematical framework for finding localized solutions to complex calculations, such as classic CS problems involving graphs.
From ACM News
New Protocol Turbocharges the Web
Over the past 15 years, Web-based applications have gradually replaced those based on other networking protocols for everything from personal communications to home electricity meters. But there's a major shortcoming in the…
From ACM News
Targeted Results
By envisioning data as "graphs," MIT researchers show how to find local solutions to otherwise overwhelmingly complex problems.
From ACM News
Wireless Networks Coming to .s. Subway Systems, Slowly
Years after Wi-Fi connections have become ubiquitous on university campuses, in coffee shops, and in public buildings, the ability to connect to the Internet during a morning commute is still an exercise in frustration for…
From Communications of the ACM
The Quest For Randomness
It's not easy to generate a string of numbers that lack any pattern or rule, or even to define exactly what randomness means.
From Communications of the ACM
Social Games, Virtual Goods
The popularity of virtual goods and currencies in online gaming is changing how people think and act about money.
From Communications of the ACM
British Computer Scientists Reboot
After a year of turmoil, computer scientists at King's College London have retained their jobs, but substantial challenges lie ahead.
From Communications of the ACM
Engineering Sensation in Artificial Limbs
Advancements in mobile electronics have led to several prosthetics innovations in recent years, but providing reliable touch sensations to users remains an elusive goal.