Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2015
From ACM News
How the Computer Got Its Revenge on the Soviet Union
In 1950, with the Cold War in full swing, Soviet journalists were looking desperately for something to help them fill their anti-American propaganda quota.
From ACM News
Translation By Technology
A switch to machine learning techniques has led to steady improvements in automated translation.
From ACM News
The Wearable Device That Could nlock a New Human Sense
In March, the neuroscientist David Eagleman stood on stage to give a TED talk on sensory substitution, the idea of replacing the duties of one sense by using another.
From ACM Opinion
Snowden's 'sexy Margaret Thatcher' Password Isn't So Secure
Edward Snowden appears to have a thing for the late British conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher. And his obsession may even be clouding his famously paranoid sense of security.
From ACM TechNews
Deans Announce New Institute For Data, Systems, and Society
On July 1, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will officially launch the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society.
From ACM TechNews
Up Against Laws of Physics, Bell Labs Pushes Network Performance
Alcatel-Lucent's Bell Labs shared some of its vision for networks in 2020 at a recent event.
From ACM TechNews
New Understanding of Electromagnetism Could Enable 'Antennas on a Chip'
New insight into the nature of electromagnetism could lead to antennas small enough to fit on computer chips.
From ACM News
Ibm Tests Mobile Computing Pioneer's Controversial Brain Algorithms
For more than a decade Jeff Hawkins, founder of mobile computing company Palm, has dedicated his time and fortune to a theory meant to explain the workings of the human brain, and provide a blueprint for a powerful new kind of…
From ACM TechNews
The Most Popular Programming Languages Are Rapidly Changing
There has been a rapid shift in the programming languages developers use most, according to an annual survey of developers by Stack Overflow.
From ACM News
Mystery of Ceres' Bright Spots Grows
Not all of the puzzling bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres are alike.
From ACM News
Air Force's Secret 'gorgon Stare' Program Leaves Terrorists Nowhere To Hide
In Greek mythology, Gorgons were creatures whose terrible visages could turn men to stone with a single glance.
From ACM TechNews
Robotics Can Now Give You a Leg Up--Literally
Researchers are developing a lightweight, unpowered exoskeleton that fits over the lower leg, which they say could reduce the energy used to walk by 7 percent.
From ACM TechNews
Communication Devices 'enable' Children With Disabilities
Researchers have developed two low-cost communication devices that enable children with cognitive and physical disabilities to interact better with their caretakers.
From ACM TechNews
Can Bluetooth Power the Iot Mesh Network?
Bluetooth is an excellent candidate for connecting devices in an Internet of Things because it is employed widely in smart devices and uses very little power.
From ACM TechNews
Darpa Wants Software That Adapts, Lasts Over 100 Years
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a project to develop software systems that can adapt and survive for more than 100 years.
From ACM TechNews
'Let's Encrypt' Will Try to Secure the Internet
The Linux Foundation will support the Internet Security Research Group's "Let's Encrypt" project to develop a tool to encrypt website and mobile data traffic.
From ACM TechNews
Graphics in Reverse
Programs of less than 50 lines in a probabilistic programming language are as effective as conventional systems for completing some standard computer-vision tasks.
From ACM News
Researchers Test Smartphones For Earthquake Warning
Smartphones and other personal electronic devices could, in regions where they are in widespread use, function as early warning systems for large earthquakes, according to newly reported research.
From ACM News
Human Cruise Control App Steers People on Their Way
For a few days last summer, a handful of students walked through a park behind the University of Hannover in Germany.
From ACM News
Nature's Patterns: Golden Spirals and Branching Fractals
Certain patterns, such as the fractal, are repeated over and over in nature—with some spectacular contrasts on wildly different scales.
From ACM News
Up Against Laws of Physics, Bell Labs Pushes Network Performance
By using more spectrum and developing new ways to send multiple channels of data at the same time, researchers at Bell Labs are working to increase bandwidths over fiber, copper and the air.
From ACM Careers
If Algorithms Know All, How Much Should Humans Help?
Armies of the finest minds in computer science have dedicated themselves to improving the odds of making a sale.
From ACM TechNews
U.s. Challenges China in Supercomputing Race With 180-Petaflop System
The United States, in an attempt to surpass China in the supercomputing arms race, plans to build a 180-petaflop supercomputer called Aurora.
From ACM TechNews
How Robots Can Help Build Better Doctors
A team at the University of Notre Dame is developing an improved human patient simulator, a mannequin exhibiting lifelike behaviors to help train medical personnel.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Teleportation on a Chip
An international team of researchers have successfully integrated the core circuits of quantum teleportation into a photonic chip.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Sharing of Personality in Sight: Inventor
Computers could one day take on the personality of their human users, according to Google X laboratory founder Sebastian Thrun.
From ACM TechNews
China Deploys New Weapon For Online Censorship in Form of 'great Cannon'
Two recent distributed denial-of-service attacks represent some of the first uses of a new tool in China's cyber arsenal, dubbed the "Great Cannon."
From ACM News
U.s. Nuclear Fears Block Intel China Supercomputer Update
The U.S. government has refused to let Intel help China update the world's biggest supercomputer.
From ACM News
The Solar System and Beyond Is Awash in Water
As NASA missions explore our solar system and search for new worlds, they are finding water in surprising places.
From ACM News
Better Sensors For Medical Imaging, Contraband Detection
MIT researchers have developed a new, ultrasensitive magnetic-field detector that is 1,000 times more energy-efficient than its predecessors. It could lead to miniaturized, battery-powered devices for medical and materials imaging…