Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2014
From ACM News
The Emerging Science of Superspreaders (and How to Tell If You're One of Them)
Who are the most influential spreaders of information on a network?
From ACM News
Tackling the Limits of Touch Screens
Touch screens are ubiquitous on tablets and smartphones, but their flat glass surfaces can hinder close reading and accurate typing.
From ACM Opinion
"we're at Greater Risk": General Keith Alexander
Since Edward Snowden's revelations about government surveillence, we know more about how the National Security Agency has been interpreting Section 215 of the Patriot Act and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance…
From ACM Opinion
Who Watches the Watchers? Big Data Goes nchecked
The National Security Agency might be tracking your phone calls. But private industry is prying far more deeply into your life.
From ACM News
Samsung-Apple Smartphone Battleground Is Single Atom Thick
The main battleground between Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. in the global smartphone market is moving from courtrooms to the laboratory, amid a race for patents on atom-thick technology for the next generation of devices…
From ACM News
More Google 'forget' Requests Emerge After Eu Ruling
A man who tried to kill his family is among the latest to request removal of search results from Google.
From ACM TechNews
Computers See Your Face as a Child. Will They Recognize You as an Adult?
Questions have emerged about whether facial recognition technology could recognize an adult based on images of that person as a child.
From ACM TechNews
Google Hopes Test Drives Steer Americans to Embrace Its Robot Cars
Google this week embarked on its most concerted effort to provide an up-close look at its self-driving cars.
From ACM TechNews
Where the Internet of Things Could Take Society By 2025
A new report on how the Internet of Things will shape society through 2025 predicts "widespread and beneficial effects on the everyday lives of the public."
From ACM TechNews
Kindergarten Bots Teach Language to Tots
A series of experiments is aimed at determining how well children retain new words learned from robots over time.
From ACM TechNews
A Smart Watch Controlled By Twists, Tilts, and Clicks
Researchers say they have developed a better way to control smart watches by enabling users to physically tilt, click, and twist the watch's bezel.
From ACM News
Do We Need Asimov's Laws?
In 1942, the science fiction author Isaac Asimov published a short story called Runaround in which he introduced three laws that governed the behaviour of robots.
From ACM News
Hipeac Celebrates 10 Years of Achievement
The European Network of Excellence on High Performance and Embedded Architecture and Compilation (HiPEAC) is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
From ACM News
Not Dr. Glasshole: How Google Glass Could Help Save Lives
Doctors who have used Google Glass are optimistic about the device’s place in medical practice.
From ACM Opinion
A Sad Day
We lost Nereus today
From ACM News
After European Court Decision, Google Works on a Link Removal Tool
Google will announce by the end of the month a mechanism for consumers to request that links to information about them be removed from the company’s search engine, a leading European regulator said on Thursday.
From ACM TechNews
Facebook Experiment Helps Battle Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
Researchers at Facebook and Carnegie Mellon University have adapted a detection tool for man-in-the-middle attacks for Facebook.
From ACM TechNews
Computer-Aided Design Boosts Biochip Efficiency
Researchers are developing computer-aided design software to improve the physical layout of the discrete-droplet lab-on-a-chip.
From ACM TechNews
Local App to Save Motorists From Parking Fines
A new smartphone app helps motorists avoid parking fines by warning them when they should return to their vehicles.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Humans, Programmed to Feel
A new program called Cerebella enables virtual humans to demonstrate emotions using facial expressions and hand gestures.
From ACM Careers
3D Printing Reveals the Power of Shark Skin
Viewed up close, a shark's skin bristles with tiny teeth or "denticles" which aid swimming.
From ACM News
Some Predictions About the Internet of Things and Wearable Tech From Pew Research
Remember the prediction that one day your oven would be connected to the Internet and have the ability to talk to your car?
From ACM News
Quantum Positioning System Steps In When Gps Fails
In 2016 a British submarine will slip its moorings and set sail under the guidance of the quantum world.
From ACM News
Sentient Robots? Not Possible If You Do the Maths
So long, robot pals—and robot overlords.
From ACM News
Google's Self-Driving Car Turns Out to Be a Very Smart Ride
A white Lexus hybrid SUV inches to the left, creating a slightly wider buffer as it passes a bicyclist in the bike lane on a busy and unseasonably hot Tuesday afternoon not far from Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley.
From ACM TechNews
It's Judgment Day For Killer Robots at the nited Nations
The United Nations on Tuesday began its first-ever multinational convention on "lethal autonomous weapons systems."
From ACM News
Nasa Plans Mars Sample-Return Rover
NASA's Curiosity rover is in the prime of its life, exploring the rocks, soil and air of Mars. But the agency is already planning its successor—and this time, the scientific stakes are higher.
From ACM TechNews
Getting Everyday Objects to Think
In an interview, Ayla Networks co-founder and Stanford University professor Thomas Lee discusses the future of the Internet of Things (IoT).
From ACM TechNews
Estonian Electronic Voting System Vulnerable to Attacks, Researchers Say
Estonia's electronic voting system cannot guarantee fair elections because of fundamental security weaknesses and poor operations procedures.
From ACM TechNews
Listening to Bipolar Disorder: Smartphone App Detects Mood Swings Via Voice Analysis
A new smartphone app monitors a person's voice during telephone conversations to detect early signs of mood changes in people with bipolar disorder.