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 TechNews
U.s. Domain Deregulation Could Fragment World Wide Web Into 'splinternet'
President Barack Obama's intention to relinquish U.S. control of domain name oversight has critics in an uproar.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Try New 'twist' on Smartwatches
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed a prototype smartwatch that can be controlled by the wearer's hand gestures, or by clicking its face.
From ACM TechNews
Giving Robots the Sense of Touch
Glasgow University researcher Ravinder Dahiya will spend the next four years developing ultra-flexible tactile skin for robotics and prosthetics.
From ACM TechNews
World's Thinnest Nanowires May Lead to Foldable Tablets, Smartphones
Researchers have created nanowires 1/1,000th the width of the microscopic wires used today to connect transistors in integrated computer chips.
From ACM Opinion
Eugene Kaspersky: Major Cyberterrorist Attack Is Only Matter of Time
A major, global cyberterrorist attack has long been the stuff of fiction, the threat that a malevolent hacker could bring down businesses, sabotage power plants and cause widespread death and destruction by bringing down planes…
From ACM TechNews
Meet the Fed's First Line of Defense Against Cyber Attacks
The U.S. Federal Reserve's first line of defense against cyberattacks is a group of employees who sift through its networks daily looking for indications of hacking.
From ACM TechNews
Recruiting the Next Generation of STEM Employees
Some hiring experts suggest programs to reach K-12 students will help nurture next-generation science, technology, engineering, and math employees.
From ACM TechNews
Surveying African Cities Using Twitter
Researchers are using Twitter to help determine quantitative information on economic activity, population counts, and other measures in developing countries.
From ACM News
Devices That Know How We Really Feel
Admit it: Sometimes you just want to punch your PC, or slap your smartphone, or knock your notebook.
From ACM News
Internationally Renowned Informatics Center Names New Scientific Director
Professor Raimund Seidel took on the role of Scientific Director of Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz Center for Informatics on May 1, 2014, as successor to founding director Professor Reinhard Wilhelm.
From ACM News
Basic Science Finds Corporate Refuge
Microsoft makes Windows, Word, and the Xbox. But it also employs scientists who make sensors to stick on the hides of elephants and rhinoceroses.
From ACM News
Watch the Earth From Space, Live!
It doesn't get much better than this (well, of course being in space might be better, albeit colder).
From ACM News
5 New Record-Breaking Roller Coasters That Will Terrify You This Summer
Taller, faster, steeper, and more stomach-dropping amusement park rides are opening across the country.
From ACM TechNews
Cars That Look and Listen to Find Themselves a Parking Spot
Researchers affiliated with South Korea's Hanyang University are developing a system to fully automate the parking process, including helping find a parking space.
From ACM TechNews
In Virtual Town of Alphaville, Students Prep For Cyber Sieges
The Michigan Cyber Range uses the virtual town of Alphaville to help train cybersecurity students to secure critical infrastructure.
From ACM TechNews
Computer System Automatically Solves Word Problems
A new computer system can automatically solve the type of word problems common in introductory algebra classes.
From ACM TechNews
Standards For Computer Science Education Need Improvement
During the recent U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference, subject matter specialists issued a warning about the state of U.S. computer science education.
From ACM TechNews
Carnegie Mellon-Disney Researcher Invents 3D Printing Technique For Making Cuddly Stuff
Researchers have developed a type of three-dimensional printer that produces 3D objects made of a form of loose felt.
From ACM Opinion
Transcending Artificial Intelligence
While it can be a blast going to see the latest Hollywood sci-fi thriller, watching it along with a leading expert in the science and technology fields relevant to the dystopian color and light in front of you can make it that…
From ACM News
Friends, and Influence, for Sale Online
Whoever said, "Money can't buy you friends," clearly hasn’t been on the Internet recently.
From ACM News
Police Use New Tool to Source Crowds For Evidence
An annual spring party in a Southern California beach town devolved into a riot last month when revelers turned violent, rocking cars, smashing windows and throwing rocks.
From ACM News
Mind the Gap
Are there too few skilled computer and IT workers for the jobs available? If so, what can be done about it?
From ACM Opinion
Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook's Future, From Virtual Reality to Anonymity
No one ever accused Mark Zuckerberg of standing pat.
From ACM News
Future Macbook Keyboards May Come Loaded with In-Key Displays, Capacitive Touch
Showing the company is still making advances in more traditional tech, an Apple patent filing for "Multi-functional keyboard assemblies" describes a keyboard consisting of an array of so-called "keystacks," or individual keys…
From ACM TechNews
Massachusetts Invests In Big Data Innovation
Massachusetts is providing $3 million in funding to launch its Open Cloud project to build a new public cloud computing infrastructure for big data innovation.
From ACM TechNews
Intel Probes the Private-Sector Side of Open Government Data
Intel recently decided to investigate how innovation takes place in and across business teams.
From ACM TechNews
Cloud-Savvy Bluetooth 4.1 to Reach Devices By Year End
The Bluetooth 4.1 protocol will directly connect wearable devices to the cloud, enabling home users to expand their networks of connected devices.
From ACM TechNews
niv. of Central Florida Wins National Cyber Defense Competition
The University of Central Florida won the 2014 Raytheon National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition this past weekend in San Antonio.
From ACM News
Target on Mars Looks Good For Nasa Rover Drilling
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover performed a "mini-drill" operation Tuesday, April 29, on the rock target under consideration for the mission's third sample-collection drilling. This preparatory activity produced a hole about eight…
From ACM News
Cyborg Angst: 5 Ways Computers Will Perplex S in 2039
Brain chips mean we are struggling to distinguish our own thoughts from ideas implanted by advertisers.