Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
June 2012
From ACM News
Google Fights Back in China
Two giants on the world stage are battling over the future of information.
From ACM News
Apple's Stash of Credit Card Numbers Is Its Secret Weapon
That little iPhone in your pocket is perfectly positioned to become a clone of the credit cards in your wallet or purse.
From ACM News
Back to Stuxnet: The Missing Link
Two weeks ago, when we announced the discovery of the Flame malware we said that we saw no strong similarity between its code and programming style with that of the Tilded platform which Stuxnet and Duqu are based on.
From ACM News
Nasa Mars Rover Team Aims For Landing Closer to Prime Science Site
NASA has narrowed the target for its most advanced Mars rover, Curiosity, which will land on the Red Planet in August. The car-sized rover will arrive closer to its ultimate destination for science operations, but also closer…
From ACM News
The Algorithm Didn't Like My Essay
As a professor and a parent, I have long dreamed of finding a software program that helps every student learn to write well.
From ACM News
China Strives to Create Its Own Silicon Valley
Now at a critical juncture in its quest to become a superpower, China is turning to Western regions like the Silicon Valley for help with its next technical leap forward.
From ACM TechNews
Eleven Countries se an Azti-Tecnalia Software as a Method to Assess the Status of Their Seabeds
AZTI-Tecnalia has developed software that allows users to assess the ecological status of seabed fauna.
From ACM TechNews
Assembling, Visualizing and Analyzing a Tree of All Life
The U.S. National Science Foundation's Assembling, Visualizing, and Analyzing the Tree of Life program aims to build a comprehensive tree of life that brings together everything scientists know about how all species are related…
From ACM TechNews
Eastwest Institute Proposes Public Health Model For Internet Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity professionals should establish a framework to view and monitor the Internet's health based on a global public health model, according to a recent EastWest Institute report.
From ACM TechNews
New Statistical Model Lets Patient's Past Forecast Future Ailments
University of Washington researchers have developed an algorithm that makes predictions based on what a patient has already experienced as well as the experiences of other patients showing a similar medical history, through analysis…
From ACM TechNews
The AI Game That Knows You Better Than Anyone
Many computer science researchers are trying to create an AI system that offers video game players a more tailored experience.
From ACM Opinion
Zoran Popovi?: Recruiting Gamers to Fight Disease
Proteins are the workhorses of our cells: They turn food into energy and determine our health. Each one is a chain of molecules—sometimes thousands of links long—that folds in a distinctive way.
From ACM News
Spy Agency Fund Targets Bay Area Technology
With technology that would make James Bond envious, Silicon Valley companies are playing a behind-the-scenes role with the nation's most clandestine agencies, helping to develop everything from miniature cameras to surreptitious…
From ACM News
Flame Malware Makers Send 'suicide' Code
The creators of the Flame malware have sent a "suicide" command that removes it from some infected computers.
From ACM TechNews
'siri, Kill That Guy': Drones Might Get Voice Controls
Future U.S. Air Force drone operators could talk to a drone and receive a verbal response, similar to the Siri-style two-way voice exchange.
From ACM TechNews
Big Health Benefits From a Little Small Talk, Researchers Find
University of Queensland researchers have developed Discursis, an automated computer visualization measurement technique that visually represents conversations and assists medical practitioners in understanding the structure,…
From ACM TechNews
Oh, That
The limits of Moore's Law, which states that about every two years, computer chips will become twice as fast and twice as small, may finally be in sight.
From ACM TechNews
Concordia's 3D Innovation Revolutionizes Visual Art
Researchers are developing 3D drawing tools for a software system that enables animation artists to literally draw in thin air.
From ACM TechNews
'Big Data' From Social Media, Elsewhere Online Redefines Trend-Watching
Trend analysis and forecasting is being rethought thanks to the explosion of data generated by social media and other services, with IBM estimating that about 2.5 quintillion bytes are created each day.
From ACM News
Cyber Search Engine Shodan Exposes Industrial Control Systems to New Risks
It began as a hobby for a teenage computer programmer named John Matherly, who wondered how much he could learn about devices linked to the Internet.
From ACM Opinion
Berners-Lee: World Finally Realizes Web Belongs To No One
Sir Tim Berners-Lee is the reason you're reading this story in a web browser, complete with hypertext like this and an internet address that looks like this: http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/06/sir-tim-berners-lee/.
From ACM News
Bionic Brains and Beyond
The National Spelling Bee of 2023 started out like any other, but controversy enveloped the contest when Suzy Hamilton, an 8-year-old from Tulsa, emerged as the new champion.
From ACM TechNews
New Commission Aims to Help Government Tap Into Big Data
The TechAmerica Foundation says 22 experts and academics will collaborate to form a Big Data Commission to provide guidance to the U.S. government and businesses on using data to spur innovation and competitiveness.
From ACM TechNews
The Biometric Wallet
Hitachi and Fujitsu have pioneered a new technique in which a person's vein configurations are scanned as proof of identity, and the technology is being integrated into ATMs all over the world.
From ACM TechNews
Touchscreens Learn Your Habits to Help You Type Faster
Personalized keyboards could help improve typing speeds or reduce mistakes when typing and walking, according to the University of Maryland's Leah Findlater and the University of Washington's Jacob Wobbrock.
From ACM TechNews
Willow Glass: Ultra-Thin Glass Can 'wrap' Around Devices
Corning has developed Willow Glass, a flexible ultra-thin glass that can be wrapped around electronic devices.
From ACM News
Intel Community's Sharing of Cyber Tools Raises Legal Questions
Before the establishment of U.S. Cyber Command in 2010, a combatant commander who wanted to take down an enemy’s surface-to-air missile sites or other defenses without blowing them up had only one option: Call the National Security…
From ACM News
Dawn Mission Video Shows Vesta's Coat of Many Colors
A new video from NASA's Dawn mission reveals the dappled, variegated surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. The animation drapes high-resolution false color images over a 3D model of the Vesta terrain constructed from Dawn's observations…
From ACM News
Why Talking-to-Text Has Taken Off in China
Anyone who has ever written in Chinese on a computer, or composed a text message on their phone in that language, knows the typing process is not nearly as simple as in English.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Use Flexible Channel Width to Improve User Experience on Wireless Systems
A new technique developed by researchers at North Carolina State University improves the performance of multi-hop wireless networks.