Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2011
From ACM News
How to Be in Two Places at the Same Time
An ambitious experiment to make a glass sphere exist in two places at once could provide the most sensitive test of quantum theory yet.
From ACM News
Physicists Take Steps Toward Delivering Quantum Information to the Home
Today, fiber optics technology transports information in the form of classical data to homes and businesses. But researchers are currently working on ways to combine quantum data with the classical data in fiber optics networks…
From ACM News
To Track Militants, U.s. Has System That Never Forgets a Face
When the Taliban dug an elaborate tunnel system beneath the largest prison in southern Afghanistan this spring, they set off a scramble to catch the 475 inmates who escaped.
From ACM Opinion
Could What Happened to Myspace Happen to Facebook?
MySpace fell from grace for several reasons. First, they sacrificed the service's integrity in pursuit of monetization. For those who remember, the user experience declined drastically once the service hit a critical mass.
From ACM TechNews
10 Technologies That Will Change the World in the Next 10 Years
Cisco chief futurist Dave Evans recently outlined what he believes will be the top 10 technologies that will change the world in the next 10 years.
From ACM TechNews
Soft Memory Device Opens Door to New Biocompatible Electronics
Carolina State University researchers have developed a memory device that it is soft, pliable, and works well in wet environments. The researchers used a liquid alloy of gallium and indium metals set in water-based gels, similar…
From ACM TechNews
Understanding Terror Attacks in India
University of Maryland researchers have developed several mathematical models, including stochastic opponent modeling agents and multi-player game theoretic models, to understand how terrorism in India can be reduced.
From ACM TechNews
Robots Get Kinect's 'eyes and Ears'
Microsoft has added Kinect's software development kit (SDK) to its free Robotics Developer Studio. Access to raw data as well as Kinect's pattern-recognition algorithms will enable roboticists to control their robots with gestures…
From ACM TechNews
Early Quake Alerts
University of Delaware researchers, in collaboration with Stanford University and the U.S. Geological Survey, are developing a network of seismic sensors that could provide communities with an early earthquake detection and warning…
From ACM News
The Ghost Space Shuttle: Nasa Ship in Houston For Every Mission
For 30 years, every time a space shuttle has flown, so has OV-095, the ghost orbiter.
From ACM News
The Truth About Nasa's Space Tech Spinoffs
Tang. Velcro. Teflon. Each is popularly known as a product of the space age, and yet none of them represent actual NASA tech spinoffs. The real truth behind the innovations that came from human and robotic spaceflight is far…
From ACM News
Russia's Post-Shuttle Space Plans
With the U.S. manned space program grounded following the last mission of the space shuttle, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft is the only avenue into space for NASA astronauts.
From ACM News
Nasa Spacecraft to Enter Large Asteroid's Orbit on July 15
On July 15, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid.
From ACM TechNews
Research Brings Cloud Costs Back to Earth
Swinburne University of Technology researchers are developing ways to reduce the cost of Internet data storage and retrieval in cloud computing.
From ACM TechNews
Health Care of the Future
A new system developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory can provide clues about the condition of a patient by scanning unstructured medical…
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011 Winners Tap Windows Phone, Cloud and Bing
Microsoft recently announced the winners of the ninth annual Microsoft Imagine Cup, which honors student innovations that address global challenges.
From ACM TechNews
.s. Cyber Approach 'too Predictable' For One Top General
Prior to the presentation of a Pentagon cyberstrategy that favors defense over retaliation, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman Gen. James Cartwright criticized the current U.S. approach to computer system protection as…
From ACM TechNews
Alberta Research Aims to Keep Information Secure
Researchers at the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology recently tested a system designed to encrypt information for quantum computers.
From ACM News
Mobile 'Pinging' Claim Raises Legal Questions
A former News of the World journalist's allegation the newspaper paid police to track mobile phones raises serious questions about the U.K.'s eavesdropping laws, according to experts. Sean Hoare said it was possible to "ping"…
From ACM News
A New Direction for Digital Compasses
Cell phones and many other mobile devices now come packed with sensors capable of tracking them as they move. The digital compasses, gyroscopes, and accelerometers embedded in such devices have spawned a wide range of location…
From ACM News
.s. Cyber Approach 'too Predictable' For One Top General
The nation’s second-ranking military official said Thursday that the U.S. approach to protecting its computer systems was "too predictable" and failed to penalize attackers, comments that preceded the release of a Pentagon…
From ACM News
How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, the Most Menacing Malware in History
It was January 2010, and investigators with the International Atomic Energy Agency had just completed an inspection at the uranium enrichment plant outside Natanz in central Iran, when they realized that something was off…
From ACM TechNews
Sandia's 'cooler' Technology Offers Fundamental Breakthrough in Heat Transfer For Microelectronics, Other Cooling Applications
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have developed the Sandia Cooler, air-cooling technology that has the potential to greatly improve the heat-transfer capabilities of computing and microelectronics devices.
From ACM TechNews
Mining Social Networks to Predict Your App Choices
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab have analyzed the smartphone use of students on social networks in an attempt to determine whether they could forecast which apps they would download.
From ACM TechNews
Buy Now or Wait For a Sale? Let the Computer Decide
Microsoft researchers have developed Prodcast, a tool that helps consumers decide whether to buy a new product now or wait for prices to fall.
From ACM TechNews
Wireless Power Could Cut Cord For Patients With Implanted Heart Pumps
Researchers at the universities of Washington and Pittsburgh have developed a wireless power system for ventricular assist devices, which are implanted in people whose hearts are failing.
From ACM TechNews
Stanford Engineers Build a Nanoscale Device For Brain-Inspired Computing
Stanford University researchers have developed a nanoelectronic device that mimics human brain synapses, which they say could lead to portable, energy-efficient, adaptable, and interactive computer systems.
From ACM News
Geo-Immersion Makes Maps Come Alive
When it comes to mapping the real world on computers, University of Southern California computer scientist Cyrus Shahabi takes his work to a whole new dimension. Upon first glance, his maps contain the typical landmarks we've…
From ACM News
'Talking' Cars Could Reduce Motorway Pile-ps
Scientists from the University of Bologna in Italy have developed software that lets cars "communicate" with one another on the road.
From ACM News
Actuated Ankles Make Fake Feet Fitter
A bionic foot with a battery pack could put the spring back in the step of people who wear leg prostheses.