Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2013
From ACM News
Modest Debut of Atlas May Foreshadow Age of 'robo Sapiens'
Moving its hands as if it were dealing cards and walking with a bit of a swagger, a Pentagon-financed humanoid robot named Atlas made its first public appearance on Thursday.
From ACM TechNews
Your Facebook Friends May Be Evil Bots
Groups of social bots could lead to disaster for large online destinations, or even threaten the fabric of the Internet, the economy, and society as a whole.
From ACM TechNews
5d Optical Memory in Nanostructured Quartz Glass Could Lead to nlimited Lifetime Data Storage
Researchers have experimentally demonstrated the recording and retrieval process of five-dimensional digital data in nanostructured glass by femtosecond laser writing.
From ACM TechNews
This Accused Hacker Is a Jerk. Here’s Why He Shouldn’t Be a Felon.
Dozens of computer security experts have filed a brief in support of Andrew Auernheimer's attempt to overturn his conviction on computer-hacking charges.
From ACM TechNews
A Technological Edge on Wildfires
Technology is helping to combat the growing frequency and danger of wildfires.
From ACM TechNews
Feds Asked to Sit Out Defcon Hacking Conference This Year
Defcon hacking convention organizers have asked federal government workers not to attend the event this year.
From ACM News
Graphene May Give US Cooler, Longer-Lasting Computers
Cooling is an important and tricky part of modern computing—you don't want those ever-more-functional processors overheating, but you also don't want the cooling process to suck up too much energy.
From ACM News
Nasa's Opals to Beam Data From Space Via Laser
NASA will use the International Space Station to test a new communications technology that could dramatically improve spacspacecraft communications, enhance commercial missions, and strengthen transmission of scientific data.
From ACM News
Touchscreens 'a Small Step' in Innovation
The way we use digital devices has become big news.
From ACM News
Kremlin Returns to Typewriters to Avoid Computer Leaks
A source at Russia's Federal Guard Service, which is in charge of safeguarding Kremlin communications and protecting President Vladimir Putin, claimed that the return to typewriters has been prompted by the publication of secret…
From ACM News
Human Motion Will Power the Internet of Things, Say Energy Harvesting Engineers
The Internet of Things is the imagined network of data links that will emerge when everyday objects are fitted with tiny identifying devices.
From ACM TechNews
Tiny Trouble Spots Can Fix Complex Networks
A new method of controlling complex networks could have "a transformative impact" on the field.
From ACM TechNews
Toward Tinier Transistors
Researchers are studying how to make the next generation of transistors smaller.
From ACM TechNews
Powerful Animal Tracking System Helps Research Take Flight
The new Environmental-Data Automated Track Annotation system enables users to take a big data approach to tracking birds.
From ACM TechNews
Cern's Hadron Collider Research Fueled By Openstack
CERN is rebuilding its Large Hadron Collider and re-architecting its data center infrastructure based on OpenStack Grizzly.
From ACM News
The Manning Trial Grapples with the Question of Whether Wikileaks Is a Media Entity
Defense arguments in the trial of former Army private Bradley Manning—who stands accused of a number of crimes for handing over classified documents to WikiLeaks, including a charge of "aiding the enemy"—finished Wednesday with …
From ACM News
Study: Women Just as Satisfied in It Jobs as Elsewhere
A new study suggests that preconceptions about women's dissatisfaction with IT industry jobs are unjustified.
From ACM Careers
In Head-Hunting, Big Data May Not Be Such a Big Deal
Q. How is Big Data being used more in the leadership and management field?
From ACM TechNews
Supercomputers: Battle of the Speed Machines
China is surging ahead of the United States in the race to build the world's fastest computers.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Build an All-Optical Transistor
Researchers have created an optical switch that’s controlled by a single photon.
From ACM TechNews
Five-Year-Olds to Learn Programming and Algorithms in Major Computing Curriculum Shake-p
The U.K. Department for Education has added programming and algorithm teaching for children as young as five years old to that nation's computing curriculum.
From ACM News
Iran Planning Cyber Drills
Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali announced on Saturday that Iran plans to stage cyber exercises in the near future.
From ACM News
Parts Installed 'upside Down' Caused Russian Rocket to Explode Last Week
While America was looking forward to the July 4 holiday, the Russian space program was busy putting the final touches on its latest rocket launch.
From ACM News
Touch Screens Are Tested For Piloting Passenger Jets
As Denis Bonnet slipped into the right-hand seat of a commercial jet demonstrator in the airliner cockpit design center here at Thales, the French electronics group, his hand reached forward to tap an angled glass screen resembling…
From ACM News
Unmasking Organized Crime Networks with Data
One of the big challenges in fighting organized crime is precisely that it is organized. It is run a bit like a business, with chains of command and responsibility, different specialised "departments," recruitment initiatives…
From ACM News
Science Team Outlines Goals for NASA's 2020 Mars Rover
The rover NASA will send to Mars in 2020 should look for signs of past life, collect samples for possible future return to Earth, and demonstrate technology for future human exploration of the Red Planet, according to a report…
From ACM News
New York City's New Hot Address: .nyc
Say you live in New York City and you're just itching to find an obscure gift for that geek in your life who has everything.
From ACM TechNews
Device Physics: Simulating Electronic Smog
A new mathematical model can rapidly and accurately estimate electromagnetic emissions from printed circuitboards.
From ACM TechNews
Birmingham Amps Up Research With New Linux Supercomputer
University of Birmingham researchers are ready to launch the second generation of Linux supercomputer BlueBEAR.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Recreate Photosynthesis to Power Devices
Artificial photosynthesis could lead to an alternative to gasoline, to ultradense computer memories, or to highly efficient solar cells.