Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2010
From ACM News
Engineering and Music: A Powerful Duet For Art and Science
The collaboration by two professors at the University of Rochester, one from the music theory department and the other from the electrical and computer engineering department, is moving the two fields forward, and closer together…
From ACM News
Tide Turns Against Million-Dollar Maths Proof
Initially hailed as a solution to the biggest question in computer science, the latest attempt to prove P ≠ NP—otherwise known as the "P vs NP" problem—seems to be running into trouble.
From ACM News
Turning the World Into a Sensor Network
Try to imagine a "world littered with trillions" of wireless sensors. Now try to imagine the problems getting even a few thousand of them to work together in any kind of intelligible way so you can know if that interstate…
From ACM News
Nfl Considers Ball-Tracking Chips For Accuracy
From end zone to end zone, an NFL field is exactly 3,600 inches, and it’s easy enough for referees to spot a ball precisely when action stays within the bounds of play. But when players take the pigskin out of bounds, refs…
From ACM News
Riders on a Swarm
Mimicking the behaviour of ants, bees and birds started as a poor man’s version of artificial intelligence. It may, though, be the key to the real thing.
From ACM News
Google Plan With Verizon Disillusions Some Allies
On Friday at lunchtime, as Google employees dined al fresco, a hundred protesters descended on the company’s Silicon Valley campus. A group called the Raging Grannies sang a song called "The Battle Hymn for the Internet,"…
From ACM News
Wax, Soap Clean p Obstacles to Better Batteries
A little wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries, according to a new study. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to currently available lithium…
From ACM TechNews
Women Missing From Video Game Development Work Force
Although women are playing video games in greater numbers, few are working in the industry developing new games. About 40 percent of video and online game players are female, but just 11.5 percent of game developers are women…
From ACM TechNews
'Science 2.0' Sifts Data to Provide Relevant Search Results
A team at West Virginia University is researching ways to make better use of digital data. The researchers are working on technology that knows a user's goals for searching and sifts through data to provide the pertinent information…
From ACM TechNews
Senator Schumer: H-1b se ndercuts Pay, Discourages Tech Enrollments
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says the H-1B visa program has created "multinational temp agencies" that undercut U.S. wages and discourage students from entering technology-related fields.
From ACM TechNews
Carnegie Mellon Tries Crowdsourcing to Develop Optimal Electric Car Formula
Carnegie Mellon University researchers recently announced an open contest to find the most efficient methods for managing power in electric cars, with the winner receiving an electric car.
From ACM TechNews
Social Networking for Innovators
The European Union-funded Laboranova project is an initiative to create a social networking platform to facilitate collaboration between innovators. The goal is to help people conceive ideas and support their development through…
From ACM News
Xinhua, China Mobile to Establish Internet Search Engine Joint Venture
Xinhua News Agency Thursday signed a framework agreement with China Mobile Communications Corp., the world's biggest mobile operator by subscribers, to establish an Internet search engine company.
From ACM News
Citizen Scientists Discover Rotating Pulsar
The discovery by three citizen scientists of a new radio pulsar as part of the Einstein@Home project marks the first genuine astronomical discovery by a public volunteer distributed computing project.
From ACM News
Hiding Files in Flickr Pics Will Fool Web Censors
Life is about to become more difficult for countries trying to censor access to foreign Websites. A system dubbed Collage will allow users in these countries to download stories from blocked sites while visiting seemingly…
From ACM News
Google Denies Selling Out, Defends Net Neutrality Pact with Verizon
Google responded Thursday to heavy criticism of its agreement with Verizon Communications, saying it compromised in order to move the ball forward on a net neutrality law because it appears the Federal Communications Commission…
From ACM News
A Car That Drives Itself
In September a driverless Audi TTS will speed to the top of Colorado's Pikes Peak at just under 100 kilometers per hour—that's right, no driver. It is an early step toward a robo-car that can drive itself, perhaps better than…
From ACM News
Stuxnet Could Hijack Power Plants, Refineries
A worm that targets critical infrastructure companies doesn't just steal data, it leaves a back door that could be used to remotely and secretly control plant operations, a Symantec researcher said on Thursday.
From ACM News
Gesture-Based Computing Takes a Serious Turn
Call me a creature of habit, but I approach any new computer interface with a sense of apprehension.
From ACM News
Deolalikar Responds To Issues About His P?np Proof
Vinay Deolalikar is standing by his P≠NP claim and proof. He has updated his paper several times in an effort to answer some questions that have been raised about it.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Develop Motion Tracking Technology to Reduce Injuries For Older Adults
Researchers at the University of Missouri have developed technology to help older adults recover from an injury, illness, or surgery by tracking their motions as they perform rehabilitative routines or workout.
From ACM TechNews
Push-Button Logic on the Nanoscale
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have used zinc oxide in the form of a nanowire to create smaller and simpler logic circuits. Zinc oxide was used as both the button and circuit for the first time.
From ACM TechNews
CAVE Home to Cutting-Edge Experiments
Several projects are being conducted at the University of Illinois' simulation laboratory, which can test human perception and cognitive abilities, and can create virtual environments such as a virtual surgery room.
From ACM News
Research Aims to Improve Speech Recognition Software
Research conducted by Binghamton University's Stephen Zahorian aims to improve the accuracy of today's automatic speech recognition technology.
From ACM News
Nasa's Chief Technologist Seeks to Develop Transformative Programs
When Bobby Braun was a Ph.D. student in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford, he couldn't imagine holding the "dream job" he's doing now—NASA's chief technologist, the first person in that role since Braun was at Stanford…
From ACM News
How Spies (and Counter Spies) Are Using The Cloud
Secret agents have long been at the cutting edge of technological developments. By studying how different spy agencies use technology, it’s often been possible to glean an insight into the future. Pocket camera or hidden mic…
From ACM News
Award-Winning Supercomputer Application Solves Superconductor Puzzle
Superconducting materials, which transmit power resistance-free, are found to perform optimally when high- and low-charge density varies on the nanoscale level, according to research performed at the Department of Energy's…
From ACM News
Dual Antennas Would Boost Cell-Phone Signals
New design would mean fewer dropped calls, longer battery life.
From ACM News
Web Plan Is Dividing Companies
In an emerging battle over regulating Internet access, companies are taking sides.
From ACM News
'god Couldn't Do Faster': Rubik's Cube Mystery Solved
It has taken 15 years to get to this point, but it is now clear that every possible scrambled arrangement of the Rubik's cube can be solved in a maximum of 20 moves—and you don't even have to take the stickers off.