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
Issues In the Proof That P?np
The mathematics community is working on deciding whether or not to accept Vinay Deolalikar's claimed proof that P≠NP. Two computer science professors summarize the problems that have been raised so far.
From ACM TechNews
Multi-Core With Virtualization, a Solution For Future Smart Phones
The Embedded Multi-Core Processing for Mobile Communications project has released an open source software platform designed to enable the efficient use of multi-core chips on mobile embedded computing devices by using virtualization…
From ACM TechNews
Tire Tags Reveal Driver Whereabouts
Researchers at Rutgers University and the University of South Carolina have found that wireless signals between new cars and their tires can be intercepted or forged, demonstrating a glaring weakness in secure software development…
From ACM TechNews
Micromachines For a Safer World
Tel Aviv University researchers are working to make microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) even smaller, less expensive, and more sensitive by combining old-school mechanics with advanced electrical engineering.
From ACM TechNews
Teraflop Troubles: Powerful Gpus May Threaten the World's Password Security System
Georgia Tech Research Institute computer scientists are studying whether desktop computers with graphics processing units are so powerful that they compromise password protection.
From ACM TechNews
Web Plan From Google and Verizon Is Criticized
Google and Verizon's proposal for how Internet service should be regulated was criticized by groups in favor of keeping the Web as open as possible.
From ACM TechNews
Speech Recognition Systems Must Get Smarter, Professor Says
University of Rochester professor James Allen says the key to making speech-recognition systems less frustrating to use is giving them a deeper understanding of language and making them more interactive.
From ACM News
In a Video Game, Tackling the Complexities of Protein Folding
In a match that pitted video game players against the best known computer program designed for the task, the gamers outperformed the software in figuring out how 10 proteins fold into their three-dimensional configurations…
From ACM News
Better Displays Ahead
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati Nanoelectronics Laboratory are actively pursuing an alternative approach for low-power displays and have published an assessment of what's ahead for display technology in the AIP' Applied…
From ACM News
Researchers Successfully Test Prototype Spintronic Device
Researchers have demonstrated the first plastic computer memory device that utilizes the spin of electrons to read and write data. So-called "spintronics" could store more data in less space, process data faster, and consume…
From ACM News
P ? Np? It's Bad News For the Power of Computing
Has the biggest question in computer science been solved? On 6 August, Vinay Deolalikar, a mathematician at Hewlett-Packard Labs in Palo Alto, California, sent out draft copies of a paper titled simply "P ≠ NP"
From ACM News
Star Wars Meets Ups as Robonaut Packed For Space
Getting into space isn't necessarily easy for astronauts, and it's not much easier for a robotic astronaut, either.
From ACM News
World Record Data Density for Ferroelectric Recording
Scientists in Japan have recorded data at a density of 4 trillion bits per square inch, a world record for the experimental "ferroelectric" data storage method. The density is about eight times greater than today's most advanced…
From ACM News
Google Mapping Worries Spread
South Korea police raid Internet giant's offices; German officials criticize plan to roll out Street View in 20 cities.
From ACM News
A Sidewalk Disappearing Act
Automatically removing people from street-level imagery could help prevent privacy complaints.
From ACM News
Threat Report Reveals Malware at All Time High
The newly released McAfee Threats Report: Second Quarter 2010 states that malware reached unprecedented levels in the first six months of 2010, the most active half-year ever for total malware production.
From ACM TechNews
Simplifying Computer Power Behind Phones, Medical Devices
University of Houston researchers are collaborating with chipmaker Texas Instruments to simplify the development of programmable multicore processors.
From ACM News
DOC Seeks Comments on Cybersecurity and Its Impact on Innovation
The U.S. Department of Commerce has published a Notice of Inquiry on "Cybersecurity, Innovation, and Internet Policy." The department seeks comments from all stakeholders on measures to improve cybersecurity while sustaining…
From ACM News
Wireless Car Sensors Vulnerable to Hackers
Hackers could "hijack" the wireless pressure sensors built into many cars' tires, researchers have found. Criminals might then track a vehicle or force its electronic control system to malfunction, the University of South…
From ACM News
Outsourcing May Lead to Failure, Professor Says
In tough times, many companies slash staff and turn to outsourcing, yet that may doom their products; and in good times, losing control over key components can also contribute to failure, says Lyda Bigelow, a University of Utah…
From ACM News
.S. Military to Attack Moore's Law for Future Computers
Computers that can perform a quintillion calculations per second are being planned by the U.S. military.
From ACM News
Nist Advises Securing Critical Computer Systems From Beginning to End
A new draft report from NIST discusses the challenge of maintaining information system security throughout a system's life cycle, and provides an array of practices designed to help mitigate supply chain security risks.
From ACM News
Future on Display: Technology You'll Want to Stroke
Whatever you might expect from the latest computer technology, fur is unlikely to be one of them.
From ACM News
Google Agonizes on Privacy as Ad World Vaults Ahead
A confidential, seven-page Google Inc. "vision statement" shows the information-age giant in a deep round of soul-searching over a basic question: How far should it go in profiting from its crown jewels—the vast trove of data…
From ACM News
Google, Verizon Propose Open vs Paid Internets
Google and Verizon announced a joint proposal on Monday that would allow ISPs to offer premium content bundles over an unspecified global network—an unexpected gambit that would seem to call for separate and unequal internets…
From ACM TechNews
Elite U.s. Cyber Team Courts Hackers to Fight Terror
A U.S. cybersecurity team that has clandestinely tracks cybercriminals wants to swell its ranks with an additional 1,750 "vetted volunteers" by 2012, and to this end it was invited to the recent DefCon hacker conference to recruit…
From ACM TechNews
Driverless Cars Just Around the Corner
Researchers worldwide are developing technologies that enable cars to drive themselves. "You can buy a car today that I'd like to say is 90 percent driverless," says Cato Institute's Randal O'Toole.
From ACM TechNews
$7.5 Million U.S. Grant to Support Development of Quantum Supercomputers
A University of Pittsburgh research team recently received a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to solve some of the problems preventing the development of quantum computers.
From ICT Results
New Paradigm For Scientific Publication and Peer Review
Scientific knowledge has been shared in the same way for centuries. A European research project advocates replacing papers and peer reviews with a new process inspired by the social Web.
From ACM TechNews
Wanted: Cybersecurity Pros
Demand for a cybersecurity workforce is heavy, as U.S. federal agencies, contractors, and technology companies vie for a limited pool of qualified employees.