Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2011
From ACM News
Ben Fry, Information Designer
In the golden age of data visualization, he helps designers think like programmers, and vice versa.
From ACM TechNews
Human Gait Could Soon Power Portable Electronics
The energy of human motion could be used soon to power cell phones and other portable devices, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers Tom Krupenkin and J. Ashley Taylor.
From ACM TechNews
Personal Security
Researchers have developed a laptop-sized device that emits a jamming signal whenever it detects an unauthorized wireless link being established between a medical implant and a remote terminal, in an attempt to stop hackers from…
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Improving Gps Accuracy in the 3rd Dimension
Ohio State University researchers have developed software that can fix global positioning system errors by taking a more accurate measurement of altitude.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Touch Helps Keyhole Surgeons to 'feel' Tumours
Leeds University researchers have developed tactile feedback technology that combines computer virtualization with a hand-held haptic device that gives doctors a virtual sense of feeling tumors during an operation.
From ACM News
When Algorithms Control the World
If you were expecting some kind warning when computers finally get smarter than us, then think again.
From ACM News
IBM Work With World's Thinnest Material Seen Creating Faster Pcs
A one-atom-thick layer of carbon may one day help International Business Machines Corp. and the U.S. military build more precise radar and computers that operate at near the speed of light.
From ACM TechNews
New Tool Allows First Responders to Visualize Post-Event Disaster Environments
During the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Level Exercise 2011, emergency preparedness officials and first responders used iPads and SUMMIT, which allowed them to view and modify accurate models of building…
From ACM TechNews
The New Big Data
Industry research and academic labs will present the latest big data techniques during the 17th ACM conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD).
From ACM TechNews
Better 'photon Loops' May Be Key to Computer and Physics Advances
University of Maryland, Harvard University, and U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers are close to developing a method for steering photons accurately through microchips, which could lead to more efficient…
From ACM TechNews
Could A Crypto-Computer in Your Pocket Replace All Passwords?
Cambridge University researcher Frank Stajano recently presented a paper on the Pico, a tiny, portable computer that functions as the authenticator for potentially thousands of different services or devices.
From ACM TechNews
Computational Method Predicts New Uses For Existing Medicines
A recent National Institutes of Health-funded computational study analyzing genomic and drug data has been able to predict new uses for existing medicines.
From ACM News
Judge Says Warrant Required For Cell Phone Location Data
In recent years, the courts have struggled to decide whether the government needs a warrant to access historical records about a cell phone user's location. Some courts have found that when users turn on their cell phones,…
From ACM News
Robonaut Wakes Up In Space
After months of patiently snoring away in its storage bag, Robonaut 2—the first dexterous humanoid robot in space—finally got its wakeup call on Monday.
From ACM Opinion
A Turbulent End to the Pc Era
The personal computer recently celebrated its 30th birthday. Then last week, Silicon Valley staged the PC's funeral.
From ACM News
Six Computer Labs that Gave Birth to the Digital World
Throughout history there is a recurring theme of like-minded individuals coming together to create a shared "hive mind" intelligence that is greater than its constituent parts.
From ACM TechNews
'endless Forms' Uses the Web to Breed 3-D Printable Objects
Cornell University researchers are using their new, interactive EndlessForms.com Web site to allow anyone online to guide the evolution of printable, three-dimensional objects in an attempt to revolutionize the design of art,…
From ACM TechNews
Free Computer Science Courses, New Teaching Technology Reinvent Online Education
Stanford professors will offer popular computer science courses online for free in the autumn, and are launching an experiment that could radically change the delivery of online education.
From ACM TechNews
Antennas in Your Clothes? New Design Could Pave the Way
Ohio State University researchers are working on a new way to incorporate radio antennas directly into clothing, in an effort to improve communications reliability and the mobility of soldiers.
From ACM News
Trust Develops 'science Base' For Cybersecurity
University of California, Berkeley's TRUST is developing a cybersecurity "science base"– a principled approach to developing trustworthy systems in which security is an integral part and not "bolted on like an afterthought."
From ACM News
Motorola
Hundreds of framed patents hang on two separate walls at the headquarters of Motorola Mobility in Libertyville, IL. They testify to the pride in innovation at Motorola, a luminary of American business that has survived corporate…
From ACM Opinion
Why Google Had to Have Motorola Mobility
For several years now, Google has been following a vow made by former CEO Eric Schmidt: mobile first. New CEO Larry Page is taking that dictum to a new level by announcing a deal to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5bn.
From ACM News
Intel Recruits Sci-Fi Writers to Dream Up Future Tech
Chip maker Intel has commissioned leading science fiction authors to pen short stories that imagine future uses for the firm's technology.
From ACM News
Court Says Only Hard Math Is Patentable
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected a patent on a method of detecting credit card fraud. The result was unsurprising, but the court broke new ground with its reasoning. Citing the Supreme Court's…
From ACM News
Nasa and Tor-Forge Books Partner in Themed Science Fiction Works
In an effort to introduce, inform, and inspire readers about NASA, the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, has partnered with Tor-Forge Books to develop and publish a series of science-fiction-themed books…
From ACM TechNews
Wire Robot Yanks Your Golf Game Into Shape
University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a haptics-based robotic wire system designed to help golfers with putting.
From ACM TechNews
Mediocre Hackers Can Cause Major Damage
Even minimally competent hackers can hijack the computer systems that control critical industrial machinery to deadly effect, according to security researchers.
From ACM TechNews
W3c Ignites Developer Participation in Web Standards Process
The World Wide Web Consortium recently announced a new track, called W3C Community Groups, that makes it easier for developers and businesses to create Web technology within W3C's international community of experts.
From ACM TechNews
Taking a Disruptive Approach to Exascale
A recent U.S. Department of Energy workshop concentrating on exascale challenges and current gaps in research and ideology offered insight for those seeking a disruptive approach to exascale computing.
From ACM TechNews
Research Team Develops Face-Mapping App For Global Smartphone Searching
Rice University researchers have developed a smartphone application that allows users to search images on other users' phones that have been transmitted by a centralized server.