Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2014
From ACM News
Google's Fact-Checking Bots Build Vast Knowledge Bank
Google is building the largest store of knowledge in human history—and it's doing so without any human help.
From ACM News
Listening In: The Navy Is Tracking Ocean Sounds Collected By Scientists
In a retired shore station for transpacific communications cables on the western coast of Vancouver Island sits a military computer in a padlocked cage.
From ACM TechNews
Python Puts Its Print on Multitouch Apps With Kivy
Kivy, an open source library based on the Python programming language, can be used for native development of user interfaces.
From ACM TechNews
The Emerging Pitfalls of Nowcasting With Big Data
Search query data is very powerful but must be treated with some care and caution, says Google chief economist Hal Varian, speaking at a European Bank workshop.
From ACM TechNews
Nersc Launches Next-Generation Code Optimization Effort
The U.S. Department of Energy is working to address a gap in its Exascale Science Applications Program, an effort designed to support its Cori supercomputer.
From ACM Careers
Vexed in the City: Starved For Tech Talent and Yet Nobody to Hire?
Darin Wedel made headlines in 2012 when his wife, Jennifer, asked President Barack Obama during a Google+ Hangout why her husband was still out of work while H-1B visa holders continued to stream into the U.S.
From ACM TechNews
Sequencing at Sea
Using a DNA sequencer, researchers were able to sequence 26 bacterial genomes, as well as two metagenomes.
From ACM News
New Era in Safety When Cars Talk to One Another
A driver moves along in traffic, the forward view blocked by a truck or a bend in the road. Suddenly, up ahead, someone slams on the brake. Tires screech.
From ACM News
Neanderthals: Bone Technique Redrafts Prehistory
Neanderthals and humans lived together in Europe for thousands of years, concludes a timeline based on radiocarbon dates from 40 key sites across Europe.
From ACM Opinion
Cryptography Expert Says, 'pgp Encryption Is Fundamentally Broken, Time For Pgp to Die'
A Senior cryptography expert has claimed multiple issues with PGP email encryption—an open source end-to-end encryption to secure email.
From ACM News
Slow Internet Connection? The Web Might Have a Bigger Problem
Slow Internet connection frustrated users on Tuesday, but the slowdown wasn't caused by cable problems or data center issues.
From ACM News
As Seen By Rosetta: Comet Surface Variations
A new image of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko shows the diversity of surface structures on the comet's nucleus.
From ACM Opinion
The Engineer of the Original Apple Mouse Talks About His Remarkable Career
Jim Yurchenco was responsible for squeezing the guts inside the impossibly slim Palm V.
From ACM TechNews
Wireless Sensors and Flying Robots: A Way to Monitor Deteriorating Bridges
Researchers are developing wireless sensors and flying robots that could help authorities monitor the conditions of bridges in real time.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Eyesight Gets a Lot More Accurate
For the second time in its four-year history, the Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge saw dramatic improvements in the quality of machine-vision technology.
From ACM TechNews
Why Teaching Grandmothers to Code Isn't a Crazy Idea
The same efforts to teach youngsters coding and entrepreneurship should be extended to older workers and retired people, writes Stanford University fellow Vivek Wadhwa.
From ACM TechNews
Brain-Computer Interface Project Gives Hope to Disabled
The European Union-funded Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction project could help the severely disabled regain some of their lost functionality.
From ACM TechNews
New Algorithm Gives Credit Where Credit Is Due
A new algorithm could help determine how to properly allocate credit for science papers that have multiple authors.
From ACM TechNews
Technology Can Make Lawful Surveillance Both Open and Effective
New technology could enable law enforcement to identify people whose actions justify investigation and demonstrate probable cause via an authorized electronic warrant.
From ACM News
Computing's Narrow Focus May Hinder Women's Participation
More women pursue fields in which computing is part of a larger context.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Science Professor Awarded Grant to Study Cooperative Behavior
A University of New Mexico computer science professor has received a six-year, $450,000-grant to study how cooperative behavior emerges in complex systems.
From ACM TechNews
ltra Pure Silicon Could Pave Way For More Quantum Computing Research
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a much less expensive and easier way of producing ultra-pure silicon.
From ACM TechNews
Pgp Is Fundamentally Broken, Says Crypto Expert
Johns Hopkins University professor Matthew Green says the PGP encryption protocol is badly out of date and fails to meet modern public key cryptography needs.
From ACM TechNews
Google Introduces Kids to Coding Through Blockly Games Project
Google has developed a collection of online Blockly Games designed to help engage children in their first efforts at programming.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Roll Out Free Software to Advance Computer Chip Design
Researchers have developed software to facilitate chip design, and are making it freely available to cultivate new research on pushing the envelope of computer technology.
From ACM TechNews
Mobile Phones Come Alive With the Sound of Music, Thanks to Nanogenerators
Everyday background noise could be used to charge mobile phones, according to scientists from Queen Mary University of London and Nokia.
From ACM TechNews
Rutgers Researchers Show That How Fast You Drive Might Reveal Exactly Where You Are Going
Researchers say monitoring motorists' driving habits may disclose where motorists are driving, even in the absence of GPS or other location-sensing technology.
From ACM TechNews
Visual Control of Big Data
DBWipes is a new data visualization tool that enables users to highlight abnormalities and possible patterns in a graphical display.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Aim to Thwart Targeted Cyberattacks
Researchers are studying a series of sophisticated attacks via email against the World Uyghur Congress, a Chinese nongovernmental organization.
From ACM TechNews
Technology Simplifies Big Data For the Human Brain
A project involving 16 partners in nine European countries hopes to present large datasets in a way that is easier for the brain to understand.