Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2016
From ACM News
Hints Suggest an Insider Helped the Nsa 'equation Group' Hacking Tools Leak
A group called the Shadow Brokers made headlines this month by leaking a hacking tool belonging to the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) team. Now this week, several informed sources suggest an inside source may have been…
From ACM News
Happy 25th Birthday to the World Wide Web
Internauts, today we celebrate this glorious technology that brings us all together! On August 23, 1991--25 years ago today--the public gained access for the first time to the World Wide Web, designed and deployed by computer…
From ACM News
Seven Over 70
Yet more proof that innovation isn’t only for the young.
From ACM News
Linux Turns 25, Is Bigger and More Professional Than Ever
The Linux operating system kernel is 25 years old this month. It was August 25, 1991 when Linus Torvalds posted his famous message announcing the project, claiming that Linux was "just a hobby, won't be big and professional like…
From ACM TechNews
Powerful New Metric Quickly Reveals Network Structure at Multiple Scales
Researchers at the Santa Fe Institute and the University of Barcelona have developed a metric that bypasses the limitations associated with other methods of network analysis.
From ACM TechNews
Natural Scale Caterpillar Soft Robot Is Powered and Controlled With Light
Researchers at the University of Warsaw have used liquid crystal elastomers to develop a bioinspired micro-robot that can mimic the gait of a caterpillar in natural scale.
From ACM TechNews
Algorithms Can Be More Fair Than Humans
Although data-driven decisions can be biased and unfair, research suggests this same methodology may make it easier to identify such biases.
From ACM News
Hand Jive: A Robot Hand Learns to Spin
A five-fingered robotic hand teaches itself how to manage a complex task.
From ACM News
Brain's Chemical Signals Seen in Real Time
Neuroscientists have invented a way to watch the ebb and flow of the brain's chemical messengers in real time.
From ACM News
Arm Wrestles Its Way Into Supercomputing
The designer of the chips that run most of the world's mobile devices has announced its first dedicated processor for use in supercomputers.
From ACM News
Chip Technology Keeps Checked Luggage in Check
On a recent Southwest Airlines flight from Baltimore, Shvilla Rasheem arrived in Indianapolis, but her luggage did not.
From ACM TechNews
Internet Voting Leaves Out a Cornerstone of Democracy: The Secret Ballot
Internet voting invalidates the secrecy of ballots, according to a report from Verified Voting.
From ACM TechNews
Half of High School Seniors Lack Access to Computer Science
More than half of U.S. high school seniors attend schools that do not offer computer science courses.
From ACM TechNews
People Favor Expressive, Communicative Robots Over Efficient and Effective Ones
Researchers have found making an assistive robot partner expressive and communicative could make it more satisfying to work with and improve trust.
From ACM TechNews
Mcmaster Researchers Resolve a Problem That Has Been Holding Back a Technological Revolution
McMaster University researchers say they have developed a way to purify carbon nanotubes.
From ACM TechNews
New Law in Mass. Attempts to Raise It Pay For Women
A new Massachusetts statute signed this month by Gov. Charlie Baker could help close the wage gap between men and women in the information technology industry.
From ACM News
These States Are at the Greatest Risk of Having Their Voting Process Hacked
Not everything belongs on the Internet, and the American electoral process is a textbook example. But 31 states don't see it that way.
From ACM TechNews
This Web App Will Warn You If You Are a Twitter Troll
Researchers have developed a Web application that tells users how harassing they are on Twitter, providing a numerical rating and examples of potentially harassing tweets.
From ACM News
98 Personal Data Points that Facebook ses to Target Ads to You
Say you're scrolling through your Facebook Newsfeed and you encounter an ad so eerily well-suited, it seems someone has possibly read your brain.
From ACM News
Werner Herzog Film Follows Internet From its Birth at CLA
"Lo and Behold" examines good and bad outcomes of the communication revolution.
From ACM News
Sense of the Stars: New Telescopes Poised to nlock the niverse
For nearly as long as we've walked the Earth, humans have tried to make sense of the stars.
From ACM News
'radically Rewritten' Bacterial Genome nveiled
Synthetic biologists report the most far-reaching rewiring yet of a bacterial genome.
From ACM News
How It Feels to Live in Darkness
I know there isn't one dot of light, but I frantically scan the pitch-black area surrounding me out of habit nonetheless.
From ACM TechNews
Robotics Can Get Girls Into Stem, but Some Still Need Convincing
A growing number of girls who are trying out robotics in a variety of forums are learning they have a knack for it.
From ACM TechNews
Goat Robot Leg Demonstrates Explosive Jumping
Carnegie Mellon University's Simon Kalouche is developing a new design for legs that would enable a robot to navigate the terrain a goat typically traverses.
From ACM TechNews
Interscatter Communication Enables First-Ever Implanted Devices, Smart Contact Lenses, Credit Cards That 'talk' Wi-Fi
University of Washington researchers' interscatter communication method enables various wearables to exchange data with smartphones, watches, and other gadgets.
From ACM TechNews
Think Fast--Is Neuromorphic Computing Set to Leap Forward?
European Human Brain Project leader Karlheinz Meier offers an overview of the state of neuromorphic computing technology.
From ACM TechNews
Navy Looking at Teaching Robots How to Behave
The U.S. Navy is funding projects to train autonomous systems to not harm humans.
From ACM News
Let the Structural Symphony Begin
Like other structural biologists, Eva Nogales works in extraordinary times.
From ACM News
S Ready to 'hand Over' the Internet's Naming System
The US has confirmed it is finally ready to cede power of the internet's naming system, ending the almost 20-year process to hand over a crucial part of the internet's governance.